“Anything about that competition in Switzerland? How did it go?”

I guess I have to put pen to paper. Better late than never. Exercising and travelling cut the time in front of the keyboard pretty short. Kind of a good thing I guess. But now. Let’s get at it – Engadin SwimRun 2015. Tillbaka i den magiska dalen!

Pre-Race jogging along lake Silvaplana.

After last year’s uniquely positive memoirs round the first SwimRun race outside of Sweden, it was a no-brainer to head down south for yet another time. German Sparkle get-together slice four.

The Swiss region of Maloja is an incomparable place. Mats and Michael knew what they were doing when they decided to set up the competition just there. By this time, the 1,100 people town of Silvaplana as well as the people of the entire area have fully adopted this race. It appears that folks around there recognise the soul and elegance of multisport-racing. It’s vital to get a community behind such an event. That it worked out so fast says a lot about the faultless organisation and the competitors that know how to behave in such a natural setting.

GSP approaching the first swim. Amazing atmosphere well captured by Jakob Edholm.

We travelled down early to enjoy the valley and relax properly before the race. Not easy in such an setting. A gondola ride to the observation deck of the Corvatsch station (3,451 m) brought amazing views towards the Eastern Alps and lots of laughter with the Utö Troop. Race briefing was crowded. With the grow of the sport the starter field rose even more. Still a great atmosphere with the typical distinct briefing showcase. Just like last year the weather should be the highpoint. The vale was heated up and the H2O icy as usual. Overheating in a wetsuits and the hopping into 12 degree water is an experiment for the physique.

Race morning saw gorgeous sun. Fast-Starters got caught pretty early on and the field stretched out quicker than previous year. People do miscalculate the versatile course and the skill to run in a wetsuit. Although you can witness certain procedures in more practised racing crowds just like Utö early in the year, the Engadin race pulls plenty of first timers. With almost no races on the continent this is rather apparent. To see how well trained and experiences athletes in SwimRun is pretty interesting. Sometimes it reminded me on our first race last year. We learnt a lot. Not necessarily about the character of the sport but primarily how to function effective as a team. For me the beauty of SwimRunning is down to the team racing characteristic. Sure, the activity itself is incredible. The relentless variation of the two disciplines and the enjoyment to travel from point to point across astonishing environment is a blast. To do all of that with a friend, this is the essence of the sport. And also by far the major trial.

Nuff said. Stoke!

A solo person won’t be successful. This is pretty apparent. Not essentially the fittest mixture of two racer will be successful. It is the finest squad that gets through all the emotions, the difficulties and the fights of a 53 kilometre race. Leave your ego at home. It’s merely about the team. It is about the performance of two people. Some people in the endurance sport scene do not understand that from time to time. They will learn very fast in SwimRun. And precisely that is the beauty of this sport.

Prominent feature of Jakobs GSP picture on the offical race website.

So what did Fabian and I do? Well, another time we provided a team performance that could be easily described as faultless. We communicate a lot. We joke a lot and we grieve a lot. This is what makes it so special. There is no individual self-image. There is only the proper GSP-style. The finest style.

Final proofs after 47,5 km of running and 5,75 km of swimming:

  • 7:02:18 hours of racing
  • 33:55 Minutes behind the winning team
  • 10th place overall and 8th man team
  • Same ranking as last year
  • 47 Minutes quicker on a lengthier course