Low Tide Boyz, a Swimrun Podcast

Welcome to episode ninety-seven of the Löw Tide Böyz - A Swimrun Podcast!We’ve got our last race report for 2021 to share with everyone this week! We just got back from the Lone Star state after racing Ödyssey Swimrun Austin Long Course on November 7th and we’re super stoked to share what was a great weekend for Swimrunning. (Spoiler Alert: We had our best race to date!)Initial ThoughtsThere were a lot of thoughts going into race weekend. It was unexpectedly our last race of the year after ÖTILLÖ Catalina was postponed to March 2022. It was the first time that we would be racing the same course after having raced the inaugural Ödyssey Swimrun Austin in 2020. Being able to have an “apples to apples” comparison was definitely intriguing for us given how much improvement we had seen from race to race this year.With all this in mind, we were super stoked to go back to Pace Bend Park and spend some quality time with our Swimrun Community.LTBz Shakeout Swimrun (Austin Edition)It was great to be back in Pace Bend and get there early enough to host a Shakeout Swimrun on Saturday for everyone that was already in town. Over 35 people showed up and we had a ton of fun Swimrunning part of the course and taking a bunch of jumps at the cliff jump area. We ended the shakeout with some fika (minus the coffee) in honor of Team Adorkable that was racing in North Carolina the same weekend.Race DayIt was cold and super foggy on race morning. So foggy that Ödyssey made the very prudent call to push the start time for the long course from 7:00am to 7:45am. Once the race started we knew that we were going to have a good day. We really didn’t know how good of a day we were having until the out and back section of Run 4 and saw that there was only one team (and two solo athletes: Adrian and Josh) ahead of us. We figured out that we were pretty solidly in second place and spent the rest of the race making sure that we consolidated that position and weren’t passed. As we neared the last swim of the day a volunteer told us that we were three minutes back from the first place team. At that point, we were just racing the clock since it looked like a sub three hour finishing time looked possible. We crossed the finish line and got confirmation from the Voice of Swimrun himself that we finished in second place. (We were only 0:03:43 behind the winning team of Vincent and Justin, A.K.A. Team Eggplant Emoji.)Obviously, this was our first Swimrun podium haha!Our race stats: finish time: 2:56:43. Good for 2nd place Overall, 2nd place Men's team. (84 teams registered)Given that the field wasn’t as deep as in 2020 due to a bunch of teams racing at Swimrun NC the same weekend, we thought that calibrating our improvement would be a more accurate measure of our development as a team. We finished last year’s race in 3:30:16. Our 2021 finishing time was 0:33:33 faster! Another comparison was our overall pace: this year our overall average pace was 10:38/mi. In 2020 our overall pace was 12:21 per mile. A difference of 1:43/mi.Final ThoughtsObviously, we are overjoyed with our race result and the progress that we have made all year. There are a lot of people to thank for all that progress and you know who you are. We are also so appreciative for all the congratulatory notes from our worldwide Swimrun community. We’re looking forward to a break from training and then get back to our Swimrun journey at ÖTILLÖ Catalina in March.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

