#Torpedo SwimRun

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Quenet Siblings Breeze to Torpedo SwimRun Cape Success

Quenet Siblings Breeze to Torpedo SwimRun Cape Success #WildlyCool

Nicholas and Alexandra Quénet set a new course record, in windy conditions, on their way to victory in the 2019 Torpedo SwimRun Cape; on Sunday, 17 November. The siblings, from Worcester, both have triathlon pedigrees and utilised the down-wind swim conditions to blitz the rest of the field. In so doing they became the first mixed category team, made up of one male and one female athlete, to win…

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Quenet siblings dominate at Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie

The inaugural Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie took place on Sunday 3 February 2019 at the Val de Vie Lifestyle Estate, and the Quenet siblings Nick and Alexandra, quite familiar with the Torpedo SwimRun top spot in other events in the Torpedo SwimRun Series, took the honours in the mens’ and the women’s races respectively.

Nick Quenet finished the 10km course in a time of 44:20, negotiating 6 swims and 6 run segments across the length and breadth of the well-known Franschhoek lifestyle estate. Matt Trautman, who last weekend podiumed at the Ironman 70.3 in East London, came second in a time of 45:49, and Alexander Koller from Sweden came third in 52:01.

Alexandra Quenet finished in a time of 55:03, and as well as being in first place amongst the women, she was also sixth overall. Jessica Ashley-Cooper (56:19) and Liza Kingston (56:37) were second and third respectively.

  Fast and flat

Nick Quenet, who most recently won the Torpedo SwimRun Cape in November with race partner Jamie Riddle, said: “The shorter and flat course meant faster racing, elevated lactate and marginal room for errors. The rain held off just long enough for the finish of the race, and the flowing single track, serene dams, bridge jumping and polo field running was such a pleasure to navigate. Once again Torpedo SwimRun lived up to its hype; it’s a definite race to put on the calendar for next year!”

Alexandra said of her race: “The experience was completely different to that of Cape, the shorter distance encouraged faster and more skilled racing. The dams were warm and the cooler weather so nice for the longer running segments. I raced hard and luckily it played into my favour – I really enjoyed the route and the differing running terrain.”

Matt Trautman, an experienced triathlete and Ironman champ, said of his race: “The Torpedo SwimRun at Val de Vie was my first attempt at the discipline and I loved it. Friendly crowd and tight racing in a relaxed atmosphere; I will be sure to give more of them a go.”

Visually impaired athletes take on the challenge

Cindy Jacobsz is a visually impaired athlete and completed the race with the assistance of her guide Petro Neethling. Another visually impaired athlete, Cornelia Liebenberg, was guided by Celia Pienaar.

No stranger to competitive sport, Jacobsz enjoyed the challenge of the Val de Vie course: “My guide Petro was a superb  – she sounded like a tour guide: “branches on the left” ; “lose  rock right”; “donga ahead”. The single track terrain was not to bad for a visually impaired athlete.  I would love to do this race again and inspire more visually impaired athletes to try swimrun, not necessarily for a competitive time but for the fun of it, and to be outside in the beautiful nature.”

Post-race celebrations combined perfectly with the monthly Val de Vie market, which went down well with hungry athletes and the families and friends who came along to support.

Torpedo SwimRun

Swimrun is a relatively new sport that originated in Sweden, and offers off-road and open-water adventure along coastal and inland waterways, with routes designed around the natural environment and with distances varying from race to race. The Torpedo SwimRun Series now comprises three events, with the other two being Torpedo SwimRun Cape (on the Atlantic coastline) and Torpedo SwimRun Wild (in the Wilderness area on the Garden Route).

  SwimRun is different in that athletes run in their wetsuits and swim in their running shoes – there are no transitions like you have in triathlon. For the Val de Vie event though, wetsuits were not necessary in the warm dams of the estate.

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Quenet siblings dominate at Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie

Quenet siblings dominate at Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie

The inaugural Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie took place on Sunday 3 February 2019 at the Val de Vie Lifestyle Estate, and the Quenet siblings Nick and Alexandra, quite familiar with the Torpedo SwimRun top spot in other events in the Torpedo SwimRun Series, took the honours in the mens’ and the women’s races respectively.

Nick Quenet finished the 10km course in a time of 44:20, negotiating 6 swims…

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Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie set to be a cracker

Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie will be happening on 3 February 2019 on the well-known Franschhoek lifestyle estate, and is attracting  competitive athletes and beginner swimrunners who want to try out the sport.

