27 JUNE 2016
Swimrun – the new, rapidly growing sport of alternating trail running and open water swimming
The third event of the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series 2016 will for the third consecutive year take place on 10 July at the beautiful Engadin Valley in the heart of the Swiss Alps. 200 teams (sold out) are registered to ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin, a great variation to the two previous races in the world series, at Utö in the Stockholm archipelago and at Isles of Scilly off the coast of England.
The Engadin race takes place on mountain trails and in glacial alpine lakes. The course is long and tough with a total of 53 km of trail running and lake swimming with a total vertical gain of 1 450 metres. The highest swim is at 2 600 metres…
It is quite a sight to see athletes running in wetsuits on the beautiful alpine trails high up the mountains!
For the third edition of ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin, a maximum number of 200 teams of two will take on the challenging course in a stunning Alpine setting. The race is held on strenuous alpine trails, between and through beautiful yet glacial cold mountain lakes, and passing the famous alpine village St. Moritz, as well as the picturesque mountain towns Maloja, Sils, Champfer, to finally finish in Silvaplana.
The total distance of the race course is 53 km of which 46,5 km are trail running (in your wetsuit) and 6,5 km are open-water swimming through seven mountain lakes for eight different swims (in your running shoes). The course is further spiced up with 1 450 meters of vertical climb! It will not be easy. ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin is a good alpine equivalent and a difficult qualifier to the World Championship of Swimrun, ÖTILLÖ, the original swimrun race in the Stockholm archipelago, considered one of the toughest one-day races in the world (see further down for more information).
Teams representing 17 nations will battle it out to the finish line in Silvaplana, as the eight top placed teams qualify for a spot at ÖTILLÖ, the Swimrun World Championship, 5 September. The new format Swimrun is growing very popular as a sport worldwide and competitors are travelling to Engadin from all over Europe as well as from USA, Armenia, Uruguay and Russia.
Some of the strongest teams in the sport, including runner up World Champion Daniel Hansson, competing with Simon Börjesson from Sweden and last year’s second placers in Engadin, Igor Nastic and Jean-Marc Cattori from Ticino in Switzerland, will push it hard in the front. The second placed women’s team at Isles of Scilly, Rosemary Byde and Isobel Joiner from the UK will see tough competition in the Engadin local Natalia Muller (SUI) and her Swedish team mate Hanna Slotte. In the mixed category the winners at ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Isles of Scilly Martina Ågren and Oscar Davidsson are back in competition and will be interesting to follow. However, reigning women’s ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Champions will both compete in the mixed class; Annika Ericsson with Jakob Skott and Maja Tesch with German swimrun veteran Marcus Rössel.
But most importantly, the almost 400 competitors, as well as the 30 competitors for the 13,5 km sprint race on Saturday 9 July, are taking part to experience the fantastic spirit of swimrun racing; team spirit, preserving nature and spending a great time outdoors during a very tough course.
See all teams ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin 2016 here
Follow the race live on 10 July
You can follow the race with live tweets, instagram and leaderboard on http://otilloswimrun.com/live or come see it on site in the beautiful Engadin Valley! Race HQ is at the Sports centre in Silvaplana.
About Swimrun and ÖTILLÖ – the Swimrun World Championship
Swimrun is the fast growing sport where you in teams of two alternate trail running and open water swimming on a marked course. There is no time to lose – you run in your wetsuit and swim in your shoes! It is a unique sport and experience as you always race with a partner and the race course is out in wild nature.
The sport has grown hugely popular amongst endurance sport athletes, triathletes, trail runners, swimmers and nature lovers. It has drawn the attention to celebrities like Pippa Middleton who competed successfully in the ÖTILLÖ World Championship last September.
ÖTILLÖ (meaning island to island in Swedish) is the original and the world’s longest swimrun race, renowned as one of the toughest one-day races in the world. You run 65 km on island trails, slippery rocks, unbeaten terrain and you swim a total of 10 km in the cold water of the Baltic Sea.
ÖTILLÖ is celebrating its 11th edition on 5 September 2016. 120 teams participate and 700 teams are on the waiting list. ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Engadin is part of the ÖTILLÖ World Series, culminating with the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship.
Media Contact
To follow the race on site, for images and/or further information please contact:
Josefine Ås
pr@otilloswimrun.com
+33 6 79 04 23 46
http://otilloswimrun.com/races/engadin/
