1000 Lakes Swimrun

First Edition of OTILLO Swimrun 1000 Lakes in Germany, 23rd October

Press Release / 11.10.2016

A great number of participants have registered for the first edition of ÖTILLÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes; a total of 360 competitors from 20 nations will be racing in teams of two in the three categories Men, Mixed, and Women. This is the biggest number ever for an ÖTILLÖ inaugural race.

The concept of ÖTILLÖ organizers and founders of the sport swimrun, Mats Skott and Michael Lemmel (SWE), is to organize unique races in unique places. The ÖTILLÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes is no exception. With its rural landscape the course looks very different from all the other ÖTILLÖ races, yet, just as beautiful in an area with over 3 000 pristine lakes, surrounded by colourful beech tree forests in the magnificent autumn light. The forests are full of trails on soft ground, it is flat which means that teams will push hard to be as fast as possible. The expected time for the first finishers is a bit over five hours.

The course is approximately 45 km with 35 km trail running and 10 km swimming for 12 different runs and 11 different swims. That means 22 changes between running and swimming. There is no time to lose – you run in your wetsuit and swim in your shoes. The athletes need to master the run/swim transitions to keep the pace. The water temperature will not be warmer than around 13-15 degrees. Some swims are long and it will be cold. On the other hand the runs are fast and protected from wind in the forest. The competitors must be able to adapt to ever changing temperatures!

Some of the world's top swimrun teams will be on the start line for the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes. Among them the current Women Swimrun World Champions Kristin Larsson and Annika Ericsson, Team Addnature of Sweden, who crushed the women team's course record at the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship in September. There is no doubt that this awesome duo will be seen among the overall top 10 teams at 1000 Lakes.

An interesting comeback is the mixed team Jasmina Glad Schreven and Thomas Schreven (FIN), Team ‘Say no to doping!’, who took overall victory last month at Solvalla Swimrun in Finland for their first race after a year's break from swimrun because of parenthood and injuries. In the men teams several top 10 finishers of the ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship 2016 will be on the start line.

All teams ÖTILLÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes here: http://otilloswimrun.com/races/1000-lakes/teams-2016/

FAST FACTS ÖTILLÖ Swimrun 1000 Lakes 2016

1st edition


45 km running and swimming from dawn till dusk


35 km of trail running


10 km of open water swimming


22 changes between running and swimming


The swims are between 330 and 1 500 metres long


The runs are between 300 and 7 900 metres long

Longest swim 1 500 metres


Longest run 7 900 metres


179 teams – 108 men, 57 mixed, 14 women


Teams of two; for safety reasons and for the unique experience

20 Nationalities: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czeck Republic, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Great Britain, HongKong, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Russia, Switzerland, Sweden

www.http://otilloswimrun.com/races/1000-lakes/

Follow the race with live tracker and social media on race day, 23 October 2016: www.otilloswimrun.com/live