11 Nov 202154min

Welcome to episode ninety-six of the Löw Tide Böyz - A Swimrun Podcast!This week we have the super talented Swimrun photographer, Mark Simmons, on the show. If you’ve enjoyed those amazing photos from Ödyssey Swimrun over the last few years, then you’ve likely seen Mark’s work. More on this later in the show.But first... Training UpdateIt’s race week for Ödyssey Swimrun Austin! This also means that it’s a taper week for us. We’re looking forward to racing the Austin course again and seeing everyone in TX.ShoutoutsThis week we’re shouting out Marie and Katie, A.K.A., Team Twisted Sisters-Colo. They reached out recently to tell us that they are racing their first Swimrun at Ödyssey Swimrun Austin this weekend and we’re super stoked for them. We predict that they will have a blast!Feats of EnduranceThis week’s award goes to Kelsie Pearson. Not only is she half of Team Cali Swimrun Girls (check out our interview with Kelsie and Caroline Wolek in episode 33) but last week she threw down a 2:58 marathon at the Rock’n’Roll San Diego Marathon. That’s a 6:47/mile pace if you’re keeping score at home. She definitely, uhm, rocked it!Check out and join our Strava Club and join Swimrunners from around the world as they train for Swimruns and stuff.This Week in SwimrunAll the news that we could find on the internet is contained herein.The Swimrun season is winding down but it’s going out with a bang! There are three races taking place this weekend and we’re super stoked about all of them.In the United States, Swimrun NC and Ödyssey Swimrun Austin are both taking place on November 7th and both events are either sold out or very close to.In Europe, ÖTILLÖ's last race of the season is taking place on the island of Malta. Best of luck to U.S. Mixed Teams Bronwen and Greg of the Boston Wet Sox and Mel and Andy of Team California Swimrun who are crossing the Atlantic to race the 39km World Series distance.In case anyone at home is wondering, yes, this race is on our bucket list. That’s it for this week. Be sure to tip us off if there’s any news that you would like for us to share on the show.UpdatesIt’s free sticker time!! We’ve surpassed 50,000 total downloads and we’re getting close to our 100th episode so we are celebrating by giving away free stickers to commemorate both and show our immense gratitude for everyone that has tuned in to our brand of super-niche Swimrun content. Want some free stickers? Just go to lowtideboyz.com/stickers and fill out the form and we’ll put some low tide love in the mail to anywhere in the world. If you’re racing Ödyssey Swimrun Austin this weekend, we are hosting a casual Swimrun shakeout meetup on Saturday, November 6 at 11 am at the Grisham Trail near the location of the cliff jump for a super chill 3-5k Swimrun/cliff jump practice. We’re not totally sure where the best place to park will be but we’ll try to get as close to the cliff jump area as we can and take it from there. Send us a DM if you think you’re going to make it so we can plan snacks accordingly.Mark Simmons, Swimrun PhotographerIt was super fun to chat with Mark about how he got into photography and wound his way to being the chief photographer for Ödyssey Swimrun. We chatted about his process for scoping out great shot locations, how he moves along a course without wearing a Swimrun wetsuit, and a lot more. Mark’s also a wedding photographer so he’s got that going for him. This interview as great fun and we hope that you enjoy it.You can follow Mark Simmons on Instagram.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

