Everything you need to know about ÖtillÖ, The Swimrun World Championship
Congrats! You’ve qualified for ÖTILLÖ, the Swimrun World Championship. This race is the original Swimrun course that started as a drunken bet and has been run every year since 2006 (barring a COVID year in 2020.) It is consistently rated as one of the toughest endurance races by GTN, Global Triathlon Network, Rich Roll, and many other sources. We have been lucky enough to do this race in 2022 and 2023 and have learned a lot in the process. This guide will assemble all we have learned through our interviews with finishers, ÖTILLÖ course previews, gear talk episodes, detailed nutrition expertise, and our very own race reports.
Let’s not waste any more time and jump right in!
What is it?
ÖTILLÖ is a multistage endurance race that takes place in the archipelago off of the coast of Stockholm, Sweden. The event occurs on the first Monday in September. ÖTILLÖ is a team event where pairs of athletes compete in three divisions; Mens, Womens, and Mixed. The course is around 75km and features 26 different islands starting on the island of Sandhamn and finishing on the island of Üto. (Fun fact: ÖTILLÖ means Island to Island in Swedish.)
How do you qualify for ÖtillÖ?
This is a very common question, so we gave made it its own post. In short there are 3 ways to qualify for ÖTILLÖ for one of 160 team spots available.
Be one of 9 podium teams from ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship from the previous year. This is the least common way to qualify, a.k.a. this one applies only to the fast teams!
One of 10 Race Directors choice that are used at the Race Director’s discretion throughout the year for sponsors, media and special circumstances. This is also not a super common way, but still worth the application.
Apply via the Swimrun Ranking points system in the Registration window from January 1st through the 25th. The winning applications will be alerted on Swimrun Christmas, a.k.a., The first Thursday in February. This is the most common way to get into Ötillö. For full details on the swimrun rankings point system check out our post here.
Here is our episode on qualifying for Ötillö, the Swimrun World Championship:
The Course!
According to the race website, “ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship is the jewel in the crown. It is the mother of all Swimruns and the origin of the sport” and we couldn’t agree more. Teams Swimrun between and over 24 islands for a total of about 70km (44miles). In total there are about 61km (38miles) and about 9k (6 miles) of swimming. The race starts on Sandhamn the finish is at the beautiful Utö Värdshus on Utö, the birthplace of the sport.
Here are some episodes specifically about the ÖTILLÖ course.
Oscar Olsson is a former ÖTILLÖ World Champion, former course record holder, and one of the sports greatest ambassadors. He gives us a detailed walkthrough of the legendary course. We feel that this is required listening for anyone racing the World Championship for the first time (or third, or tenth)!
Want even more ÖTILLÖ course content? We broke the course down in three sections with a detailed island to island break down each with a different guest. These are down in the details and chalked full of insider tips for a great day at ÖTILLÖ.
Part 1 covers race start on Sandhamn to the start of Nämdö with our friend and multi-time ÖTILLÖ finisher, PJ Michel.
Part 2 covers start of the run on the island of Nämdö through until making landfall on the island of Ornö. Joining us for this discussion is the one and only Jenny Ramstedt who has completed ÖTILLÖ many times and was featured in the GTN ÖTILLÖ video from 2022.
Part 3 covers the final third-ish of the legendary course from the start of the run on the island of Ornö through to the finish line on Utö. Joining us for this part is the Godfather of Swimrun himself, Andy Hewitt who has completed ÖTILLÖ 9+ times in both the Mens and Mixed categories.
Gear for Ötillö
Swimrun gear takes some time to dial in and find out what works best for you. We have lots of Gear Talk episodes for you to hear about our thoughts and views on different suggestions on Swimrun gear. Be sure to check out our Swimrun Gear Guide for our general recommendations on all things gear. For the World Championship, your gear plays a big role in how the day will unfold. Considering you are racing for 8-14 hours you need to make sure your gear is comfortable and meets all your needs for such a long Swimrun. Here is some specific episodes about gear choices for ÖTILLÖ.
We broke down our Swimrun gear setups and did a retrospective with our friends, Annie and Brooke from the Swimrun Labs.
We had Helen Wikmar, CEO of Arksports on to give her point of view and suggestions for Swimrun gear for ÖTILLÖ.
Nutrition for Ötillö
ÖTILLÖ is an ultra endurance event of around 70km and nutrition needs to be a big focus in your preparations for the race. We have been lucky enough to work with the experts are Precision Fuel and Hydration over the years to help us make sure we nail our nutrition and do the “gut training” required for the energy demands of such a long race. Check out our PFH Case Studies from ÖTILLÖ 2022 (Chipper and Chris) and PFH’s nutrition planner which will get you started on the right foot. Here are our episodes where we cover nutrition and the specifics for ÖTILLÖ.
Andy Blow, co-founder of Precision Fuel and Hydration, shared his point of view on how to fuel and gut train for ÖTILLÖ. Andy has completed ÖTILLÖ many times most recently in 2022 with teammate Lars Finanger as Team Old Man Speed.
Training for Ötillö
Since ÖTILLÖ is one of the harder endurance events out there, it goes without saying that you need to engage in Swimrun training to have a successful race experience. We know of too many stories of athletes that show up to the race thinking that they are really fit just to DNF because they didn’t do any specific training. Don’t let that be you! We worked with a Swimrun coach both years we raced ÖTILLÖ and found it essential in helping us feel prepared for the physical/mental demands of the event. There are some really good Swimrun and endurance coaching options out there. We highly recommend coaching resources such as Envol Swimrun, Tower 26, Simcoachen, Purple Patch, TOT Endurance and Liz Gilden.
Here Envol Head Coach Nicolas Remires gives us his suggestions on how to train for ÖTILLÖ.
Race Day
You are prepped and primed for race day! There is no way to avoid the nerves of the starting corral, but soon enough you will be Swimrunning over the original Swimrun course. We were fortunate enough to race ÖTILLÖ twice. Check out our race reports for each year if you want to hear about our experience.
2023 ÖTILLÖ, the Swimrun World Championship Race Report
2022 ÖTILLÖ, the Swimrun World Championship Race Report
Other Ötillö Race Reports
We have had many discussions with teams and Swimrunners about their experiences at ÖTILLÖ. Here are some of those conversations.
The Day After Ötillo
The morning after ÖTILLÖ might just be the best part of the entire experience. Everyone is hobbling around banged up from the adventure the day before. A full breakfast buffet awaits you at the amazing Uto Vardsus where seconds are a must. Grab a chair, share your war stories, and hear about everyone’s amazing experience before jumping on the ferry to head back to Stockholm.
As you gathered by now, ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship is a challenging and prestigious endurance race that you will never forget. We hope this guide gives you a good place to gather some information so you can have a great experience at the World Championship.
If you found this guide useful check out our weekly podcast, the Löw Tide Böyz, and be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and on YouTube. If you have any questions don’t be afraid to send us a dm or an email at lowtideboyz@gmail.com.
See you out there!
Chip and Chris
