Swimrun 101: Top 5 Tips for New Swimrunners

Welcome to episode 132 of the Löw Tide Böyz - A Swimrun Podcast!

This week we have the latest installment in our Swimrun 101 series. In this episode, we are discussing our “official” LTBz top 5 tips for new Swimrunners entering the sport. We get these questions a lot and since we are on a mission to get as many people into the sport as possible, we thought that we would lay out our best thinking on what you should be thinking about if you’re new to this awesome sport. Also, because we are the first to say that we don’t have it all figured out, we asked some of our friends/uber experienced Swimrunners for their insights that we share along the way. Huge thanks to Marcus, Amy and Trista, and Bronwen and Greg for their help in getting this episode together.

Let’s get right to it…

Tip 1: Start Swimming More

Swimrun is more than just alternating swimming and running. At its purest, it’s a sport where participants try to move as seamlessly through nature as possible on their way from A to B. Taking that mindset is the best way to approach your first race.

That being said…you should start swimming more. The stronger of a swimmer that you become, the more likely that you will have a positive experience at your first event. Put another way, unlike run legs when you can walk, stop, or take a break, during swim legs you just have to get them done and the more confident of a swimmer you are, the less likely that your event will be an ordeal. We recommend that you incorporate swim paddles (that are the right size for you) and a buoy to simulate what you will likely be using during a race.

Not sure where to get started with Swimming. We recommend that you check out Tower 26 coaching. They have an awesome online Swim coaching program that we’ve used and helped us tremendously to progress our swimming.

Bonus Tip 1b: Eat/Drink More Than You Think You Need

It’s amazing how many calories you can burn while Swimrunning and you should be practicing your nutrition strategy along with race strategy. Bronwen and Greg of Team Boston Wet Sox (AKA, the most successful American team in the history of the sport) recommend the same and add that if you’re having negative thoughts, it probably means that you are hungry.

Tip 2: Don’t Stress Over Swimrun Gear

We all love getting new gear and Swimrun opens up a whole new bevy of gear options for us to obsess over. Our advice is to try not to. While procuring a Swimrun-specific wetsuit is a good idea so that you have that key piece of kit covered, you can pretty much get by with whatever you have hanging around the house for the rest of your kit. You can use any trail shoe that you might already own, you can DIY a pull buoy setup (a fun rite de passage for all new Swimrunners), and experiment to find what works for you.

That being said, Bronwen and Greg highly recommend that you use a tether (if racing with a partner) and a pull buoy with more floatation that your average pool pull buoy *cough* Ark Keel *cough*. They make a huge difference.

If you insist on getting new gear, our hierarchy of things to get are: 1, a good Swimrun wetsuit; 2, a mondo Euro-style Pull Buoy; 3, good swim paddles that are the right size for you; and 4, Swimrun-specific or well-draining trail shoes with good lugs on the soles.

Trista and Amy from Team Adorkable recommend that before you go “I’d never use…” to look at what most other Swimrunners are using and be willing to try something new since there’s probably a good reason why people use things like “the tether.”

Similarly, Marcus Barton, AKA Mr. Low Tide Boy 2020, and the most experienced Swimrunner in America, suggests that you use the current evolution of Swimrun gear as your baseline. You’ll thank yourself later.

Looking for used Swimrun gear? Make sure to check out the Swimrun Swap Meet on facebook where you can find used, new, and free Swimrun gear for your first event.

Tip 3: Swimrunning is Cold Business

Understanding that you’ll be wet for the better part of a few hours at a minimum means that managing body temperature is important to do correctly to have a positive first experience. What we term as “heat management” is making sure that you’re not cooking in your wetsuit or shivering during the swims. This takes practice…and using the correct gear to help mitigate what the elements are throwing at you.

Marcus recommends that you don’t do all your swimming and running training separately. Go on a Swimrun adventure or, if you’re in an urban setting, use your pool and some local roads to get a feel for the sport. This will help better understand whether you run cold or hot and you can start sorting out what your gear considerations should be to make sure that you stay in a good place temperature-wise.

Tip 4: Find Your Swimrun Mindset

As the late Jeff Cole would say, “Swimrun is not triathlon.” Swimrun is an adventure sport. It’s less of a time trial and more of a journey from point A to B. While we love triathlon, we think that what makes Swimrun so great is that it takes you places, both physically and mentally, that is just different from triathlon. One of the reasons that we always recommend Swimrun to triathletes is because it’s such a change of pace from those types of events.

Bronwen and Greg suggest that you incorporate Swimrun practices where you test out your equipment but also practice transitions. It’s easy to feel flustered heading into or out of a swim but practicing even just a couple of times really helps with confidence and help you find your Swimrun happy place.

A few other things that are core to the Swimrun mindset: Be comfortable with ambiguity and go with the flow; Practice heads up racing whether you are racing solo or working together with your partner; Help any other Swimrunner in need; Don’t litter and pick up any trash that you see; and, most importantly, enjoy the adventure.

Tip 5: Embrace the Vibes

By vibes we mean the positive, super supportive, welcoming, Fun (capital F), and “we are all in this together” ethos that Swimrun promotes. The greatest thing about Swimrun is the community and the best part is that everyone is welcomed.

Marcus suggests that folks try as many different events as they can. Each one is unique and that is one of the beauties of the sport. Bonus points to bring as many friends as you can along the way.

Trista and Amy recommend that you ask questions. At some point, everyone was new and had the same questions as you. Swimrunners love talking about Swimrun (ain’t that the truth!) and folks are happy to share what has worked for them to help them on their journey.

In many ways, this podcast was born out of the fact that we didn’t know anyone that we could ask our beginner questions and we were figuring it out as we went along. This show is basically an overengineered way of helping folks not make the same mistakes we made.

As ever, feel free to email or DM us if you have any questions or if there are topics that you would like for us to cover in future Swimrun 101 or 201 episodes. Also, send us your tips if you think we missed something or you have a bonus tip that we should add to the forthcoming website page.

That’s it for this week’s show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player and leave us a five-star review. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, and on YouTube. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram. Email us at lowtideboyz@gmail.com with any feedback and/or suggestions. Finally, you can support our efforts on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.

Thanks for listening and see you out there!

- Chip and Chris