4 Nov 202139min

Welcome to episode ninety-five of the Löw Tide Böyz - A Swimrun Podcast!The fifth edition of ÖTILLÖ Cannes took place a few weeks ago (October 16-17) and we are super stoked to share our race recap of that epic race with special guests Sabina Rapelli and Alexis Charrier of Team Envol Switzerland - HEAD. We’ve been huge fans of them since they won ÖTILLÖ Catalina in 2020. We have a lot in store for this episode so let’s get right to it!LTBz Correspondents in the FieldWe have to give a special shoutout to our friends Tobias and G Flo, A.K.A. Team Max Mockermann, for taking over our IG feed on race weekend and sharing the sights and sounds of their adventure in Cannes. They are awesome and their enthusiasm for Swimrun is 100% infectious. Thanks again guys!ÖTILLÖ Cannes 2021 RecapIn short, it was the perfect weekend for Swimrunning in the south of France. ÖTILLÖ describes the race as a “true ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series course with islands to cross and lots of fantastic nature. It is challenging and fun with two big hills, single track trails, amazing views and beautiful water to swim in.” That checks off all the boxes for us! We got more intel for everyone thanks to our field correspondents Tobias and G Flo. They chatted with Emma and Brandon that manage logistics and operations for ÖTILLÖ to ask how the race started in Cannes and the demands on them as they put on a world class event. The World Series Distance ResultsThe World Series distance race is 44.2km (27.5 miles) of total distance with 36.1km (22.4 miles) of mixed trail/road/sand running and 8,100m (8,858yds) of swimming. The longest run was around 7.3km and the longest swim was 1,400m. The course also had 357m (1,171ft) of elevation gain which doesn’t sound like a lot but most of it is gained on the Port de Cannes run leg.Women’s Team Podium:1st Place: ARK Swimrun Helena & Kristin (Helena Sivertsson and Kristin Larsson) [Reigning World Champions]2nd Place: Team Envol/Primalcoaching (Johanna Paulsson and Anna Hellström)3rd Place: ARKsouls Addnature (Helen Wikmar and Evelina Järvinen)Mixed Team Podium:1st Place: Team Envol - Desirée & Victor (Desirée Andersson and Victor Hugo) [Second Place Overall!)2nd Place: Team Envol Switzerland - HEAD (Sabina Rapelli and Alexis Charrier)3rd Place: TC WEPPES - NUSWIMRUN (Pierre-Louis Senechal and Angèle Duhem)Men’s Team Podium:1st Place: ARK Swimrun France (Hugo Tormento and Max Andersson) 2nd Place: Will and Max (Maxime Picot and William Even)3rd Place: Team Surprise (Benjamin Dupain and David Pesquet)Overall, the weather was perfect for race weekend and the vibe of the entire event was one of gratitude and fun. If you’re still on the fence about putting this race on your bucket list, check out the hype video for this year’s race by Rasmus Lodenius and the rest of the ÖTILLÖ media crew.Special Race Report with Sabina and AlexisIt was really fun to sit down with Sabina and Alexis a few days after their second place finish in the World Series distance. As we mentioned at the beginning, we have been huge fans of theirs since Catalina and they have been on our list of teams that we wanted to interview for the show since then. We’re glad to finally have them on and chat about their Swimrun journey including how they met (thanks Nicolas Remires) and started racing together, how they trained and stayed motivated during COVID, their 2nd place finish at ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship, their Cannes race, and what is up next for them.We loved this conversation and know that you will too!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.Thank you for listening and see you out there!-  Chip and Chris

