Possibly around 80% of this 4:39:06 Hours competition was spend in ache. Occasionally you just don’t feel it on race day. The body does not do what it did weeks and month’s prior in various training sessions. I felt flat from the start. I didn’t really get in the smack of things during this 4:39:06 Hours.
Perchance of about 80% I would have dropped out and called it a day. But I did not.
“This was a team-spirit booster!” We unbolted another ice-cold bottle of ÖtillÖ beer in the warm midday sun. Fabian hit the note. SwimRun is a team game. There is not a good or a bad partner. There is only a team.
The team racing character intrigued us. That’s why we formed our notorious “The German Sparkle Party” over a year ago. In our third SwimRun getaway we did not perform to the level we probably could have but we executed a team performance that sticks out. Notwithstanding the troubles, we never argued. Positive thinking was top of the agenda. Just as it should be.
Looking back our 18th place was far from bad. We finished just about 11 minutes out of the top 10. Viewing at the distance and the comparably weak running performance we can be pleased with everything that went down during the 3rd running of the Utö SwimRun.
I must have written it a couple of times, but I’m not getting tired by the beauty of this sport. The outing around Utö was another proof of how scenic Swedish landscape is and of a unique spirit that this sport creates. Last September we came to Sweden as vacationer. This year we left as friends. Credits to each and everybody for their positivity. Lets keep this sport exactly this way! See you all in 35 days down in the Engadin valley.
If you want to read more about the race you might check my article over at slowtwitch.com, read a full report on the German Sparkle Party website, have a glimpse at the race pictures or head over to read some article from a german newspaper.
