Swimrun race, ÖTILLÖ, making U.S. debut on Catalina Island
February 15, 2020
TWO HARBORS—Endurance athletes will collect on Catalina Island the final weekend in February for the U.S. debut of ÖTILLÖ, a European-started race for the sport of Swimrun.
Swimrun is an established sport in Europe, which alternates trail running and open water swimming along a marked course. The Catalina Island event starts and ends in Two Harbors with racing held Feb. 29 and Mar. 1. The event will take advantage of the island’s surrounding water and abundance of trails.
There will be three races, with the World Series Race being the most challenging. The website states: “It will be hard and magnificent.”
Teams will traverse 23.5 miles of running with an elevation gain of over 4,300 feet and swim 4.7 miles. The sprint race will feature 9.2 miles of running and 1.9 miles of swimming. The experience race will help those new to the sport get their feet wet, it will be 4.8 miles of running and 1 mile of swimming. Both the experience and sprint races can be done with a partner or solo.
The sprint and experience races will be held on Saturday, Feb. 29 and the World Series Race will be held Sunday, Mar. 1.
ÖTILLÖ translates to “island to island” and the event was started 15 years ago when nine teams of two ran over and between 24 islands in Sweden; a total of 40.3 miles (65 km) of trail-running and 6.2 miles (10 km) of open water swimming.
This will be the 15th season the race has been held, but the first time it will be held in the U.S.
“This race will be very special,” Michael Lemmel, Race Director ÖTILLÖ & co-founder of Swimrun said in a released statement. “It is a dream come true to finally be able to establish an ÖTILLÖ race in America. It is the right timing to be able to support the growth of Swimrun in the U.S.”
Good news, there is still time to register. Participants can enter or make changes to their teams until Feb. 25. The World Series Race costs $750, entries in the sprint race cost $300 for a pair and $200 for solo, entries in the experience race cost $200 for a pair and $100 for solo. Spectators are also invited; there will be all-day, round-trip boat transportation between Avalon and Two Harbors.
For more information visit otilloswimrun.com/races/catalina.
