Engadin Swimrun for the Toughest

Engadin, Switzerland, July 07: Swimruns are fast gaining  popularity in Scandinavia and rapidly gaining ground internationally. Engadin Swimrun is the first swimrun race outside of Scandinavia, taking place in the beautiful Engadin valley in the heart of the Swiss Alps, on July 12.

The race will see an impressive line up of athletes from 16 nationalities, including the strongest in the sport as well as newcomers testing their limits in the young sport of “swimrun”. In this new type of race teams of two alternate between trail running and open water swimming on a marked nature course. You run in your wetsuit and swim in your shoes.

For this first edition of Engadin Swimrun, a maximum number of 100 teams of two will take on the challenging course in a stunning Alpine setting. The race will be held on alpine trails, between and through beautiful mountain lakes, and passing the famous alpine village St. Moritz, as well as the picturesque mountain towns Maloja, Sils, Champfer, to finally finish in Silvaplana. The total distance of the race course is 52 km of which 46 km are trail running (in your wetsuit) and 6,5 km are open-water swimming through nine glacial cold mountain lakes (in your running shoes). The course is further spiced up with around 1 500 meters of vertical climb.

Describing the event, race organiser Michael Lemmel says, "It will not be easy and Engadin Swimrun is a good quality standard as a qualifier to the World Championship of Swimrun, ÖTILLÖ, the original swimrun race in the Stockholm archipelago, considered one of the toughest one-day races in the world."

Talking more about the upcoming event, he says,“The Engadin Swimrun will be brutal yet magnificent! The course is tough with some steep climbs and long swims. This first edition swimrun event in the Engadin Valley is history in the making and all teams that make it to the finish line in Silvaplana are true heroes!”

Registration to Engadin Swimrun was already full in February. Teams representing 16 nations will battle it out for the first win. The expected finishing time for the winners is around 6 hours. The current ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Champions, Björn Englund (SWE) and Paul Krochak (CAN), is the team to beat for some of the strongest endurance athletes and triathletes in the world. Sweden’s rap artist Petter is seriously committed to swimrun and will be at the start line to challenge the international field of athletes.

Place: New Delhi