Welcome to episode 163 of the Löw Tide Böyz - A Swimrun Podcast!

Partners month continues with a team that is near and dear to our hearts: Team Landshark, a.k.a. Sarah Monk and Matt Murray. They are based out of Colorado and we love their positive vibe and sense of wonder for what is possible with Swimrun.

But first…

Training Update

No major training updates this week other than Chipper signed up for a 50k in March while Chris is ramping up to guide his blind cousin at the Eugene Marathon in April. 

Shoutout

Our shoutout this week goes out to our friend Sean. You might know him best as Monk 1 of the Team Swimrun Monks. Sean recently announced that he and his wife are expecting their first child this Summer. Mazel Tov!

Wisdom Nugget of the Week

“Uncertainty is the test of trust, become comfortable with it.” - Mark Allen

Feats of Endurance

This week’s winner is Markus Runssel. He ran the Sollentuna Winter Half in Sollentuna Sweden over the weekend and finished in 2nd place made all the more impressive by his left spike breaking after the first 1k of the “running on ice” portion of the race. If the name sounds familiar, he is ½ of Team German Sparkle Party. Check out our interview with them on Episode 152 of the show.

Make sure to sign up for our LTBz Strava Club and join Swimrunners from around the world as they train for stuff.

This Week in Swimrun

Now for the “news.”

The Swimrunning world was stunned this past week by the news that ÖTILLÖ co-founders and race directors Michael Lemmel and Mats Skott were stepping away from the company after 17 years. Soon after the news broke, Swimrunners from all over the world began paying tribute to their legacy and impact both within the sport of Swimrun and their environmental work. 

A few days after this announcement, ÖTILLÖ issued a press release stating that Staffan Björklund will act as the new race director for the company. According to the release: “Staffan’s experience in the Swimrun sport is extensive. He worked at the very first ÖTILLÖ event in 2006, won ÖTILLÖ Utö in 2013, and raced ÖTILLÖ, The Swimrun World Championship, seven times.”

While it certainly feels like an important chapter in the history of the sport that we all love is ending, we remain hopeful for the future as this new chapter begins. As it always has been, it’s up to all of us to continue what Michael and Mats started 17 years ago and work with Staffan and the rest of the team at ÖTILLÖ and keep growing our community. 

Finally, on a programming note, we are planning on interviewing Staffan for the show soon so stay tuned for that conversation. 

That’s it for this week. Reach out to us if there’s any Swimrun news that you’d like for us to share on the show.

Show Business

Partners month is being supported by our friends at Precision Fuel and Hydration. Make sure to check out their free online race nutrition planning tool to help you prepare for race day. Need hydration and/or fuel to go along with your new shiny plan for race day? Click on this link to save 15% off of your first order. 

Team Landshark

Sarah and Matt are the best. We love their enthusiasm for Swimrun and their positive vibes. In this conversation we chatted about their Swimrun origin story, the magic of their first event at Orcas Island, got some solid gold partner tips, and a lot more. We loved this conversation and know that you will as well. 

Enjoy!

That’s it for this week’s show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player and leave us a five-star review. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, and on YouTube. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram. Email us at [email protected] with any feedback and/or suggestions. Finally, you can support our efforts on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.

Thanks for listening and see you out there!

-  Chip and Chris