28 Okt 202145min

Welcome to episode ninety-four of the Löw Tide Böyz - A Swimrun Podcast!On the show this week we have our course preview for Swimrun NC. We're joined by Co-Race Director Herbert Krabel, Marcus Barton, and Bronwen and Greg Dierksen of the Boston Wet Sox to share everything you need to know about this epic ÖTILLÖ Merit Race in beautiful Hanging Rock State Park in North Carolina.THE STORYSwimrun NC has a really cool history. Check out our interview with co-race director Herbert Krabel to get the origin story of this cool race. Now in its 5th year, Swimrun NC offers Swimrunners a unique challenge. We asked Herbert to come on the show to share with us why athletes should have this race on their bucket list.Starting and finishing in Hanging Rock State Park, Swimrun NC is just 30ish miles north of Winston-Salem. There are several airport options to get to North Carolina in Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh. Lodging near Hanging Rock is sparse unless you’re ok with a campground. Otherwise look for lodging in Winston-Salem.THE RACEThe course is 16ish miles with 14 miles of running and 2 miles of swimming broken up into 11 runs and 9 swims with significant elevation thrown in. This isn’t your beginner’s Swimrun race but it does start and finish at a brewery so there’s that.Annotated Leg By Leg BreakdownRun 1: Green Heron Ale House to Hanging Rock Lake (4.5 miles)  First .4 miles are on a gravel road and that’s where teams sort themselves out before hitting the single track Along the way climb through Window Falls which is one of the most picturesque parts of the courseIf you’re racing, make your move before you get to the waterfall because it will bottleneck and slow you downSwim 1: Hanging Rock Lake (500m/547yd)This is one of the main aid station/checkpoints in the course that you pass several timesRun 2: Northern Lake trail (.2 miles)Swim 2: Cut across bay (25m/21yd)Run 3: Traverse waterfall (.2 miles)Swim 3: Hanging Rock Lake (500m/547yd)aid station/checkpointRun 4: Northern Lake trail (.2 miles)Swim 4: Cut across bay (25m/21yd)Run 5: Traverse waterfall and continue to Moore's Wall (2.1 miles)Moore’s Wall has a 642 step stair climb but there’s a lot of climbing before getting to the stepsDon’t burn all your matches on this leg of the racesmall aid station/checkpoint (the aid is rationed at the top so make sure you take some extra hydration at the previous aid stationRun 6: Traverse of Moore's Wall and descent to lake (2.2 miles)Some tricky trails here so watch your footingConsider untethering here because of the technical descendSwim 5: Hanging Rock Lake (500m/547yd)aid station / checkpointRun 7: Northern lake trail (.2 miles)Swim 6:  Cut across bay (25m/21yd)Run 8: Traverse waterfall (.2 miles)Swim 7: Hanging Rock Lake (500m/547yd) aid station/checkpointRun 9: Northern lake trail (.2 miles)Swim 8:  Cut across bay (25m/21yd)Run 10: Traverse waterfall climb through Cascades Falls and descend to Dan River (5.7 miles)The Cascade Falls are about half a mile into this legThis is an out and back so you might see people running in the opposite direction (Up or down depended where you are on the out and back)Consider cabbing down if it’s a warm dayThis is the last time to gain any ground on other teams if you’re racingSwim 9: Rock walls to Green Heron Ale House (900m/984yd)Longest swim of the day The river can be pretty shallow at pointsConsider this as a voting strategyTry to swim the river the day before the race if you can to get a good sense of what to expect on race dayRun 11: Stairs to finish (50yd)THE STRATEGYWe asked The Deirksens for their strategy tips for approaching the unique challenges that Swimrun NC presents to teams. They outlined where to make moves if teams are racing, how to approach the toughest parts of the course, and where to make sure that you take on bonus hydration. As usual, they dropped some major knowledge bombs and we are grateful for their willingness to share their experience with us.THE TRAININGWe asked Marcus Barton (three-time race winner of Swimrun NC) to share his thoughts about how to approach training for the unique features of the race. He recommended training on hills both uphill and downhill and on technical trails as much as possible. He also recommends having confidence in the shoes that you will be using for the race which means practicing simulating race conditions if you can to gain confidence in your shoe choice.CLOSING THOUGHTSWe hope that this course preview gives everyone a good sense of what to expect on race day and how to prepare for the challenge that this ÖTILLÖ Merit race offers to Swimrun teams.These episodes are an iterative process so please let us know what you think about this evolving format.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

