STAFFAN BJÖRKLUND on RACE COURSE DESIGN

Staffan, you oversee all race courses in the ÖTILLÖ series in EUROPE – what are you specifically looking for in a race course?

Diversity, nature, challenges, and location. I refer to a race course as a song or movie: it needs to be an interesting location and flow through different tempos in a beautiful environment. At least one real challenge should be included, and it should be a race that I would want to do myself. If I can tick off these criteria, I know we’re heading in the right direction.

All race courses are different but give equal points for the ranking, how is this fair? 

Well, as athletes, we all have different strengths. Throughout our World Series event, we have been designing the courses with this in mind. One race might suit one type of person, eg a strong mountain runner, while the same race might be the worst for a swimmer. Across the series, there is something for everyone, so on balance it is fair.

Which race courses have you been particularly involved in creating?

In the early days, when ÖTILLÖ wanted to expand into Europe, I was involved in creating the first-ever race outside of Sweden in Engadin, Switzerland. Ironically, it was chosen as the favorite of our races recently in an Instagram favorite destination challenge.

I used to work and train for the ÖTILLÖ World Championship in Engadin during the summers and showed different alternatives for how an ÖTILLÖ Swimrun course could look there. Also, by knowing how Engadin sits in the middle of Europe/Alps, it could be an easily accessible location for foreigners to get to. Add to that the majestic beauty of the Engadin, which already attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.

ÖTILLÖ just introduced three new races for 2025: Catalina, Aland and Rügen, tell us about those?

Yes, we’re really excited to move ahead with these new events for 2025. Let’s start in chronological order: 

Bringing back Catalina has been a big demand from the community for a long time. We heard people really wanting it back so we have been working on this since 2023. Catalina has already proven itself a perfect destination for an ÖTILLÖ Swimrun event. Now we need the community to commit and register for this truly iconic US Series race in April 2025.

Åland will be a “next chapter” race for ÖTILLÖ. I have been to Åland many times and – knowing the very special landscape – have been very keen on bringing ÖTILLÖ here. Like the former Swimrun World Champion Daniel Hansson said when I showed him the course: “This is an absolute Swimrun paradise that I would never have found!”. 
Åland will be a tough race that offers a pure ÖTILLÖ experience, literally a lot of island jumping in an amazing terrain. 

Rügen delivers, together with Åland, a new opportunity for point to point racing, ie not a loop. Recently we only had that at the ÖTILLÖ World Championship. Travelling from point to point makes a Swimrun race a very special journey. Rügen is also designed as a swimmers race, with many long swim sections and fast runs. You will be surprised by the beauty Rügen has to offer with deep leafy forests and big open water swims. 

Overall, are there race courses that specifically suit Swimmers or Runners?

Yes, like Rügen for example. I believe that good swimmers will have an advantage on that course over the runners. What I find today, compared to when I was racing the most is that the best teams are almost equally good swimmers as runners. For the standard athlete, chasing points for the ÖTILLÖ World Championship qualification, it is smart to look at your strength, and choose races in accordance with that. Engadin would be the opposite to Rügen, Engadin in my eyes is a runners race. 

How do you approach a new race course design?

First I find an interesting destination. Normally by listening to the athletes in our community but also by looking at maps, a lot of different maps. I am a little crazy about looking at maps. After that, I’m looking at the type of terrain and how we could create an interesting course out of the terrain. When I have a rough outline of the course we contact the destination. After that follow a few research trips where we’re continuously fine tuning the course. I always make sure I have done the whole course before we put any athletes on it. 

Which is your favorite ÖTILLÖ race and why?

The Swimrun World Championship held in the Stockholm archipelago remains my undisputed favorite. It has all the right ingredients: distance, location, and the cream of the crop swimrunners. The pre-race tension is palpable, as no one knows for sure if they’ll even reach the finish line, given the potential for harsh, frigid, or scorching conditions. There’s also a sense of pilgrimage involved, the chance to tread and swim on the birthplace of swimrun itself, and perhaps interact with the sport’s pioneers or rub shoulders with current and past champions.

Do you have a favorite DISTANCE: WORLD SERIES, Sprint oR Experience?

This is a tricky one, it all depends on what you’re seeking. I always love the challenge of a long distance World Series event, it’s like a final test after weeks of hard training and preparations. On the other hand I also like the Sprint format which I think is the perfect distance if you are used to sports, have done some swimming and running and want to give Swimrun a try. But it is also a race in its own right for the really fast athletes. We have seen some very cool battles in Sprint races. Experience is what the name tells us, anyone, without any experience of swimming and running, or much training could do an Experience race at their own pace and still enjoy the beauty with swimrun. 

Which race course would you recommend for a first timer, maybe with different strengths?

Experience Utö, Åland and Rügen! Utö is for runners. Åland for both, Rügen for swimmers.

Any advice on how to prepare for a race?

The classic answer is practice your transitions in and out of the water. Here is a lot of time to be both lost and found. Knowing the course also helps a lot to maintain your energy. 

Which one is your favourite RACE outside the World Champs?

That’s like asking for your favorite kid! I love them all!