The Red Bulletin May 2020 (UK)

VENTURE
Travel
Island hopping: slippery rocks, punishing cross-country runs and frozen fingers are just a few of the hazards that competitors
encounter as they race from Gotska Sandön in the north of the archipelago to Utö in the south
goggles and donning the hand paddles.
The more you keep moving, the better.
From 2008 to 2010, my then partner
and I won three years in a row. We were
ahead for much of the 2011 race, too, but
then my teammate fell ill and we had to
retire. My first victory was the most
enjoyable; the oddest came in 2010. We
were more than 20 minutes ahead of our
closest rivals as we reached the island
with the longest run, but some kids had
torn off the signs in the woods. We got
totally lost and ended up five minutes
behind the other team. But the setback
gave us the motivation to fight our way
back into the lead, and we finished more
than three minutes ahead.
My wife and I line up at the start.
Now, I know the course like the back of
my hand, but I’m no longer aiming for
personal bests. It’s a perfect day out in
the fresh air – with the mother of all
workouts thrown in.
The ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship
is on August 31; otilloswimrun.com
Trailblazers: Swedish swimrunners Fanny Danckwardt
and Desirée Andersson of Team Envol took first place in
last year’s women’s race with a time of 9:05:29
The hard yards
Colting on his hates and
highlights of the race
Munkö: horror isle
(running length: 2,450m)
“My worst nightmare every year.
The island isn’t made to be run on.
There are sharp slippery rocks,
fallen tree trunks and brambles
everywhere. You wonder, ‘Why
the hell am I here?’”
Nämdö: meeting point
(running length: 8,300m)
“You run almost 500m to get to
a feeding station, then run the
same route back. This is the only
one of the 24 islands where you
meet other teams, so there’s time
for a quick motivational chat.”
Utö: the end stage
(running length: 3,650m)
“You feel a crazy rush of adrenalin
as the torture is about to come to
an end. Clamber out of the water,
over the rocks and hit the gravel
track. It’s like the lap of honour
to the finish.”
JAKOB EDHOLM
70 THE RED BULLETIN