SwimRun Isles of Scilly

Updated September 2024

The Swimrun Isles of Scilly event is located almost 30 miles offshore, in the extreme South-West of the United Kingdom. The islands have a mixed climate, with tropical palm trees and beaches, and a sub-tropical feel in summer, while being set 30 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean off Land's End - THE WATER IS COLD, AND the weather can be unpredictable.

After being cancelled for 2023 by the original organisers (Ötillö), THIS RACE IS LIKELY TO RETURN IN 2025 UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT.

The 2024 dates were;

Thursday 22Aug. The tide race. A half marathon covering Tresco and Bryher’s coast path including the ‘dry’ channel in between.

Thursday 29 Aug. A guided Swimrun taster session for all.

Friday 30th Aug. An 8 and 16km swimrun race.

Saturday 31st Aug. A junior swimrun for 0-teenagers.

Sunday 1st Sept. A long 38km swimrun covering a lot of different islands on Scilly.

More information, booking links and prices will be out soon.

Bookmark this page to see developments and announcements for 2024!

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Swimrun Isles of Scilly - beach exit at Karma Hotel on St. Martins

The location contributes to the difficulty of the swimrun race here, with strong currents through the islands, and almost 5 meters of tide. This is no place for the faint hearted swimmer! The run legs offer stunning views of white beaches, summer flowers in full bloom, and tricky ascents up coastal cliff paths, combined with some beach running, and rocky entry and exit points.

There were 3 - (THREE) - distances at the Ötillö Isles of Scilly event.

The main event was the World Series race, 37km (25 miles) which is made up of 8km (5 miles) of swimming, and 29km (18 miles) of running. These disciplines were divided up into 8 swim legs and 9 running legs. The longest swim was a brutal 2.5km (1.5 miles), while the longest run was a more manageable 7.7km (about 5 miles). The winning time was around 5 hours, and the final finishers had to be over the line within 8 hours of the starting gun.

Swimrun Isles of Scilly - through Tresco gardens!

Swimrun Isles of Scilly

The "middle distance" event was the Sprint race, which was made up of 3km of swimming, and 12km of running, divided up into 8 swim legs and 9 run legs. The longest swim was just 1000 meters (a bit over half a mile), and the longest run leg was 2.7km (about 1.5 miles).

The shortest distance available at the Isles of Scilly was the "Experience" event, for those people who want to try the new sport of swimrun, but at a much shorter distance than the 37km+ of the full World Series race. The Experience race was just 950 meters of swimming (over 3 swim legs) and 6.9km (4 miles+) of trail running, over 4 run legs.

There was also the possibility to take part as an individual (ie. solo) in the Experience race.

Here is the official 4 minute Ötillö video of the Swimrun Isles of Scilly race;

The video gives you some idea of the amazing course at the Swimrun Isles of Scilly!

Here is the official map for the long-distance World Series race;

OUR 2019 RACE REPORT

We traveled to the Isles of Scilly by small 16-seater aircraft (a Twin Otter) from Newquay airport, taking just 30 minutes, rather than by the ferry from Penzance, as that trip takes 2 1/2 hours and is notorious for being a rough crossing.

Race day dawned dry and sunny, after the rain and wind of the previous day. We had arranged accommodation in a Bed and Breakfast just 10 minutes walk from the start, at Beachfield House. After our standard pre-race breakfast of porridge, a banana and coffee, we spent the next hour back in our room slowly preparing for the race.

We put on our wetsuits, but carried the rest of our gear in our drop bag. The drop bag area is basically inside the big marquee tent, in a corner somewhere. No security as such, but they've never had a problem with theft.

We entered the start box 15 minutes before the start, made our way to a quiet corner near the back, and chatted to several teams nearby. Everybody seemed quite apprehensive about the distance and time, with water temperatures from 12 to 14 degrees Celcius.

SwimRun Isles of Scilly - the Start

Fast guys at the start!

At the start, the younger teams raced off, while we settled into our normal Marathon pace, trying not to get sucked into the excitement and setting off too fast! After 500 meters we were near the back, but happy with our pacing.

When we got to the steep climb up the hill around the golf course, other teams that had started fast were feeling the strain already, and were walking uphill. We trotted past them, maintaining our speed, and passed several teams.

