SwimRun

Kurt_Godel

SwimRun UK – Snowdonia
Saturday 6th August 2016
approx 8km swim & 38km run

OW swim race with open mountain running... its a 2-man event, looking for a partner who can swim and get mucky. Cost £280 / team of two athletes, not exactly cheap!

Failing that there's an event in Galway in Oct 2016.

griffin100

On the radar, but PF has me off running duty for I don't know how long (2 months of no running and no end in sight).

MalDoc

Kurt_Godel wrote: »

SwimRun UK – Snowdonia
Saturday 6th August 2016
approx 8km swim & 38km run

OW swim race with open mountain running... its a 2-man event, looking for a partner who can swim and get mucky. Cost £280 / team of two athletes, not exactly cheap!

Failing that there's an event in Galway in Oct 2016.

I'd possibly do Galway. If you're looking to win the thing though I'd be no good to you. What date in October?

Kurt_Godel

The Irish one is on Oct 9th.

I'd only go over to Snowdonia if a podium spot was on.

A whole new set of gear to fret over: whats not to like?

LaGlisse

link to galway event?

Kurt_Godel

Another one in Donegal 20th Aug http://www.brecaswimrun.eu/breca-arainn-mhor

griffin100

I like the look of that

MojoMaker

Breca caught my eye too.

sconhome

LaGlisse wrote: »

link to galway event?

Taking place in the wilds of Connemara near Lettermore. A recce has been done and work being done on getting it over the line with local landowners for access.

MalDoc

Kurt_Godel wrote: »

The Irish one is on Oct 9th.

I'd only go over to Snowdonia if a podium spot was on.

A whole new set of gear to fret over: whats not to like?

Sorry, only getting back to this now.

Away that week anyway but this spooked me from the brecca page.

"Do not underestimate the difficulty of this challenge – you will need to be both an experienced open-water swimmer and confident running in remote locations."

Maybe next year.

catweazle

sconhome wrote: »

Taking place in the wilds of Connemara near Lettermore. A recce has been done and work being done on getting it over the line with local landowners for access.

What kind of distance are you looking at Sean - mrs c is flying in the pool these days but I peeked at that one in Donegal - no way will she run that distance

Why October?

sconhome

catweazle wrote: »

What kind of distance are you looking at Sean - mrs c is flying in the pool these days but I peeked at that one in Donegal - no way will she run that distance

Why October?

It is not for faint hearted or try-a-tri by any stretch of the imagination. Looking like 8k of swimming with roughly 40k of mixed terrain running and coasteering.

October because most long distance triathletes will be finished their season yet have time to adjust training and the water temps are favourable. In October 2015 we were still 12-13 degrees even near the end of the month yet air temps not so high that running in a wetsuit was uncomfortable.

griffin100

sconhome wrote: »

It is not for faint hearted or try-a-tri by any stretch of the imagination. Looking like 8k of swimming with roughly 40k of mixed terrain running and coasteering.

October because most long distance triathletes will be finished their season yet have time to adjust training and the water temps are favourable. In October 2015 we were still 12-13 degrees even near the end of the month yet air temps not so high that running in a wetsuit was uncomfortable.

Will this be a team event?

October will be dicey for weather will it not?

BTH

sconhome wrote: »

It is not for faint hearted or try-a-tri by any stretch of the imagination. Looking like 8k of swimming with roughly 40k of mixed terrain running and coasteering.

Perfect for Mrs CW. Less so for Mr CW.

sconhome

griffin100 wrote: »

Will this be a team event?

October will be dicey for weather will it not?

Yes, 2 person male / male , female / female, mixed teams who must remain together at all times.

Ireland all months are dicey weather wise, can't let that determine anything and sure you'll be getting wet anyway

All levels of athletes are welcome though strict time cut offs apply which will mean only those who train and are ready for it will make it through the stages. Likely to be a weather course option for the swim but not a short course option.

Kurt_Godel

sconhome wrote: »

Likely to be a weather course option for the swim

Booo...

No better man to ask about the gear... from my preliminary googlings there is a specific "shorty" front-zip wetsuit. Are bouyancy shorts/neoprene vests/neoprene socks allowed? Inov8 trail runners, any suggestions?

sconhome

Kurt_Godel wrote: »

Booo...

No better man to ask about the gear... from my preliminary googlings there is a specific "shorty" front-zip wetsuit. Are bouyancy shorts/neoprene vests/neoprene socks allowed? Inov8 trail runners, any suggestions?

Now you have my attention!!