Swimrun is a relatively new sport that originated in Sweden, and offers off-road and open-water adventure along coastal and inland waterways, with routes designed around the natural environment and with distances varying from race to race. The Torpedo SwimRun Series now comprises three events, with the other two being Torpedo SwimRun Cape (on the Atlantic coastline) and Torpedo SwimRun Wild (in the Wilderness area on the Garden Route).

Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie

Richard McMartin, co-founder of Torpedo SwimRun, said: “We are excited to see so many newcomers joining SwimRun. This race is much more accessible to new participants and is a solo event rather than a paired one. The swimming is in dams with the longest swim being 400m, and it is not as technical as Cape and Wild. We are also able to cater for a larger number of athletes. The longest run is 3km. With 2kms of swimming in total, and 8km of total running, the whole race is 10km.”

Tight competition in the front

Matt Trautman, who will be defending his Ironman 70.3 South Africa title this Sunday, will be joining the team from Red Bull at Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie. It will be Matt’s first introduction to swimrunning, so he is a wildcard among the returning Torpedo podium athletes. With five athletes from the 2018 Torpedo SwimRun Cape podium competing at Val de Vie, the racing will be flat-out.

Over the flat waters at Val de Vie, the pre-race men’s favourites are the speedsters Nick Quenet and Riaan Shaw. In the women’s race, the 2018 Cape champs, Alex Quenet and Vicky van de Merwe start as firm favorites, this time facing off against each other in this solo race.

Women lead the entries for Val de Vie

Of the entries received so far for Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie, 54% are women. A large proportion say they have never done swimrun before, but there are quite a few entrants who have done the Cape event, and a handful have done the Wild event. There is a mix of athletes – just less than a third are triathletes and a third say they are primarily runners while another third say they are swimmers.

Alexandra Quinet won the Cape event with her race partner Vicky van der Merwe last year, and has some great advice: “My first tip to a first-timer would be to do a few swims with your racing shoes on before race day – even if they are only short ones. The feeling is very weird and one that you can’t really get used to, but to know the feeling before starting the race, is going to be greatly beneficial.

She says that the swim segments are usually the parts people struggle with the most and says: “My second tip would be to ensure that you feel relatively confident in the water before race day – speed does not matter. If you can swim the race distance confidently before race day, you will be fine. Lastly, to run after a swim or vice versa also causes a very weird feeling in one’s legs and therefore I’d suggest once or twice after a swim to do a short run to just allow your legs the feeling. Other than that, I can only encourage you to go out and have fun on the day.”

Open water swimmers such as Ryan Stramrood and Mark de Klerk, who have completed both the Cape and Wild events, are looking forward to an “easier” swimrun. Stramrood says: “This one will be perfect for those who are fit but thought Cape and Wild were too intimidating to try. You will be able to really see what the sport is about: its fast, fun and a proper challenge.”

SwimRun is different in that athletes run in their wetsuits and swim in their running shoes – there are no transitions like you have in triathlon. For the Val de Vie event though, wetsuits will not be necessary.

Enter Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie  at  https://torpedoswimrun.com/val-de-vie/

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Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie set to be a cracker

Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie set to be a cracker

Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie will be happening on 3 February 2019 on the well-known Franschhoek lifestyle estate, and is attracting  competitive athletes and beginner swimrunners who want to try out the sport.

Swimrun is a relatively new sport that originated in Sweden, and offers off-road and open-water adventure along coastal and inland waterways, with routes designed around the natural…

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Records smashed at Torpedo SwimRun Cape

Cape Town, 18 November. The third edition of the Torpedo SwimRun Cape saw records tumble in both the Men’s and the Women’s categories. Last year’s Mixed category winners, siblings Nick and Alexandra Quenet, now competing in the Men’s and Women’s categories, each took the wins with their respective race partners.

Conditions in the water were challenging due to a strong Southeaster, with both triathletes and lifesavers making up the bulk of the field tackling the 16km course from Sandy Bay to Clifton. There are no transitions in swimrunning – athletes run in their wetsuits and swim in their running shoes.

Men Young triathletes Nick Quenet and Jamie Riddle broke the 2-hour barrier with a time of 1:55:01, taking over 5 minutes off the previous record of 2:00:18.

“We knew it was going to be a tight race, we worked really well together and complemented each other in the swims and the runs. We didn’t enter the water first for the first swim, so we knew we had our work cut out for us. All in all a very tough race,” said Quenet.

