Ödyssey Swimrun Orcas Island 2021 Race Report

Welcome to episode ninety-one of the Löw Tide Böyz - A Swimrun Podcast!We’ve got a special episode for everyone this week! We just got back from the “PNW” after racing Ödyssey Swimrun’s Orcas Island Long Course on September 26th and we’ve got one hell of a race report to share chronicling all the highs and lows and highs of us racing this epic Swimrun.Initial ThoughtsWe’ve been looking forward to racing Orcas Island since it was first announced four years ago and we were finally going to take it on and we were super stoked to take on the challenge.Orcas Island was Pretty CoolWe rented an awesome house that was literally across the street from the start/finish line and we brought with us an LTBz flag that we had made for the occasion and must have been seen by almost every participant since they ran by our house on the way to the finish line.We co-hosted a shakeout Swimrun on the Saturday before the race and it was awesome to see so many people come out for that. We basically just ran around Cascade Lake to do a couple of swims and play at the cliff jump section of the run course. It was super fun on a beautiful day. All the credit for the shakeout goes to Trista and Amy of Team Adorkable for coming up with the idea, getting the fika, and just being awesome ambassadors for the sport. The event was co-sponsored by Ark Sports, Wild Swimrun, and Ödyssey.  Race DayThe race was everything that we had hoped it would be: beautiful and brutal. We wouldn’t say that we set the course on fire but we kept moving forward and dug deep to get through the course. We finished the race in 6:33 which was good enough for 4th Place Men’s Team and 7th Overall. So that was nice!Final ThoughtsWhile we didn’t have the race performance that we felt we were capable of, we learned a lot at this race and gained a ton of experience. Overall, Ödyssey Swimrun Orcas Island was an amazing event and we will definitely be back to race it again next year, if able.That’s it for this week’s show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player and leave us a five-star review. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, and on YouTube. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram. Email us at [email protected] with any feedback and/or suggestions. Finally, you can support our efforts on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.Thanks for listening and see you out there!-  Chip and Chris