You’ve Already Been Training for Swimrun. You Just Didn’t Know It.
A complete beginner’s guide to the sport that rewards swimmers - from what it is, to how to race it, to why you’re going to love it.
Guest blog by Chipper Nicodemus, Co-founder and Co-host of Löw Tide Böyz
Picture this: you’re mid-race, running a trail through the woods in your wetsuit, pull buoy bouncing at your back, paddles in hand, and then you hit the water. You don’t stop. You pull your goggles down, run straight in, and start swimming. A few hundred meters later, you’re out and running again.
That’s Swimrun. And if you’ve spent any real time in a pool, you’re already more prepared for it than you think.
While most endurance athletes are grinding through brick workouts trying to make their swim competitive, Swimrun is a sport where your swim is actually a superpower. Strong pool swimmers who’ve never raced a day in their lives have shown up to their first Swimrun and absolutely thrived because when you get to the water, you get to work. We (my teammate and co-host Chris and I) have done over 30 Swimruns together across the US and Europe since 2018, and we still believe that if you’re already a swimmer, this sport was built for you.
So, what actually is Swimrun?
The simplest way to put it: amphibious trail running. You race from point to point or on a loop course, alternating between swimming and running legs — no transition zone. No bike. No stopping to change gear. You run in your wetsuit, you swim in your shoes, and you just keep moving.
Swimrun was born in Sweden with the ÖTILLÖ race, which began as a drunken bet among four friends to cross 26 islands in the Stockholm Archipelago. That adventurous, point-to-point, whatever-nature-throws-at-you spirit is still baked into every Swimrun race today.
Unlike a triathlon, there are no standardized distances. Every course is unique, shaped by whatever terrain nature throws your way. Some races are swim-heavy, with longer open-water swims. Some are run-heavy with serious elevation. Some will take you through mountain lakes, island chains, or along wild coastlines. Each race typically offers multiple race distances for athletes to take on as much of a challenge as they can handle.
Photo by ÖTILLÖ Swimrun
The Adventure is the Point
Here’s what separates Swimrun from almost every other endurance sport: the adventure aspect. You’re not staring at a black line on the pool floor. You’re not riding a closed highway circuit. You’re moving through nature — real, raw, sometimes unexpected nature — and the sport rewards people who embrace that.
The first run might show 1.2 miles on the race website, but end up being 1.5 miles. The water might be colder than you expected. An aid station might be further than the map suggested. The athletes who thrive in Swimrun aren’t necessarily the fastest; they’re the ones who go with the flow, stay calm when things are “ish,” and find the joy in figuring it out as they go.
This is by design. The sport was built as an adventure, not a time trial. If you can lean into that mindset, you’re going to have a great day.
The Partner Thing, and Why it Makes Everything Better
Swimrun began as a team sport. You race with a partner — in my case, my friend and co-host, Chris — tethered together with a bungee cord —yes, literally connected for the swim. Races now typically offer a solo division, but if at all possible, we’d strongly encourage you to race as a team. It’s what makes the sport so unique.
One of the biggest misconceptions we hear from new Swimrunners is that you need to be matched with someone at exactly your speed. You don’t. We’ve done Swimruns with partners of vastly different fitness levels and had some of our best races. A stronger swimmer can lead the swims, and the tether keeps the team connected. On the runs, you tackle the course together and look out for each other. The sport naturally accommodates mismatches in a way triathlon or running races simply don’t.
What matters more than matching pace is aligning on goals before race day. Are you here to podium, or are you here to have an adventure? Do you want your partner to push you when things get hard, or do you need encouragement? What’s your fueling plan? Having these conversations ahead of time transforms your race experience. When one of you hits a low moment — and you will, that’s endurance racing — the other person knows what to do.
As for finding a partner: your local master's program, tri club or running group is a great starting point. ÖTILLÖ has a partner finder on its website with over 100 listings. And honestly? The shakeout swim or pre-race clinic the day before most events is one of the best places to find a last-minute partner. We’ve seen it happen more times than we can count — two people chatting on a dock can turn into a race team by the next morning.
Picking Your First Race
Because every Swimrun course is different, race selection matters. Think about your strengths. If you’re a strong swimmer but less confident on trails, look for a swim-heavy course. If you’ve got a solid running base, a more run-heavy course might suit you. Either way, go in expecting the unexpected, as distances are approximate, terrain varies, and the course will hand you something you didn’t plan for. That’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
For a first race, we generally recommend something in the short- to mid-range distance.