21 Okt 202133min

Welcome to Gear Talk with our friends Annie and Brooke from Swimrun Labs. This week we have a special guest to help us with this week’s review: Marcus Barton.In this episode we have a long-awaited wetsuit review. We were finally able to get to test the “new” Orca RS1 Swimrun Wetsuit thanks to Marcus who owned one and he and Chris shared their unfiltered thoughts after testing it.The complete review is coming later in the show.Gear UpdatesBoth Brooke and Annie were (finally) convinced by Chris to buy the Surf Ears 3.0 ear plugs and both thought that they were a game changer.Chipper has been training in the Ark Sports VIGG leading up to Ödyssey Swimrun Austin. He’s loving it but did experience some chaffing around the neckline.Chris recently picked up a pair of the new Adidas Terrex Speed Pro Trail running shoes through one of his hookups. They haven’t been tested yet but out of the box they are pretty minimal, appear to have excellent drainage, and grip on the soles. Full review coming soon.Guest Gear ReviewThank you to Adam and Matthew of Team Jersey Buoys for the guest review! Adam recently tried an UTTER brand swimrun wetsuit for their Orcas race a few weeks back. He didn’t share a lot of details but thought it was a great suit. Untethered ThoughtsBrooke has felt very untethered this past year due to COVID and training pretty much in isolation. She was in pure Swimrun bliss to be able to be at Orcas Island and feel the energy of everyone at the race. She was worried about her passion for the sport but it has been renewed and we are all happy for that!Shout Out We wanted to give a special shout out to our friend Adrian Cameron for sharing with us some major details about how he’s been testing shoes for Swimrun. We will be giving his special spreadsheet it’s own episode but we wanted to make sure to thank him for sharing the knowledge before we unpack his spreadsheet.Orca RS1 Swimrun Wetsuit ReviewIt was great to have Marcus who has a lot of experience using Orca suits and, other than Chris, is the only one to have used/tested the suit.The RS1 retails for $499 and it is Orca’s top-of-the-line suit. Orca website describes the RS1 as being designed using the latest innovations for this suit and claims that it was created for Swimrunners by Swimrunners. The suit comes in men’s and women’s sizes. (We were all disappointed that the women’s suits only came in 5 sizes while the men’s suits came in 9 sizes. Thanks to Swimrun Labs for pointing this out.) The most interesting innovation of the suit is “revolutionary vest-like” construction on the upper that opens like a, uhm...vest. It makes the wetsuit very easy to put on and cab down and we were curious to see how it would hold up during a Swimrun.Swimming ImpressionsMarcus thought that the suit performed well in the water. There was some water that would get in the front from the bottom of the vest-like upper. He thought that suit was a bit on the warm side and good for cold races.Chris thought that the suit was almost too buoyant. It worked well in cold water because the material was a bit thicker than other suits that other high-end suits use. He thought that the material in the shoulders was a bit thicker than he would have liked.Transition ImpressionsChris and Marcus agreed that cabbing down is super easy to do solo but there was a lot of material flowing around once it was at the waist. Marcus said it was akin to wearing a cape. Cabbing up was a bit tougher to get the zipper teeth lined up while running. This could be even tougher with cold hands.Marcus noticed that there was a potential issue when exiting the water that it was possible to create a bunching in the front of the suit and it would create a gap and suck in water while trying to stand up. Marcus’s partner Caleb mentioned that during Casco Bay a few years back that he would get sand in his suit from the water going in. (“A negative pressure syphon.” -- Anne Molsberry)Running ImpressionsChris thought that the suit was pretty hot to run in because the back panel was pretty thick. The bottoms were pretty thick and the pockets in the front were pretty worthless. He did like where the seams were placed in the crotch area and it was super comfortable.Marcus agreed that the legs of the RS1 are too thick and could fatigue your hips on a long race. The pockets in the front weren’t well designed and it was possible to lose gels or other stuff due to the placement.Pull Buoy Rankings RankingsMarcus 2.5 Pull BuoysMarcus thought that the vest-like upper was a “neat” idea but it didn’t just didn’t seem to fit. For a high-end suit, he would have expected much more flexibility in the shoulder. He also got chaffing around the neck every time he used it.Chris 2 Pull BuoysChris was very disappointed with the suit. For the price point, not worth the money. He expected more tech for the price point. The internal pockets on the front waistband were worthless. The lower half of the suit was non-smooth neoprene and didn’t feel particularly better than the Synergy entry-level suit and would have expected a thinner material. The internal pockets in the front thighs for extra buoyancy pads seemed unnecessary given how thick the bottoms were. Finally, he would rather use an entry-level Ark Sports KORP or a Synergy Swimrun Wetsuit over this suit any day of the week and on race day. Overall ImpressionsWe were definitely bummed that the 3rd generation of the RS1 missed the mark. For the price point, we expected much more technology and better/thinner materials. Ultimately, the vest-like top/cab down feature, while clever, is not enough to save this suit. That’s it for this week’s Gear Talk show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, please be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify,  and Google Podcast. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram. Email us at lowtideboyz@gmail.com with any feedback, suggestions, and/or meme ideas. Finally, you can also support us on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.

