Throwback Mixtape: Orcas Island 2021 Race Report | Episode 334

It is race week for Ötillö Orcas Island and we are going back to the vault. Episode 334 is our Throwback Mixtape re-release of our 2021 Orcas Island race report — originally Episode 91, back when we were a few hundred episodes younger and apparently still figuring out fueling.

This race is one of the chapters in the book of the LTBz. Chipper showed up banged up from a fall, bonked hard somewhere in the middle of the course, and spent the better part of four hours getting dragged around one of the most brutal swimrun courses in the US by Chris. Despite all of it, it was one of the races we are most proud of. The course is savage. The community was incredible. The pizza after was legendary.

We also share our current thoughts heading into race week — what we have learned since 2021, why neither of us feels like we have unfinished business anymore, and why we just want to go back and have a great day. Our friend Tommy is back as driver, photographer, bodyguard, and emergency medic. We are ready.

If you are heading to Orcas Island on Saturday May 30th, come find us at the start-finish area at 11am for a fika with the LTBz and Wild Swimrun, then join us at the Envol shakeout swimrun in the afternoon.

This episode is brought to you by FORM Swim. The Smart Swim 2 LT gets you the full heads-up display and training platform for $149. Check out formswim.com and send us a DM if you have questions.

In this episode:
00:00 Intro — race week, Throwback Mixtape number five
02:00 FORM Swim — Smart Swim 2 LT and Pro 2 update
05:00 Orcas Island Saturday fika — 11am with Wild Swimrun
08:00 Current thoughts heading into Orcas 2026
09:00 What we noticed re-listening to the 2021 episode
11:00 We've come so far and we're still the same dudes
12:00 Tommy is back — driver, photographer, bodyguard, nurse
14:00 Throwback: Episode 91 — Orcas Island 2021 Race Report begins
15:00 Pre-race — Koncho Boys, Tommy's cooking, Delta Sky Club debut
18:00 Chipper's fall and bruised ribs going into the race
20:00 Packet pickup, meeting the community, man buns
22:00 Pre-race dinner and race morning prep
26:00 The race starts — first swim, settling in
30:00 First big climb — the hills are no joke
40:00 Chipper starts to go dark — the bonk begins
55:00 Chris takes over — pulling for four hours
01:05:00 The back half of the course — grinding through
01:15:00 The finish line — pizza, community, cheering people in
01:20:00 Race report debrief — what went wrong, what we learned
01:22:00 Fueling wake-up call — this race changed everything
01:23:00 Kudos to Brent, Lars, and the Odyssey Swimrun crew
01:24:00 Every finisher on this course is a certified badass