Dylan Pivo and Riaan Shaw came second, despite Riaan losing a shoe in the water and having to run with bare feet: “We were exactly the same speed, running and swimming, which helped a lot. We may not be the fastest but we raced really well together,” they said.

Calvin Amor and Shane Fourie, one of the Llandudno Surf Lifesaving teams, came third: “It was a lot harder than last year, with longer swims, nice and technical. On the long swim we were pushed out to sea, fighting with the kelp on the inside. Competition was a lot tougher, a lot higher this year, so it was good to push ourselves.”

The Cooke brothers from Port Elizabeth, Keegan and Jarryd Cooke, were fourth. Race favourite Michael Lord, who had to find a replacement partner Llewelyn Groenewald in race week after JP Burger withdrew, pulled out during the course of the race.

Women Vicky Van Der Merwe, an experienced triathlete but new to Torpedo SwimRun, was ably led by Alexandra  Quenet for the team to take just over a minute off the previous Women’s record in a time of 2:25:20.

The two agreed that they had worked very well as a team, with van der Merwe crediting her partner with strength in the swimming: “Being my first Torpedo SwimRun, we decided to go out quite conservatively. Alex is a very good swimmer so I had paddles on and tried to sit on her feet as much as possible. So Alex did most of the work on the swims, and then we ran really well together,” she said.

Second place was taken by Bianca Tarboton and Lauren Granger, one of the Llandudno Surf Lifesaving teams: “The wind was a big factor but the salt water makes your shoes more buoyant than the freshwater we experienced in the Torpedo SwimRun Wild, which helps. It is good to race on our home turf.”

Jacqueline Vockins and Karen Graaf were placed third, in the same position as last year, and Alessandra Bayly and Christina Geromont, winners of the the Inaugural Torpedo SwimRun, were fourth.

Race Director Richard McMartin said they were thrilled with the outcomes. “In the Men’s and the Women’s, records have tumbled, with some top triathletes coming and racing. We introduced prize money this year and it has really brought the level of competition up a notch. The pumping Southeaster made conditions tricky, but we have a lot of excited people ready for next year.���

SwimRun gaining international attention

Andrew Maclean is originally from Scotland but has been living in Sweden for the past 15 years, where swimrun as a sport originated. He has done about 50 swimruns worldwide since 2013, including two Otillo Swimrun World Championships. His brother Robert lives in Johannesburg and the two met up in Cape Town to take on Torpedo SwimRun: “It was an amazing experience. Extremely surprised we finished in 12th place overall in my brother’s first ever swimrun race. I highly recommend this well organized and adventurous race; very cold water, hot runs, massive kelp forests to swim through. We didn’t see any sharks but we did see a seal near the finish line.”

Rugby Players embracing SwimRun

Former Springbok Rugby Players Robbie Fleck, Corne Krige and Ollie le Roux took part, and Robbie Fleck came fourth in the Mixed category with his race partner Keri Espey: “The wind made it pretty tough, but what a special experience. You see parts of Cape Town that you never really appreciate. You get tested to the limits.”

Lifesavers give up their chance at the podium to help a swimrunner

Llandudno lifesavers Rob Shaff and Rob Tweddle were expected to podium, but found themselves coming to the aid of a swimrunner struggling against the current. “As we were leaving the water at Sandy Bay we saw a guy in distress, he had lost his cap and was panicking, so we led him to the cameraman on a boogy board who could help him to safety,” says Rob Tweddle.

header image: Greg Millar

The winners

Results

Men:

Nick Quenet and Jamie Riddle (1:55:01)

Riaan Shaw and Dylan Pivo (2:04:47)

Calvin Amor and Shane Fourie (2:05:32)

Keegan Cook and Jarryd Cooke (2:09:39)

Women:

Alexandra Quenet and Vicky van der Merwe (2:25:20)

Lauren Granger and Bianca Tarboton (2:37:20)

Jacqueline Vockins and Karen Graaf (2:46:50)

Alessandra Bayly and Christina Geromont (2:49:50)

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Records smashed at Torpedo SwimRun Cape

Records smashed at @torpedoswimrun Cape

Cape Town, 18 November. The third edition of the Torpedo SwimRun Cape saw records tumble in both the Men’s and the Women’s categories. Last year’s Mixed category winners, siblings Nick and Alexandra Quenet, now competing in the Men’s and Women’s categories, each took the wins with their respective race partners.

