Swimrun 101: Partners
Welcome to episode four of the Low Tide Boyz, a swimrun podcast!
On this week’s show we chat about finding a swimrun partner. We’ve received a lot of requests for this show from our fans so…here it is. Since swimrun is primarily a team sport, we thought that it would be a to try to cover all the details around finding a partner since the sport is so young in the US.
As you know by now, there’s are three team categories for swimrun events: Women’s, Men’s and Mixed. (Some races will also have solo categories.)
There are several initial considerations in selecting a swimrun partner. These include the following:
Overall endurance/fitness
Similar swim/running paces
Complementary personalities
Similar training/race goals
Ability to train together
Being ready for adventure
The take home message being that finding the right partner will be give and take of a lot of factors and your team’s ability to work together towards a common goal (whether that goal is qualifying for a World Championship, just having a great adventure or something in between) will be determined by how well you communicate your goals with your partner. Talking with your partner (or prospective partner) about your goals will be the best way to have your first experience in the sport be a positive one. Given that the races are all challenging in their own ways, finding someone that is up for the challenge/adversity will help ensure that you’ll have a great race, regardless of your finishing time.
So where can you find a partner if you’re the only person that you know that knows about swimrun? We think that there are several sources that make the most sense to access. These include your current workout buddies, swim/running/tri clubs, masters programs and gym/boot camps. It’s likely that someone else may have heard about the sport and just needed the impetus to get into the sport.
There are also some great online resources to learn about the sport and find a partner. Otillo and Odyssey Swimrum have some great videos that feature their events and the sports beautifully. There are also several Facebook groups, online forums and Instagram accounts where folks can go to look for partners and discover events in their area. Finally, races and race directors are great resources to find partners.
Swimrun Facebook Groups:
Swimrun International Community
OFFICIAL Swimrun Forum - World of Swimrun (WoS)
It’s really hard to overstate how welcoming the sport of swimrun is. There are swimrun groups popping up all over the US as well as new races. We encourage everyone to find and support your local race. This will be the best way to help grow the sport and maybe find your perfect race partner!
That’s it for this week’s show. If you are enjoying the Low Tide Boyz, please be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast player. We are on Apple Podcast, Spotify and Google Podcast. You can also follow along on Instagram and Twitter. You can also support us on Patreon, if you are so inclined. If you want to drop us a line, email us at lowtideboyz@gmail.com.