Busy Two Weeks for XTERRA Nordic Series

A few weeks ago there was a great New York Times article about “taking triathlons into the wild” that featured XTERRA races as well as a grueling swim/run challenge.  What it didn’t mention is that our XTERRA Nordic Series team is producing the inaugural XTERRA SwimRunon Saturday in Tonsbert (a week before the XTERRA Denmark Championship race in Tisvilde).

The XTERRA Swimrun “to the World’s End” combines 50km of trail running with 8,000-meters of open water swimming between 20 islands in the breathtaking Oslofjord Archipelago.

“The race starts at Ringhaugstranda and ends at World’s End, the southernmost tip of the island of Tjørne,” explains event director Steen Aagaard Walter.  “Every time you get to a new island, you run over it and swim to the next island. The longest swim stage is 1,200m and the longest run stage is 8km. In total you will cover 50km of running and 8,000m of swimming. XTERRA Swimrun is a unique race in the most stunning skerries. You compete in teams of two persons, and the first team to reach World’s End wins. We have women’s, men’s and mixed teams. You only need a partner, a wetsuit and a pair of running shoes to compete.”

The race offers great nature experiences and a fierce battle against the elements. There are three cut-off times and five aid stations with food and fluids. Here, Walter describes the course details:

“Starts at Ringhaugstranda, swim south towards the Bolærne archipelago. After the Bolærne archipelago, the course will take you west towards Gåsøy, Hvaløy and Bjerkøy. After Bjerkøy, you will reach Nøtterøy, and then it is time for a longer run stage to Vrengensundet. When you have crossed Vrengensundet, the longest run stage of the race is waiting. You run south via a beautiful coastal path towards Engø Gård. Afterwards, it is time for a short swim to the island of Hvasser. From Hvasser, you move south towards the beautiful Sandø to complete a run stage before you move back to cross Hvasser. The last stage passes the race hotel, Havna Hotell, before moving south towards World’s End.”

Walter expects the fastest teams to complete the challenge in 6-7 hours, and has capped registration at 100 teams.

“It’ll be tough, that’s for sure,” said Walter.  “Rocks, forest paths and open water with waves and currents make the course very challenging. In return, it is extremely beautiful.”

Learn more at xterraswimrun.com.

Next is XTERRA Denmark on August 31.  The venue is set in Tisvilde, just short of an hour drive from Copenhagen Airport.
West of Tisvildeleje – just outside Denmark’s fifth biggest forest – is Tisvilde Hegn, a kilometer-long stretch of white sands and child-friendly beaches with clean seawater, sand dunes and woods.

“It’s absolutely the perfect setting for a testing and beautiful XTERRA course,” said Steen Walter.

You can view more about the Specialized MTB course: 2 Loops of 15km, pretty technical course with a few gravel sections here: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=astaikclgjwotuhv

More info on the ECCO Biom Run course: 2 loops of 5km, a combination of small hills, sand and a few step decents makes this one pretty challenging, here: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=lppogtjdvevgspel

There are 41 qualifying slots into XTERRA Worlds to the top amateur finishers.  The tentative start list can be viewed here:http://www.sportstiming.dk/Event/Participants.aspx?Id=1184