All is allowed and if you look at videos of other events you'll see that yes, there is a swimrun specific wetsuit which varies from brand to brand but essentially they are heavily padded on the outer thighs and torso for max lift esp with shoes on, minimal inner tight material to allow for chaf free running and a front & back zip to allow you open up and free the shoulders for running. Pockets on the inside for carrying food, gels, maps compass etc.

Also note as well as the suit most have hand paddles and a pull buoy strapped onto the leg, spin it out for run, swing in for swim.

Trail shoes full stop your only man. I would go free draining shoes (Mizuno Hayate likely my choice) though there's a nice new Brooks on the horizon for autumn which I have my eye on.

sconhome

Meant to add.

My own thoughts would be for year 1 neoprene short, heat vest and tri suit with trail shoes. Keep it nice and simple.

Oh did I mention the floaty safety buoys? .. . . . . .

MalDoc

Kurt_Godel wrote: »

Another one in Donegal 20th Aug http://www.brecaswimrun.eu/breca-arainn-mhor

Very intrigued by the format of this event. Too soon for me this year but will commit to giving it a good go next year.

What sort of training would you be thinking?
A good winter/summer of imra runs coupled with plenty of short sharp sea swims from April onwards....

griffin100

MalDoc wrote: »

Very intrigued by the format of this event. Too soon for me this year but will commit to giving it a good go next year.

What sort of training would you be thinking?
A good winter/summer of imra runs coupled with plenty of short sharp sea swims from April onwards....

Can't do proper links coz on phone but goggle training logs and race reports for OtillO, the original of this type of race. Lots of swim - run - swim - run etc sessions. Old school kit was a wetsuit with legs cut shorter, a waterproof bag and an ability to run in wet shoes. Take off top half of wetsuit for longer runs only. Don't need more than that I'd think (but then again I'm not a kit junkie).

MalDoc

griffin100 wrote: »

Can't do proper links coz on phone but goggle training logs and race reports for OtillO, the original of this type of race. Lots of swim - run - swim - run etc sessions. Old school kit was a wetsuit with legs cut shorter, a waterproof bag and an ability to run in wet shoes. Take off top half of wetsuit for longer runs only. Don't need more than that I'd think (but then again I'm not a kit junkie).

Cheers for that, will have a look tomorrow.
Would you be tempted yourself?
2-4 2 man teams from boards working as a pack would do damage!

GoHardOrGoHome

If you wanted to do it cheaply you could get an old tri suit, cut the legs off above the knee and fashion your own calf compression type sleeves with maybe some extra buoyancy shoved in?!

The whole idea of Swim Run sounds mental but also great fun.
I wonder how long those 8k/40k type races take? 7 or 8 hours maybe? I could of course look at some results pages!

sconhome

GoHardOrGoHome wrote: »

If you wanted to do it cheaply you could get an old tri suit, cut the legs off above the knee and fashion your own calf compression type sleeves with maybe some extra buoyancy shoved in?!

The whole idea of Swim Run sounds mental but also great fun.
I wonder how long those 8k/40k type races take? 7 or 8 hours maybe? I could of course look at some results pages!

You're right about the time 6-8 hours would be expected.

Buoyancy needs to be as close to the core as possible to give lift. Buoyancy at the calf will mean having to kick harder against the lift. Going with the old wetsuit, if you use the offcuts from the legs to stitch onto the thigh and tummy that would be the best use of material.

griffin100

MalDoc wrote: »

Cheers for that, will have a look tomorrow.
Would you be tempted yourself?
2-4 2 man teams from boards working as a pack would do damage!

OTillO has been on my bucket list for years but something like this would be just as good. My problem this year is with injury, I have ongoing PF issues from running and nerve problems in my hand, arm and shoulder from swimming. If it was a solo event I'd enter no bother, with it being a team event I would be wary of letting down my team mate if my injuries didn't clear up in time.

Ireland all months are dicey weather wise, can't let that determine anything and sure you'll be getting wet anyway

Having worked at sea on the west coast for a few years I can tell you that October can be dodgy enough for marine weather, but that would make the race all the more interesting especially if the organisers took a robust approach to allowing racing in bad weather.

Kurt_Godel

Breca Árainn Mhór is open for entry... €400 for a team of two.

I entered my name and details along with AN Other, got to the payment page without a whiff of any T&C's... not really willing to spend that money without knowing the policy on substitutions/cancellations etc.

Kurt_Godel

Rules here...