Downhill again, but through a narrow track, to the water. We reached the sea after 2.8 km running in 17 minutes, and started the monster 2km swim across to the island of Tresco.

It was difficult to see the orange exit flag from 2km away, (over a mile), but there was an orange windsock on the shore for the small airstrip on Tresco, so I aimed for that.

I had talked to some locals before the race about the currents we could expect. I aimed to the right of the exit, as we had started at High Tide, and the tidal ebb current was flowing from right to left on every swim leg.

There was only one other team swimming to my right - everybody else was off to the left, some by quite a long way! It's hard to say if they were being carried off course by the current, or whether they were just aiming too far left for the exit.

Beach running

At the end of the 2km swim we had passed a number of teams, and clocked up a good time by the second Time Station - 65 minutes from the start, which was 15 minutes inside the cut-off. There is a LOT of seaweed around the finish area.

But the cold was starting to bite. Mogsy was shaking quite badly as we jogged along the beach for 1km before going straight in to another big swim - 1.2km - still feeling cold from the first swim!

My waterproof race map - the small black arrows show the tidal flow at the time of the race.

SwimRun Isles of Scilly - the 2nd Swim

The second swim leg across to the island of Bryher was colder than the first, and I could tell the current was getting stronger, from right to left. Again, the exit flag was impossible to see from the swim start, but there was a buoy indicating general direction.

There was only one team to my right, and the rest of the field was way off to the left. I could tell from the long seaweed on the bottom that the current was flowing strongly from right to left, and this time I'm sure that the others had under-estimated the current. I kept aiming right of the buoy, and finally spotted the swim exit.

We made it out onto the beach, having passed a few more teams, but now we were both quite cold. We set off across the sand and eventually onto a trail up to the first energy station. There was water, isotonic drinks from Precision Hydration, and protein bars. There was one other team there, having a rest with a thermal blanket, feeling the cold even more than us!

After re-fueling, and making sure the cold team were OK, we set off across Bryher. Although we were cold, we were making decent progress and had a number of teams behind us. We started to warm up a little.

Then Mogsy had a bad fall, tripping on a large stone and falling into sharp rocks. The worst injury penetrated her wetsuit and caused a bad gash to her forearm. With blood running out, I decided we should stop and check things out.

Our friends the "cold" team caught up with us, and stopped to help. We got Mogsy's wetsuit arm off to check the injury - I could tell it was deep after washing it with some water from our drinks bottle.

Rather than apply the one waterproof dressing we had, we decided that the wetsuit neoprene would compress the wound enough to suppress the bleeding, so Mogsy put her suit arm back on, and we set off.

But now we had cooled down again, and Mogsy was understandably shaken. The cold seemed to suck energy out of us, and Richard was having problems with his legs, lacking any energy to run. We were being overtaken by teams coming up from behind, coping with trail running much better than us.

SwimRun Isles of Scilly - back to Tresco

We finally got to the east shore of Bryher for the short swim back to the north of Tresco, and thankfully the current here was slight. The exit from this swim is across sharp rocks, and ends with a near-vertical scramble up a muddy wall. Off again for the long run around Tresco, including Tresco Gardens. which were beautiful, but we were concentrating on keeping going!

Running through Tresco Gardens

It seemed a long way around Tresco to the next swim from Grimsby, but the amazing white sand and azure sea along the east coast of the island made us feel like we were in the Caribbean! This run is not hilly, but goes on for a long time.

When we got to Time 5 Station, we had just 1 hour to make it to the next cut-off at Time 6 at the Karma Hotel. The guys at the energy station said it was entirely possible, but I was feeling drained.

We set out for the next 3 swims with short runs in between, and immediately felt cold as we hit the water, fighting (again) through what seemed mountains of seaweed to reach clear water. The currents in the first 2 swim sections here were moderate.

SwimRun Isles of Scilly - to Karma Hotel

As we entered the water for what turned out to be our last swim, a staff member yelled that we had 15 minutes to beat the cut off at the Karma Hotel on St. Martin's.

And then I made a bad decision.

I realised later that this was down to impending hypothermia. Instead of heading directly to the exit flag at the Karma Hotel, aiming right to compensate for the current, I elected to go left around a big patch of seaweed. This almost doubled the distance to swim AND put us into the middle of a very strong current, which we then had to swim directly against, as opposed to across.

