By Erik Froode
Have you ever finished a swimrun that’s only a 15-minute walk from the subway? There aren’t many races where you can sightsee and race on the same day. Actually, moving through the Stockholm Swimrun course, you hardly notice that you’re near the heart of Sweden’s capital but, as you might have guessed, you won’t be exposed to swims between two remote islands or the off-trail runs in the middle of nowhere, but don’t you worry, the parks, forests and castles along the course will compensate for that.
After the race you can relax in the finish area and whenever you feel ready to leave you can be in the city centre in just 30 minutes using public transportation.
In just one sentence, Stockholm City Swimrun is an entry race with merit points close to a major city. The race organisation wants this race to be simple, fun and unpretentious and as an entry race, wants to get more people to try this adventurous and varied sport. We believe that doing your best is good enough: If you don’t master the crawl, breaststroke works fine. If the full course is too long, there’s a sprint race. The Generation Swimrun follows the same course as the sprint but one team member must be between 12 and 17 years old.
The course starts with a short run through the woods followed by the first and, by far, longest swim. You move from Edsviken to Brunnsviken through the narrow channel called Ålkistan. After the first swim, you high five and realise that you’ve almost done half of the total swimming distance. You then move quickly onto gravel roads in beautiful park areas and swim along Brunnsviken, passing the Castle Haga, where the Swedish Princess Victoria lives with her family. As an extra challenge, you get to climb a really steep hill on the way.
Leaving Brunnsviken behind after the fourth swim, you hit the forest trails that lead to the most remote part of the course, the island of Kaninholmen. From there, you pass Castle Ulriksdal, which you can admire while stopping at the third energy station. Edsviken will be on your left, or you will be in Edsviken, until you turn right for the last run back to the start/finish-area at Stora Skuggan. Don’t forget to close the gate behind you, we don’t want to let out the Royal sheep!
Stockholm City Swimrun aims to be a race where everyone is welcome. Bring your friends and family to Stockholm for a race and city weekend. When you finish, there’s quality food cooked on-site and a cold beer if you’d like. And of course, a hug from the always so excited race director, Fredrik.
New for this year is that Stockholm Swimrun will organize five training sessions in Stockholm before the race (May 9, 16, 23, 30 and June 6). Sign up for the newsletter and follow Stockholm Swimrun in social media to get all updated information.
Race day: June 10
Full course: 23 km run, 4 km swim
Transitions: 20
Sprint and Generation Course: 6 km run, 1 km swim
Website: www.stockholmswimrun.com
Facebook: stockholmswimrun
Instagram: @stockholmswimrun
Article first published in Swimrun Life Magazine Issue # 2 (Apr/May 2017)