You can substitute one person prior to the event, and there's also a 70% refund policy up to 8 weeks prior. Fair enough, I guess. Entered it

peter kern

i see myself swimming with a 99 cm long and 35 cm wide airsufboard and red tyr paddles while drinking mojitos reading the rules ;-)

mad m

Give me swimming any day, but the running...ugh!!!! Cant run for $hite.

cart man

GoHardOrGoHome wrote: »

If you wanted to do it cheaply you could get an old tri suit, cut the legs off above the knee and fashion your own calf compression type sleeves with maybe some extra buoyancy shoved in?!

Does anyone know someone who could add a zip to the front of an old wetsuit?

MalDoc

The rules are very lenient to say the least. That equates to what <4km of a wetsuit swim. The running is no joke though.

mad m

cart man wrote: »

Does anyone know someone who could add a zip to the front of an old wetsuit?

You in dublin?

cart man

mad m wrote: »

You in dublin?

Yep

mad m

cart man wrote: »

Yep

I might know a bloke. I'll ask him first and get back to you.

Kurt_Godel

Question about swimrun- why the allowed swim toys? Surely it would be more natural to run in runners (and ok swim in wetsuit), and cut the rest of the crap?

sconhome

A team could be a strong swimmer, weak runner paired with a weak swimmer and strong runner. Pull buoys, paddles etc allow for an levelling effect.

The weight of wet footwear is also offset by the extra lift of the thicker swim/run wetsuit legs and pullbuoy.

Kurt_Godel

Cheers. It's always about equalising swim ability, nobody seems to give a damn about slow runners

Is your event still going ahead in October?

sconhome

So far so good. Been a bit of delay getting registration open on it. Part of the perils of joining up organisational forces I suppose.

68 lost souls

Kurt_Godel wrote: »

Cheers. It's always about equalising swim ability, nobody seems to give a damn about slow runners

Is your event still going ahead in October?

Yep let's bring in motors on bikes to balance poor cyclists on a triathlon :pac:

cart man

sconhome wrote: »

So far so good. Been a bit of delay getting registration open on it. Part of the perils of joining up organisational forces I suppose.

Any idea on distances, a gross amount of run, swim and total legs would be great. Thanks

68 lost souls

I see Breca Donegal now has a sprint distance also. 12km of running and 3.6km of swim

Kurt_Godel

68 lost souls wrote: »

I see Breca Donegal now has a sprint distance also. 12km of running and 3.6km of swim

The whole Irish Breca swimrun has been cancelled- owing to a lack of boats for safety cover. Very hard on those who had been training, and had purchased new gear etc., at least they are refunding entrants.

It was always a risk planning an event in NW Donegal seas. The likelihood of swim cancellation/curtailment is huge for any open event that relies on self-regulation for swim competency.

68 lost souls

Kurt_Godel wrote: »

The whole Irish Breca swimrun has been cancelled- owing to a lack of boats for safety cover. Very hard on those who had been training, and had purchased new gear etc., at least they are refunding entrants.

It was always a risk planning an event in NW Donegal seas. The likelihood of swim cancellation/curtailment is huge for any open event that relies on self-regulation for swim competency.

Sad to hear this. I was in no way ready for this even this year but would like to do it in the future when I improve my running abilities. Hope there is a chance of its return in the future,

Kurt_Godel

Sean, any update on the Oct Galway event?

pgibbo

Kurt_Godel wrote: »

Sean, any update on the Oct Galway event?

I was wondering the same when I saw all the updates on ST.

sconhome

Kurt_Godel wrote: »

Sean, any update on the Oct Galway event?

Ironically one of the reasons that we haven't opened the race is delays getting permission for land access. I didn't want to be taking registrations until the T's were crossed.

A lot closer but not there yet. Still provisional for October as planned.

Kurt_Godel

sconhome wrote: »

Ironically one of the reasons that we haven't opened the race is delays getting permission for land access.

Sounds like the run should be cancelled/curtailed

pgibbo

Early October I hope. i don't like the cold

Kurt_Godel

pgibbo wrote: »

Early October I hope. i don't like the cold

8th Oct according to FB. The tropical side of the month

I think having this event in October will appeal to all the triathletes who have finished their TI season. Looking forward to it- we could try and get a good few from here and make it a social event too?

mossym

are you still looking at the same distances sean? 8k/40k?

pgibbo

mossym wrote: »

are you still looking at the same distances sean? 8k/40k?

8k swim & 40k run. That'll take a bit of training

mossym

should have known he'd go full hog..:)