SwimRun Edmonton: The Race With A Big Heart In Alberta, Canada Where The Rockies Meet The Great Plains
In 2016, Jason Britton and his partner signed up for ÖTILLÖ in Sweden with very minimal swimrun experience. After being blown away by the beauty and challenge of the race, Jason returned home to Canada and began planning a race of his own.
Six years later, SwimRun Edmonton is going strong with Jason at the helm, now recognised as one of the best annual swimrun events in North America.
Being a considerably landlocked area, Jason’s home of Edmonton presented a number of challenges when attempting to develop an exciting swimrun course that imbued the spirit of the Stockholm Archipelago. Nonetheless, this popular race utilises a stunning local river valley to its advantage, resulting in two courses that demand skilful navigation from all levels of swimrunner.
The Classic Race
The main race on the Swimrun Edmonton calendar consists of 6 run segments and 5 swim segments totalling roughly 6km of swimming and 17km of running. The swims take place in the North Saskatchewan River, and participants will need to be prepared for variable water depth and flow rates. The runs take place on a variety of paved, unpaved, and single track paths within the Edmonton River Valley.
The Sprint Race
The sprint race involves 3 run segments and 2 swim segments totaling 1.3km of downriver swimming and 10.3km of running. For the Sprint, swims also take place in the North Saskatchewan River, and runs will once again take racers varied terrain within the Edmonton River Valley.
What makes SwimRun Edmonton special?
Jason takes great pride in his event’s volunteers, who return annually to support both races. SwimRun Edmonton also plants 2 trees per race registrant with the support of Tree Canada. The river swimming involved also requires a lot of thought when it comes to sighting and entries/exits, which provides a great opportunity for transition skill development.
How can I get involved?
SwimRun Edmonton is now accepting registrations and will take place on Sunday 28th July 2024. For more info and to register, click here.