19 Okt 20211h 2min

Welcome to episode ninety-three of the Löw Tide Böyz - A Swimrun Podcast!This week we have Stirling Miles and Lolo Armstrong, A.K.A., Team Run For Tacos, on the show. They share their inspiring Swimrun journey of training, traveling, and racing their first Swimrun at Ödyssey Swimrun Orcas Island a few weeks back. We loved chatting with them and their story will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside!But first... Training UpdateÖdyssey Swimrun Austin is four weeks away. We’re starting to pump up the volume on our training and did a 2 hour-plus Swimrun on Saturday to start dialing things in again.ShoutoutsThis week we’re shouting out Lindsey Ludwick from Virginia. Thanks for being a fan of the show and for wearing your Tie-dye hoodie with pride. Hope to meet you in person at a race soon!Feats of EnduranceThis week’s award goes to Robb Damman and his buddy Yanni for their 8 hour, 30.33 mile point to point Swimrun adventure in Durham County, North Carolina this past Saturday. They called the route “SCRAMP the Falls” and while we don’t know what that means, it’s still an impressive feat!Check out and join our Strava Club and join Swimrunners from around the world as they train for Swimruns and stuff.This Week in SwimrunAll the news that we could find on the internet contained herein.It’s race week for ÖTILLÖ Cannes. Best of luck to everyone racing and remember to ignore the paparazzi. We’ll be putting out Cannes memes all week so make sure to follow us on IG to witness the ridiculousness. If that wasn’t enough, we will have some bonus race coverage thanks to our friends G Flo and Tobias from Team Max Mockermann who will be our “LTBz Correspondents in the Field” taking over our IG stories to share all the sights and sounds of Cannes. And it THAT wasn’t enough, we will also be releasing a Cannes Race Recap episode in the next few weeks so stay tuned for that!This past weekend, Swimrun Cyprus held their annual race on the island. We loved seeing all the photos on IG and the event looked fantastic.Gravity Race hosted the 6th edition of their Annecy Swimrun over the weekend. According to their website, they had 700 athletes participating in their three distance formats. Can’t blame the athletes for wanting to race because the Lac D’annecy is a pretty majestic location for a Swimrun.If you’re looking for something to do on October 24, we recommend that you check out Swimrun Cote D’azur. We learned about this part of France from our friends Laurene and Irina, A.K.A., The Swimrun Mermaids, and they convinced us that it’s an amazing location for a Swimrun. (I foresee planning a double Swimrun vacation in the South of France with ÖTILLÖ Cannes one weekend and this race the following.)Finally, it’s never too early to start planning for 2022 and Bauer Swimrun recently opened registration for their May 1st event in ​​Småland, Sweden.That’s it for this week. Be sure to tip us off if there’s any news that you would like for us to share on the show.UpdatesProgramming alert: If you’re racing or thinking about racing Swimrun NC in November, make sure to check out our course preview episode that will drop next week.Speaking about course previews, if you’re racing Ödyssey Swimrun Austin (it’s on the same day as Swimrun NC) make sure to check out our course preview episode to get you super stoked...and ready for race day. Team Run For TacosChatting with Stirling and Lolo about their Swimrun journey was so great! They shared their origin story and how one video changed the course of the endurance lives of two long-time best friends and got them to the start line of Ödyssey Swimrun Orcas Island. Their story is what Swimrun is all about and we can’t wait to see them again at another race.You can follow the adventures of Team Run For Tacos on Instagram.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

