Swim Run Casco Bay - Jen
Have you heard of Ötillö? That crazy race in Sweden where people swim between and run over 20+ islands? That race that Pippa Middleton once did? (Yes, she’s a total boss.) Well, this is sort of like that, only shorter and not in Sweden.
Casco Bay was the first (or at least one of the first) swim run race in the United States and is modeled after Ötillö. It is a 2-person team event, but it is not a relay – both people must compete together. This means being within 10 feet of your partner at all times. In other words, hopefully you like each other, because you’re going to have some quality time together.
My partner was Caroline (we call her Cricket), a long-time friend from our time as triathletes in D.C. She now lives in New York, NY while I live in Boise, ID. This meant that we could not train together, but it was not much of an inconvenience. This was our second year doing the race – we did the short course in 2017 – and knew that we worked well as a team.
For this year’s race, we once again tackled the short course, but the course had changed and was longer than last year. Although actual distance can vary, we were looking at nearly 3 miles of swimming and approximately 12 miles of running, a combination of road, trail, and rocky coastline with some scrambling required. I was stoked!
Quickly, for those not familiar with swim run, a few key distinctions from triathlon:
• As I mentioned, it traditionally is a 2-person team sport. While swimming, both for safety and to adhere to the rules, most teams use a 10-foot tether to physically link themselves together. And while running, neither person strays too far from the other.
• You can swim with all of the toys – paddles, pull buoys, and fins (if you want). We opted to forego the fins and swim in our shoes, to make transitions faster, but did use paddles and pull buoys. Using pull buoys saves the legs for running and makes it easier to swim in shoes, which add to the usual weight and drag of the legs.
• There is no transition area. Transitions happen on the fly, and there are many – 14 in this year’s race. We ran (or staggered) in and out of the water, navigating rocks and seaweed. To make transitions as seamless as possible, when running, we used carabiners to hold our paddles, and modified our pull buoys with bungee cord so that we could affix them to our thighs and swivel them to the side while running.
• Finally, as I noted above, running surfaces are varied. For the race in Maine, some of it was road, some of it was trail, and some of it was straight up rock scrambling.
Since we had done the short course in 2017, we generally knew what to expect, but the course was different and we had to do some homework. We attended the pre-race briefing the day before the race and were dissatisfied with the level of detail provided about the course, in particular, the swims. We hunkered down in front of a computer and pulled up tidal charts for Casco Bay so that we could determine, for each swim, how the currents would push us (left or right) so that we could try to adjust our sighting accordingly. We also packed our gear, double-checked that we had everything, and settled in for some sleep.
Race morning! Usually, I am equal parts nervous and excited and for what is about to happen, and this race morning was no exception. I sat on the ferry with Cricket and our friends, Alexis and Eben (also racing), as we took in the scenery on our way to the start. Our conversation was mostly light-hearted and silly, but sprinkled with discussion of the course, the weather (it was rainy), and how the day’s event might unfold. We arrived at Peaks Island, the start of our day, stowed our morning bags, and got ready to go.
After a few words from the race director, we were off! Imagine several hundred athletes in various types of wetsuits, nearly all sporting pull buoys on their thighs, with swim paddles in hand or dangling from carabiners, and nearly all either wearing or carrying swim caps and goggles. I expect that it was a sight to behold.
The first few miles were a run segment and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We were fresh and full of energy, and the four of us ran together, which was a lot of fun. The course took us through Peaks Island via road and trail. We reached the beach and parted ways for our longest swim of the race. Currents were strong – much stronger than we had anticipated – and Cricket and I ended up having to run over one additional, small island. Our detour took some extra time, but did not put us off course. We rounded the island on foot, spied our intended landing zone, and hopped back into the water to complete the swim.
As it turns out, strong currents were the theme of the day. Every swim was challenging, and it seemed like we were always swimming against the current. Runs were a welcome reprieve, and a good time to bring up the core body temperature after spending substantial chunks of time in cool waters.
Just before our final swim, I looked down and realized that I had lost one of my paddles. Another racer said that they had seen one – but back across the island, where we had landed some bit ago – so we opted to carry on and I did the last swim without paddles. It ended up being a non-issue and we safely made our last landfall for the final run to the finish.
When we crossed the finish line, we had not won any prizes or awards, but it was satisfying nonetheless. We did it! We were awesome. We wanted food. And dry clothes. And to drink a beer. And to eat all the doughnuts. (All of which we did do.) We had spent 5 hours navigating the waters and islands of Casco Bay and were darn proud of ourselves.
I have done several endurance events in my life that took far longer (10+ hours), but there is something about swim run that, even though this particular race was shorter, is just as challenging. I also love that it is multi-sport, and that it is “in the wild,” so to speak. And it is fun to share the experience with a partner (thanks, Cricket!). I am not sure whether there is more swim run in our future, but I can say that Casco Bay is a fantastic course, Maine is a beautiful and welcoming place, and I’m happy to share more details with anyone who is interested in giving swim run a try. It is fun to be part of the “island-hopping” crowd!
*Photo credit: #RuddockVisuals