As we battled the current to get to the Karma Hotel, I was wondering why I had made such a bad choice. We eventually made it to the beach, but had lost so much time that we missed the cut-off by 5 minutes. At that point I realised that we were both on the point of hypothermia, and that the Ötillö cut-off times were serving their function as safety filters.

After confirmation of our cut-off by race director Michael Lemmel in person, we had a glass of prosecco while we waited for the following men's team to arrive, also outside the cut-off. There was an awesome selection of cake at this energy stop too!

We were given a lift back to the start area by safety boat, and collected our drop bag, before going to the medical tent for Mogsy to have stitches in her arm after her fall.

Then we warmed up in the sun with a drink!

Mogsy had to get her injury stitched up.

After the finish

The image above does not reflect my almost total exhaustion.

SwimRun Isles of Scilly - lessons

WHAT did we learn about the Isles of Scilly World Series event? Here are the most important lessons be brought home;

The elevation diagram on the official race map is useless. It does not indicate the length nor height of the uphill run legs - and this course is seriously hilly in places, over rocky trails. So come prepared for steep climbs.

There is long, stringy, tough seaweed at most swim entries and exits. This stuff is heavy and clingy. It wraps around your paddles, arms, and legs. It is seriously energy-sapping! So make sure you practice swimming through seaweed before racing here.

The waters here are COLD. An important point was made by a team from Sweden - they said that, although the waters off Sweden are colder, the swim sections are generally shorter. In the Isles of Scilly, you are swimming 3.2km (2 miles) in the first 90 minutes. That's a LONG TIME to be in such cool water. Have a look at our SwimRun Injuries page to find out how to prevent hypothermia!

The currents between the islands can be VERY STRONG. Make sure you know when high tide and low tide are in relation to the race start time, then talk to a local fisherman or diver who knows the currents. This will seriously affect your swim times.

It's a long way from the start to the first energy station, at Time 3. About 2 hours to 2 1/2 hours. So we shared an energy gel after we got through Time 2, with some water from a collapsible bottle that I carried inside my wet suit.

Almost all the swim exits are difficult to see from the swim entry. So study the map carefully, and get an idea of where to head for. And don't forget to allow for currents carrying you sideways!

Most of the swim entries and exits involve either big rocks or running on wet sand. Both are energy-sapping. Remember that the Ötillö race directors are from an Adventure Race background, so they try to make the course as challenging as possible! It is quite different from running a 10km race on road, and stepping up to a Marathon. All that's different there is the distance. But World Series SwimRun races are not only longer, they are more complex and more difficult in every way.

The "After Race Dinner" voucher is actually only valid for a burger at the finish line. We went to the after-race party at "On The Quay" expecting something to eat, and were turned down. After walking the streets of Hughtown after 8.00pm we discovered that every kitchen in every restaurant and pub was closed. So we made do with a bag of chips (crisps) and a glass of wine.

Obviously, in Swedish, the word "dinner voucher" has an entirely different meaning to English!

The Dinner Voucher !

SUMMARY;

This race is very tough, very cold, and you have to be a very strong swimmer to complete it. I would recommend weight training as well as sea swimming, and practise trail running up steep, rough trails IN YOUR WETSUIT.

The race itself is easily under-estimated. It's harder than it looks. And wear a cashmere wool vest under your wetsuit. Even the Swedish competitors found the swims very cold.

Will we do it again? Probably! It's a great location, and we have unfinished business there. And next time around we will have a better idea of how to tackle it.

On our last day, we had to check out of our room about an hour before we got the taxi to the airport. We were able to spend the time in the bed-and-breakfast lounge, with a cup of tea and biscuits.

While we were waiting, an older couple in their 80's came in, while our room was being prepared for them. We got talking. We explained why we were on the island, for the swimrun event.

The man told us that he had helped organize the first ever London Marathon with Chris Brasher (who had paced Sir Roger Bannister to the first sub four-minute mile); he had run many marathons himself.

His advice to us was "Do as many events as you can, while you can. There will come a time when you cannot do the events you want, due to age. Do what you want, as soon as you can, while you are still able."

This was probably the most wise and the most important advice I have received. I will do my best to honor the wishes of that fine man.