What is a SwimRun?
SwimRuns are all about endurance. The name of the game is transitions, AND THERE ARE LOTS OF THEM. The idea is you are running and swimming along a set course of single track trails and open water swims without stopping for very long between. SwimRun participants switch between running and swimming MANY times during a single race, running in their wetsuits and swimming in their trainers. This is slightly different to an aquathlon where participants Run transition to a swim than end the race with a run.
Embrace the outdoors
SwimRun is all about getting outdoors into beautiful scenery on the multi terrain journey. It's an adventure more than it is a race! SwimRuns take you into wild locations and allow you to feel in synergy with the great outdoors, rather than battling against it. Embrace the challenge of just finishing a running segment and jump back into the water to swim across the lake for the 3rd time! We suggest that you train by running on single track trails with difficult terrain and swimming in open water.
Training for the Trail
When you start running off road begin with shorter runs on good tracks and build up from their. It is much more challenging running on difficult terrain than it is on the road. You’ll need some trail running shoes that will give you more support and better grip. As you get more confident try and incorporating as many different types of terrain as you can - START JUMPING IN PUDDLES! GET YOUR FEET WET!
Find a friend to run with or see if there is a trail or running group near you. Running and chatting can be really fun and can be an experience full of good stories and laughs. It is great to share the scenery with someone as well as having someone along to encourage you when you along the way.
Open Water Swimming is SO MUCH FUN
First forays into open water swimming can be a bit scary! Start out in a well used swimming spot that you know is safe and then stay close to the shore or in water shallow enough to stand in. You should only venture into deeper water if you are confident you can swim the distance, being mindful of wind, currents and the cold.
Find a friend to swim with or have someone on shore to keep an eye on you. A wetsuit will help keep you warm and give you buoyancy and a tow float makes you highly visible, gives you something to hold onto for a rest or if feel worried. It is important to stay positive while open water swimming, most people get afraid the first time they venture into the middle of a body of water where they cannot see the bottom. Tell yourself you can do this! In-fact you have been training up for this very moment! Having a high quality wetsuit will keep you afloat and maintaining good visibility is another layer of safety that puts a lot of open water swimmers mind at ease.
It is important to practice your open water swimming skills leading into a race. Work on your sighting by lifting your head out of the water to see where you are going. Because there are no lines on the bottom of a lake to keep you in a straight line, you have to pick a focus point and make sure you are swimming toward it. You can use buoys as a point to sight, but also buildings, trees or tall landmarks on the shore.
As you get more confident you can try swimming in choppy water. Even tiny waves on a lake can be a challenge and will slow you down. Learning to breathe bilaterally(breathing on both sides) is also especially helpful in the open water as you may find that the waves are hitting you on the right or you are staring into the sun on the left. Being able to breath on either side is a great help in these situations.
Master transitions
As you start to peak with your swimming and running training, you really need to practice your transitions from land to water and vice versa until you get really slick! The physical demand of going from running to swimming needs to be trained too – whilst swimming after a run is more about being able to regulate your breathing, running after a hard swim requires your legs to adapt to both the rigors and the mechanics of running as soon as you exit the water. Training your body for these changes is important or you’ll soon become exhausted! Whether you are SwimRunning alone or with a partner, a smooth transition is essential to making a good time in a SwimRun race.
