Casco Bay Course Preview 2023

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

Ödyssey Swimrun Casco Bay is coming up in a few weeks and we wanted to share a bonus episode with all the latest information about the 2023 edition. As some of you may know, the Casco Bay courses typically change every year or so. This year’s Long and Short Courses will be the same as 2022. As such, we will be re-sharing our conversation with–frequent guest of the show–John Stevens to walk us through the courses. So if you heard last year’s addendum bonus episode, all the course preview information will be the same.

If this is your first time racing Casco Bay we recommend that you check out our Course Preview episode for all the details about Portland Maine and the mechanics of the race. You can also check out our 2021 Race Report and/or our 2022 Race Report to get some more intel about the race.

2023 Meetups

We are hosting a Patreon brunch and plan to meeting at 10am near the ferry terminal. Envol Coaching will be in town and will be hosting a shakeout/clinic at noon on Saturday, July 8th. The shakeout will still be at East End Beach so mark your calendars for that. Finally, on July 9th, we will still be hosting our Third Annual Post-Race Party at 6pm at Brickyard Hollow located at 9 Commercial Street close to the ferry terminal.

2023 Short Course

If you’re racing the short course this year, check out our Couch to Casco episode (with John Stevens) from 2022 where we discuss everything you need to know about short course with some training and gear tips thrown in.

2023 Long Course Leg-by-Leg Breakdown

The Long course clocks in at 23-ish miles total with 18 miles of running and about 5 miles of swimming over 13 run sections and 12 swim sections.

We asked John Stevens to give us a leg-by-leg breakdown of the course and he did not disappoint. Our chat with John had a lot of great insight from the guy that designed the course to help everyone be as prepared as possible for the race. We recommend listening to his breakdown with the race map and the leg-by-leg breakdown from the show notes handy so you can orient yourself with the course while listening.

(2023 North to South Route)

Run 1: Chebeague Island (1 mile)

Swim 1: Chebeague (460 yds)

Run 2: Chebeague Island (3 miles)

Swim 2: Chebeague to Little Chebeague (685 yds)

Run 3: Little Chebeague (.5 miles)

Swim 3: Little Chebeague to Long Island (685 yds)

Run 4: Long Island (1.65 miles)

Swim 4: Long Island (930 yds)

Run 5: Long Island Sandbar (81 feet)

Swim 5: Long Island to Vaill Island (380 yds)

Run 6: Vaill Island (.55 miles)

Swim 6: Vaill to Long Island (530 yds)

Run 7: Long Island (1 mile)

Swim 7: Long to Cow Island (1375 yds) * Longest swim of the day

Run 8: Cow Island (.6 miles)

Swim 8: Cow to Great Diamond (300 yds)

Run 9: Great Diamond Island (1.65 miles)

Swim 9: Great Diamond to Peaks Island (775 yds)

Run 10: Peaks Island (3.1 miles) * Longest run of the day

Swim 10: Peaks to Cushing (975 yds)

Run 11: Cushing Island (3 miles)

Swim 11: Cushing to House (800 yds)

Run 12: House Island (.75 miles)

Swim 12: House to Peaks (725 yds)

Run 13: Peaks Island finish (350 feet)

Summary

We can’t wait to head back to Portland Maine and race our favorite event in the U.S. Swimrun circuit. Hope to see you there.

That’s it for this bonus episode. 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