14 Okt 20211h 5min

Welcome to episode ninety-two of the Löw Tide Böyz - A Swimrun Podcast!On the show this week we have Matthieu Poullian and Hugo Tormento of Team Ark Swimrun France. These guys finished third in this year’s ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship and they share their intense race story with us (spoiler alert: broken bones were involved). This was a great conversation and we can’t wait to share it with you.But first... Training UpdateÖdyssey Swimrun’s Orcas Island is in the rearview mirror and we are looking forward to Ödyssey Swimrun Austin in five weeks. We took this week chill but will start our last training block of the year on Monday!ShoutoutsThis week we’re shouting out Brandon Nelson. We met Brandon at Orcas Island and his enthusiasm for Swimrun was very apparent, a.k.a., he’s super stoked. So apparent in fact, that he signed up with his buddies to go race Ödyssey Swimrun Ludington and sent us a really nice message while he was enjoying a well-earned post-race beer with his crew. BTW, if you’re looking for real estate in the Bellingham Washington area, Brandon is your guy!Feats of EnduranceThe award this week goes to everyone that was running up and down sand dunes on Sunday at Ödyssey Swimrun Ludington in Michigan. Strong work everyone! Legend has it that folks are still finding sand in their kits.Check out and join our Strava Club and join Swimrunners from around the world as they train for Swimruns and stuff.This Week in SwimrunAll the news that we could find on the internet contained herein.Starting out with something from the bummer news department, ÖTILLÖ announced that November’s Catalina race has been postponed to March 19-20 citing uncertainty for travel given the continued disruptions caused by COVID-19.This means that for Swimrunners seeking to accumulate ranking points for the Swimrun World Championship in the Western Hemisphere, the sole remaining ÖTILLÖ Merit Race will be Swimrun NC on November 7th. There are some spots still available for that race so make sure to get on top of that if you have aspirations to qualify for ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship.In happier news, the inaugural Ödyssey Swimrun Ludington took place over the weekend and looked like an amazing sand-filled adventure. Ödyssey’s final race of the season will be taking place on Sunday, November 7 in Austin, Texas. New for this year are the addition of two events on Saturday November 6: a Kids Swimrun and a 5k trail run. We encourage everyone to join us at the start line for this race. (Make sure to use the code LOWTIDE15 to save 15% off of your solo or team registration.)In other Swimrun news, Swimrun Portugal’s Madeira Swimrun presented by HEAD is taking place this weekend. We can’t wait to be able to get out to race one of Bruno Safara’s events! Make sure to check out our interview with Bruno to learn more why you too should be jonesing to Swimrun in Portugal.Finally, As Keen as Mustard Events recently announced that they have opened registration for all their 2022 Swimrun events. If you live in the UK (or are planning to visit) make sure to check out one of their fun and welcoming events. You can learn more about this race series and the mother/daughter duo Nicky and Chelsey on Episode 56 of the podcast.That’s it for this week. Be sure to tip us off if there’s any news that you would like for us to share on the show.UpdatesNew hats are coming! Stay tuned for more details soon. In the meantime, check out our online store if you’re looking to show some Low Tide Pride.Team Ark Swimrun FranceIt was great to chat with Matthieu and Hugo. We discussed the growing Swimrun scene in France, how they discovered Swimrun, how they are such fast swimmers, and got an exclusive race report from their 3rd Place finish at ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship. This was a great conversation and it’s hard not to root for Team Ark Swimrun France as they will try to climb atop the podium again in 2022. Enjoy!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

7 Okt 202141min

Welcome to episode ninety-one of the Löw Tide Böyz - A Swimrun Podcast!We’ve got a special episode for everyone this week! We just got back from the “PNW” after racing Ödyssey Swimrun’s Orcas Island Long Course on September 26th and we’ve got one hell of a race report to share chronicling all the highs and lows and highs of us racing this epic Swimrun.Initial ThoughtsWe’ve been looking forward to racing Orcas Island since it was first announced four years ago and we were finally going to take it on and we were super stoked to take on the challenge.Orcas Island was Pretty CoolWe rented an awesome house that was literally across the street from the start/finish line and we brought with us an LTBz flag that we had made for the occasion and must have been seen by almost every participant since they ran by our house on the way to the finish line.We co-hosted a shakeout Swimrun on the Saturday before the race and it was awesome to see so many people come out for that. We basically just ran around Cascade Lake to do a couple of swims and play at the cliff jump section of the run course. It was super fun on a beautiful day. All the credit for the shakeout goes to Trista and Amy of Team Adorkable for coming up with the idea, getting the fika, and just being awesome ambassadors for the sport. The event was co-sponsored by Ark Sports, Wild Swimrun, and Ödyssey.  Race DayThe race was everything that we had hoped it would be: beautiful and brutal. We wouldn’t say that we set the course on fire but we kept moving forward and dug deep to get through the course. We finished the race in 6:33 which was good enough for 4th Place Men’s Team and 7th Overall. So that was nice!Final ThoughtsWhile we didn’t have the race performance that we felt we were capable of, we learned a lot at this race and gained a ton of experience. Overall, Ödyssey Swimrun Orcas Island was an amazing event and we will definitely be back to race it again next year, if able.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

30 Sep 20211h 14min