Conditions in the water were challenging due to a strong Southeaster, with both…

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Top triathletes line up to compete for R 100k prize money at Torpedo SwimRun Cape

Sunday 18 November sees the third edition of the Torpedo SwimRun Cape take place, with 16km of racing along the Cape Town Atlantic coastline from Sandy Bay to Clifton. Swimrun is a battle of the sports with athletes from the top of their respective sports lining up to compete for a R 100k prize purse. There are no transitions in swimrunning – athletes run in their wetsuits and swim in their running shoes.

With the famous Cape Doctor wind forecast to blow this coming weekend, the athletes will have a freezing Atlantic to overcome, adding to the dynamic of this ever changing race.

Men Defending champions JP Burger and Michael Lord will be back and hungry for their third consecutive Torpedo Cape victory. This professional triathlon team has route knowledge and speed and will be on the starting line as the pre-race favorites.

Also from a triathlon background, are the young guns Nick Quenet and Jamie Riddle. On paper, they’re the fastest team entered and capable of finishing under the yet-to-be broken 2-hour barrier. Nick won the Mixed category  in 2017, so will have to guide the Torpedo newbie Jamie through this dynamic race.

Challenging them are the brothers from Port Elizabeth, Jarryd and Keegan Cooke. Although this is their first crack at Cape, they’re experienced ocean swimmers, fast on the runs and are aiming for the win after their third place at the recent Torpedo Wild, a longer Torpedo SwimRun, on the Garden Route in September.

The wildcards will be the lifesaving teams from the local club, Llandudno Surf Lifesaving. With water temperatures likely to be under 10 degrees, and the potential for strong wind chop on the swims, it could be the team with the most grit that wins the day. The lifesavers are hardened ocean athletes and in world-class form ahead of the lifesaving World Championships later this month in Australia. Rob Shaff and Rob Tweddle (3rd Men 2017 Torpedo Cape, 2nd Men 2018 Torpedo Wild), Calvin Amor (2nd Men 2017 Torpedo Cape and 1st Men 2018 Torpedo Wild), Shane Fourie (2nd Men 2017 Torpedo Cape) and Nik Martin (1st Men 2018 Torpedo Wild) are all front runners and will be using the race along their home turf to their advantage.

Women On paper, the team of Vicky Van Der Merwe and Alex Quenet are firm favorites. Both with strong triathlon backgrounds, their speed over the open running and swimming segments of the course will be unmatched. Alex won the Mixed category with her brother Nick Quenet in 2017, finishing an impressive 3rd overall team across the line. This will be Vicky’s first Torpedo, so the conditions are an unknown for her, made worse with the forecast wind that will buffer the course.

Waiting for any sign of weakness from the race favorites, the more experienced women’s teams will be hoping to capitalize. Bianca Tarboton (1st Women 2017 Torpedo Cape) and Lauren Granger (1st Women 2018 Torpedo Wild) are both from the local Llandudno Surf Lifesaving and will be looking for every advantage through the waves, rocks and currents of Sandy Bay and Llandudno.

Alessandra Bayly and Christina Geromont won the Inaugural Torpedo SwimRun and are also specialists through the surf. Look out for them racing in surf booties as opposed to running shoes. This costs them marginally through the road running sections but gives them an advantage through the water, kelp and rocks. They could be the race’s early leaders.

The consistent performers of Karen Graaff and Jacqueline Vockins (3rd Women 2017 Torpedo Cape) will be podium contenders with strong swimming backgrounds. Karen recently completed a 21km swim in Tanzania and will be a powerhouse through the water. Both Jacqueline and Karen are Torpedo originals – they took part in the original scouting for the Torpedo Cape route – and have intimate knowledge of the course.

Further is information available at www.torpedoswimrun.com

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Top triathletes line up to compete for R 100k prize money at Torpedo SwimRun Cape

Top triathletes line up to compete for R 100k prize money at @torpedoswimrun Cape

Sunday 18 November sees the third edition of the Torpedo SwimRun Cape take place, with 16km of racing along the Cape Town Atlantic coastline from Sandy Bay to Clifton. Swimrun is a battle of the sports with athletes from the top of their respective sports lining up to compete for a R 100k prize purse. There are no transitions in swimrunning – athletes run in their wetsuits and swim in their…

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Torpedo SwimRun Series Expands again

The Torpedo SwimRun Series is growing, with the recent announcement that the newest event, Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie, will be happening on 3 February 2019 on the well-known Franschhoek lifestyle estate, and will draw both competitive athletes and beginner swimrunners who want to try out the sport.

