Ödyssey Swimrun Austin Course Preview: Addendum

Welcome to this bonus episode of the Löw Tide Böyz, a Swimrun Podcast!A few weeks ago, we dropped our deep dive course preview of the Ödyssey Swimrun Austin race coming up on November 8th. That episode has been listened to over 500 times and it appears that folks are getting a lot of value from it…which we love. Given that this is a first-year race, there are a lot of gaps in our review. Fortuitously, Ödyssey put together a course recon training day at Pace Bend Park this past weekend and one of our Strava Club members, Adrian Cameron, was on the scene and brought back some great intel that he shared with the club. The intel was so great that we thought that we should produce a quick addendum to the Course Preview episode and get Adrian on to share his insight with everybody.So without further ado, we welcome Adrian to the show and get right to it!Ride’em Cowboy AGAIN! (Updates to our Short and Long Course Leg Breakdowns)As a refresher, Swimrun Austin offers two distance options: short course (total distance 8.96 miles; total run 7.04 miles; total swim 3396 yards/1.92 miles) and long course (total distance 16.42 miles; total run 13.04 miles; total swim 6036 yards/3.38 miles). Both courses offer solo and team divisions. You can check out the detailed map for both courses here.The Ödyssey course recon training day didn’t cover the entire course but there were a lot of additions that we were able to make to our leg by leg breakdown of the course.Ödyssey Swimrun Austin Short Course Annotated Leg Breakdown:Run 1 - 2.11 miles (Flat run)Swim 1 - 663 yards (Swimming with the current)Run 2 - 1.28 miles (Slightly hilly run)Swim 2 - 1166 yards (Swimming with the current; wind might be an issue)Run 3 - 2.49 miles (Flat/rocky run; Cliff jump option into Swim 3)Swim 3 - 1582 yards (Swimming with the current)Run 4 - 1.15 miles (Flat run)Ödyssey Swimrun Austin Long Course Annotated Leg Breakdown:Run 1 - 2.11 miles (Flat run)Swim 1 - 663 yards (Swimming with the current)Run 2 -  1.28 miles (“Lite” hills run)Swim 2 - 1166 yards (Swimming with the current; wind might be an issue)Run 3 - 2.12 miles (Narrow trails, rocky, and hard-packed; first half is mostly uphill; Sandy at points in the second half the run; finishing with a very steep run down a boat ramp to Swim 3) Swim 3 - 1145 yards (Swimming against the current; Current mild or non-existent if water levels remain low; stick close to the cliffs to keep the swim as short as possible; very steep water exit so make sure your hands are paddle-free upon exit)Run 4 - 3.33 miles (Slightly less flat but still pretty flat run; this run is exposed and could be very hot; very steep start but then levels off; pretty narrow trail so it will be mostly single file; the end of run has another super steep boat ramp to get to the swim leg)Swim 4 - 536 yards (Swimming against the current; Current mild or non-existent if water levels remain low; wind might be an issue; swim start has about 6 inches of muck for about 20’ out; make sure your shoes are on tightly so you don’t get a “flat tire”)Run 5 - .56 miles (Flat run; this is a “teamwork-heavy” section; the swim exit for this run is very steep; you will need your hands free for this technical section; there are bathrooms along the road of this run; cliff jump option into Swim 5; the highest jumping-off point is around 20’ but athletes can scale down some ledges to make a smaller jump)Swim 5 - 955 yards (Swimming against the current; Current mild or non-existent if water levels remain low; wind might be an issue)Run 6 - 2.49 miles (Flat/Rocky run; cliff jump option into Swim 6)Swim 6 - 1582 yards (Swimming with the current)Run 7 - 1.15 miles (Flat run)Final ThoughtsIt’s important to note that the water temperature was 78 degrees Fahrenheit (the air temperature was 62 degrees) during the course training day. You can check the water temps for yourself here. Folks should plan accordingly for that. Other than that, paying attention during the trial runs will help prevent collisions and tripping on roots, rocks, and the like. We want to thank Adrian again for taking the time to give us his field report. He’s going to do great on race day…and so will all of you!That’s it for this week’s bonus show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, please be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player and leave us a review. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Google Podcast. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram. Email us at [email protected] with any feedback and/or suggestions. Finally, you can also support us on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.