Swimrun Cape Cod Race Report: Chris Races Solo

Chris just got home from his first solo swimrun, and we sit down a day and a half after the finish to talk it through. Swimrun Cape Cod is the fourth edition of the race and only the second time it has actually run, and Chris takes on its new long course with no partner and no tether.

We start with how Chris ends up solo after his partner plans fall through, and how his body and mind feel on the Monday after. Then we get into the race itself. A storm pulls the permits on three ponds, which trims the long course from about 30K to roughly 15 miles, and the kettle ponds and single track still pack in 1,400 to 1,600 feet of climbing.

We cover the gear, including knee-high socks for the single track and the last run for his old pull buoy. We cover the fueling, with a new CARBS electrolyte gel and a bigger caffeine plan for a shorter effort. And we go swim by swim and run by run, through the bluff over the Atlantic, the back-to-back swims, a fall on the last run, and a 2:51 finish for fourth place in the solo men's division. Chris closes with his verdict on solo versus team racing.

We also talk about a big weekend for swimrun in the US, with ÖTILLÖ Colorado running the same weekend and the Kancho Boyz coming out of retirement to win the sprint distance. Next up, we line up together at ÖTILLÖ Swimrun Austin in early November, where we race the World Series distance for the seventh time.

00:00 Intro
01:00 Why Chris raced solo
03:00 Body and mind after the race
05:00 Swimrun Cape Cod: a shortened course and a lot of climbing
08:00 Kettle ponds and solo pre-race routines
10:00 Gear and fueling: knee-high socks, a CARBS gel test, a caffeine plan
13:00 Racing solo: tactics and bib number one
16:00 Local swimrun energy and the solo flotation rule
18:00 Race morning and the start line
21:00 Course breakdown: ponds, climbs, and the long single-track run
26:00 The back-to-back swims and the last run
31:00 Finish line: 2:51 and fourth place solo
33:00 Solo versus partner racing
37:00 What carries over to Austin
38:00 A big weekend of swimrun: Cape Cod and ÖTILLÖ Colorado

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