Back in August, Michael Lemmel took us on a wonderfully fun swimrun adventure on Utö, an island in the Stockholm archipelago. It has some of the most fun terrain, technical trails, rocks, and on this day, some really rough, but fun swims. It was rainy. It was cold. It was glorious.
We embarked on a wet and wild adventure to Utö! Despite the gloomy weather and choppy waters, nothing could dampen our enthusiasm for a thrilling swimrun. Swimrun is wet business so we were ready to embrace the elements and make a splash!
Following a ferry ride to Utö, we rented bikes to reach the southern part of the island, where our 30k swimrun would commence. Carrying backpacks with swimrun gear and dry clothes, we made a brief stop at the Utö bakery for snacks and fika before heading south.
Navigating hills, sharing stories, and passing by scenic farms – our journey to the trailhead was as exhilarating as the adventure that awaited. We quickly donned our wetsuits and other swimrun gear and headed out onto the trails.
As Michael assured, the trails were a trailrunner’s dream—technical, rocky, with breathtaking forest passages. The Baltic Sea, true to its nature, presented cold, choppy waters, and though the weather shifted from sunny to grey with rain, we were still all smiles as we explored Utö, Ålö, Rånö, and other small islands.
The adventure unfolded with diverse landscapes, including bushwhacking, challenging swims, lush forests, picturesque villages, and farms. After our swimrun, we changed out of our wet gear and biked back to the ferry, concluding the day with a meal and drinks at Utö Gästhamn.
Sitting there in a beautiful locale, surrounded by great friends, I realized it would truly be a memorable day.
Thank you, Michael, Martin, Josefine, and Lena for the companionship, camaraderie and so many laughs.
Speedy Lizard 