ÖTILLÖ-branded races have entry-level distances that are genuinely achievable for athletes who are already in decent swim shape. And because Swimrun alternates between swimming and running, the impact on your body is less than running the equivalent distance straight. The swim breaks give you more recovery than you’d expect.
The Gear (Simplified)
Yes, the gear looks a little wild at first glance. Wetsuits with the arms and legs cut off, giant foam buoys, hand paddles, and trail shoes going into the water. But the core kit is actually pretty simple:
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Swimrun wetsuit — purpose-built for running and swimming. Entry-level suits start around $200. Ark Sports has a rental program at most ÖTILLÖ USA events.
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Pull buoy — Swimrun-specific buoys are bigger and more buoyant than pool buoys. They counteract the drag from swimming in shoes. Around $50–60, or grab one used from the LTBz Facebook Swimrun Swap Meet.
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Swim paddles — paired with a pull buoy, paddles are a serious performance upgrade in the water. But train with them first, your shoulders will thank you.
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Goggles + shoes — open water goggles you already trust. For shoes, a grippy trail shoe with good drainage works fine for your first race.
The golden rule: nothing new on race day. Practice in all of it, especially the paddles. And don’t overthink it. 99% of Swimrunners are using the same basic setup. There’ll be time to experiment after you’ve done a race or two.
Photo by Tyler Ng @ski_run_ty
Training for Swimrun
Good news for pool swimmers: the general training recommendation for Swimrun starts with “swim more.” That’s already your thing. The stronger your swim fitness is going in, the better your race experience will be. Where people struggle in Swimrun is almost always in the water, not on the trail.
On the run side, train specifically for your course. Hilly race? Run hills. Flat course? Work on pace. You don’t need to be able to run the full distance straight through. Swimrun’s natural alternation between swimming and running means your body gets built-in recovery during the race.
The real secret weapon is the Swimrun practice session. Get yourself to a lake or open-water spot with your partner, set up a simple circuit: run a quarter mile, then swim a few hundred meters, and repeat. This will give you a good feel for transitioning between run and swim, and vice versa. This is also where you can figure out your order of operations for transitioning between disciplines: goggles first or pull buoy first? Paddles strapped or in hand? A race with 10 swim legs has 20 transitions. If each one costs you five minutes, that’s up to an hour of extra time on the course. Clean transitions aren’t just efficient — they’re how you enter what we call the Swimrun flow state, where you’re no longer swimming and then running, you’re Swimrunning.
Fuel Early, Fuel Often
Swimrunning burns a lot of calories. Going from cold water to warm air and back again puts real demands on your body — thermogenesis is working hard in the background, even when you can’t feel it. If you’re not fueling proactively, you will hit a wall.
The target is 60–90 grams of carbohydrates per hour. That means 2–3 gels per hour, plus electrolytes. Whoever eats the most wins, and aid stations exist but are “ish” in terms of location, so bring more than you think you need and don’t rely on them.
Train your gut before race day. Precision Fuel & Hydration offers a free race planner, and they know what Swimrun is — worth using as a starting point for figuring out your nutrition plan.
The Community is Your Secret Weapon
Swimrun is still a small enough sport that seeing another person in a wetsuit with a pull buoy makes you instant friends. The community is genuinely one of the warmest in endurance sports. No one minds a beginner asking about gear, transitions or race strategy. If anything, they’ll talk your ear off.
Go to the shakeout swim or pre-race clinic at your event. Join the Facebook groups. Find a Strava club. And check out our YouTube channel — Löw Tide Böyz — for how-to videos on everything from setting up your pull buoy to nailing your wetsuit cab down technique.
Welcome to the Flow State
Here’s the thing that nobody can fully explain until you’ve done it: at some point in your first Swimrun, you stop swimming and then running. You start Swimrunning. The transitions click. The flow kicks in. You run into the water without breaking stride and swim out the other side and keep going, and it just feels right in a way that’s hard to put into words.
We’ve heard this sentiment from people after their very first race, from every corner of the world. We’ve been chasing that feeling ourselves since 2018 and haven’t stopped yet. If you’re already a swimmer, you’re already most of the way there. Find a race, find a partner, and go for a swim, then a run, then a swim, then a run. Just keep going.
We will see ya out there!
