Swimrun

What is Swimrun?

Swimrun is an adventure sport that usually is done as a team of two. Teams swim and run across the course alternating and transitioning between swimming and running. Swimrunners usually race in a swimrun-specific wetsuit that allows for easier running, well-draining trail running shoes, a Swimrun-specific pull buoy, and most racers choose to use hand paddles. There are three different categories teams can race: mixed, women’s or men’s. Solo divisions are also available at most races.

What gear do you need for swimrun?

When you’re ready to try Swimrun you will need to use some gear to get started. The gear consists of a few main components, and these are just high-level facts about Swimrun gear. If you want to take a deep dive be sure to check out our Gear Talk show with the Swimrun Labs and our Complete Guide to Swimrun Gear.

Swimrun Wetsuit: Check out our Swimrun wetsuit suit-out where we discuss all things you need to consider for a Swimrun.

Swimrun Shoes: If you are looking for more details about what makes a good Swimrun shoe check out our Swimrun “shoedown”.

Swimrun Pull Buoy (Optional but highly recommended): Having a Swimrun pull buoy will provide you lots of floatation when you are swimming. This is really helpful especially since you are wearing your shoes during an event! We have some of our favorite pull buoys in our Swimrun gear guide.

Swim Paddles (Optional but recommended depending on your overall swim fitness): We have a great Gear Talk episode where we talk about all things paddles for Swimrun.

Swim Goggles: Just use your favorite open water goggles here. No need to overthink it.

Shin/ Lower body floats (Optional): Most Swimrunners will use a swimrun pull buoy due to the incredible buoyancy advantage, but some people still like the shin floats.

Tether (Optional but recommended): One of the more interesting aspects of Swimrun is the tether. Measuring 3m or 10ft the tether was originally used for safety purposes to keep both teammates close to one another. Now the tether is used as an advantage where stronger teammates will pull each other during their respective strengths. Check out our episode on the Swimrun tether.

Swimrun Undergarments & Socks: One of our more common questions! We also did great coverage of Swimrun undergarments with our friends Annie and Brooke from the Swimrun Labs.

Mandatory Swimrun Race Gear: The mandatory race gear varies from race to race but usually consists of a whistle (one for each racer or one per team), a compression bandage (one per team), a soft flask/cup for drinking since most races are “cupless,” and race bib & cap.

Swimrun Races and Events

ÖTILLÖ, Swimrunman, and Ödyssey Swimrun are some of the larger Swimrun race companies internationally. If you are looking to try Swimrun check out our USA Swimrun Race calendar. If you are looking for a place to practice Swimrun check out our International Swimrun Adventure Guide. In the United States, there are races in several states including California, Washington, Texas, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, and Maine. ÖTILLÖ, the Swimrun World Championship is the pinnacle Swimrun event and it takes place in the birthplace of Swimrun, the Stockholm Archipelago in Sweden every September.

History of Swimrun

The history of Swimrun begins with a drunken bet and a bar napkin course map of the Stockholm Archipelago in Utö Värdshus in 2002. The hotel owner challenged his friend and a few coworkers to a race where the bet was, “last team of two to Sandhamn pays for hotel, dinner, and drinks” according to Ötillö. As the story goes it took them over 24 hours to complete and everyone was too tired to cash in on the free dinner and drinks. Those four friends, sometimes called the Original 4, didn’t know it at the time, but they started the sport we know and love, Swimrun. The first commercial Swimrun race was in 2016 with ÖTILLÖ (which means island to island in Swedish), and that same course is now the Swimrun World Championship.

Swimrun Photo Credit to Mark L Simmons Photography & AP Photoworks