Öloppet is for many the definition of swimrun, it was one of the first and it is one of the biggest in terms of participants. It contains approximately 34 km of running, lots of which is through technical cliff-terrain and 6 km of swimming in salty and sometimes rough water.
2015 we raced the sprint versions (23 km) which resulted in a win. 2016 we started the long course, but DNF’d about half way through due to illness. So this year we are very happy to have completed the full course and to finish on the podium! Our time of 4:35 was enough for the bronze against an extremely strong field (full results here)!
This year’s race was an eventful one! It included our drag-line snapping during the start, me almost crying in fear and frustration while running on the rocks, Johan’s legs cramping in the water, me pulling most of the running on the non-technical sections, plenty of yelling at each other, and a finale of Johan shitting in this wetsuit to save the team’s podium spot (more about that later!)!
While I am very happy that my body felt physically strong throughout the race, I am less happy with how frustrated I was at times. I get competitive tunnel-vision while I race and my already lacking patience sometimes goes to zero. This race was a good example of that. I was frustrated from start to finish with our decision to use fins. And my frustration over my fear of the cliffs made me even slower on the cliffs as I got more and more angry with myself with each step! However, I am happy to have had this race to remind me of the importance of keeping things in perspective while racing going in to ÖtillÖ. Those 10 hours of racing will be a lot nicer if the tone between us remains happy and calm.
During the start someone dropped equipment and when they turned around to get it they ran right between Johan and I resulting in our drag-line snapping in half. So our complete focus during the first 500 m run was to try to repair the line. When we got to the water, we still hadn’t succeeded, but at this point during the race I was still calm so when we got to the water and Johan was putting on the finns I was able to place a knot that held the entire race. Johan did a monster job of pulling the first 1000 m swim. We flew by hundreds of people! Johan pushed so hard so that we wouldn’t have to cue behind too many teams on the first island as we have experienced during our previous times on this course. Unfortunately, this effort may also have been the reason that Johan struggled with the running throughout the race. Unfortunately, the fins only fit Johan so he is stuck pulling the swims, which means that I am well rested and ready to go for the runs, but he isn’t.
Throughout the race we fought over position with our friends Johan and Anna. They are much faster than us getting in and out of the water and on the technical sections, while we are faster in the water and on non-technical running. When Johan’s stomach started cramping during the 8 km run we knew that they were right behind us and if we stopped they would catch up. Generally, it is always better to stop in a bush if you are having stomach problems since you typically just lose a minute, but can then accelerate 10-30 sec/km in the running afterwards. In this case, Johan took alternative three, go while running! An experience that he does not hope to repeat! Please contact him if you want more details 😉
By the time that we got to the last 1000 m of swimming, Johan’s legs were so cramped that he couldn’t swim with the fins anymore so I ended up wearing them and pulled the swim with my upper body and kept my legs still. The combination of him emptying his stomach and resting on the last swims, allowed him to be able to run the last kilometers without too much problems. Anything for a podium-spot, right!?!
I love Johan and I love racing! Despite what probably was quite the sight to observe, we had a great time racing together and Öloppet is a wonderful race in every way 🙂 Now time to mentally and physically prepare for ÖtillÖ in just 4 weeks!
Happy Swimrun 