Swimrun is a relatively new sport that originated in Sweden, and offers off-road and open-water adventure along coastal and inland waterways, with routes designed around the natural environment and with distances varying from race to race. Torpedo SwimRun is leading the way in developing the sport of swimrun in South Africa, and are rolling out a series of these events for different levels of athletes.

Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie

Former Olympic swimming gold medalist Ryk Neethling, Marketing Director for Val de Vie, is so taken with the sport that he has entered the November Torpedo SwimRun Cape event, and is very happy to be hosting a Torpedo SwimRun on the Franschhoek estate next year: “At Val de Vie we are promoting a healthy outdoor lifestyle and to that end we host trail runs, have developed more than 40km of MTB trails, host the polo as well as our monthly markets, and so to add a Torpedo SwimRun event is a great fit for us,” he said.

Richard McMartin, co-founder of Torpedo SwimRun, said: “One of the reasons we are so thrilled about Val de Vie as our next event, is that this one will  make SwimRun so much more accessible to new participants: the swimming is in dams with the longest swim being 400m, and it is not as technical as Cape and Wild. We are also able to cater for a larger number of athletes. The longest run is 3km. With 2kms of swimming in total, and 8km of total running, the whole race is 10km.”

  Torpedo SwimRun Cape and Wild

November 18 will see the third edition of the pinnacle Torpedo SwimRun Cape take place. This event has grown significantly since the inaugural event in January 2017, which was also the first swimrun event to launch in the country, and now attracts top athletes who will be competing for R100k in prize money.

Second Skins, a South African company that has been custom-making performance-enhancing sportswear since 1986, tailored the yellow Torpedo vests that are becoming synonymous with SwimRun. Each Cape podium finisher receives a special edition black Torpedo Second Skin, which is becoming a much sought after prize that indicates the cream of the crop in SwimRun.

Torpedo SwimRun Wild launched in the Wilderness area in September this year, with a 6km prologue on Friday and a 26km main event on Saturday, made up of multiple segments of swimming, running and “swambling”, which is a rugged combination of swimming and scrambling over rocks.

SwimRun Community

A strong SwimRun community has developed over the course of 2017 – 2018, and the sport is fast gaining momentum, especially amongst lifesavers whose strength lies in the open water swimming, and amongst triathletes who are used to the multisport discipline. SwimRun is different in that athletes run in their wetsuits and swim in their running shoes – there are no transitions like you have in triathlon. Open water swimmers such as Ryan Stramrood and Mark de Klerk have also embraced the sport, with Stramrood having started running regularly in order to compete in both the second Cape event, as well as in September’s Wild.

Stramrood recently joined a tour of the Val de Vie route and he says: “This one will be perfect for those who are fit but thought Cape and Wild were too intimidating to try. You will be able to really see what the sport is about: its fast, fun and a proper challenge.”

Entries are now open for Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie  at  https://torpedoswimrun.com/val-de-vie/

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Torpedo SwimRun Series Expands again

Torpedo SwimRun Series Expands again

The Torpedo SwimRun Series is growing, with the recent announcement that the newest event, Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie, will be happening on 3 February 2019 on the well-known Franschhoek lifestyle estate, and will draw both competitive athletes and beginner swimrunners who want to try out the sport.

Swimrun is a relatively new sport that originated in Sweden, and offers off-road and open-water…

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Cape Town Lifesavers dominate at the Torpedo SwimRun Wild

Torpedo SwimRun Wild took place over two days in the Wilderness area over the weekend, with a 6km prologue on Friday and a 26km main event on Saturday, made up of multiple segments of swimming, running and “swambling”, which is a rugged combination of swimming and scrambling over rocks. Teams from Llandudno Surf Lifesaving in Cape Town dominated both the mens and womens podiums, and also delivered the mixed team winner.

Calvin Amor and Nik Martin were the Men’s overall winners, and Rob Tweddle and Rob Shaff were second. All four athletes are Llandudno Surf Lifesavers. Port Elizabeth triathlete brothers Keegan and Jarryd Cooke, having finished two minutes clear of other athletes in the prologue event on the Friday, were looking like strong candidates to take the win, but a wrong turn took them off course and they did well to come third overall.

Rob Tweddle in Island Lake Swim

Both the top two women’s teams are also from Llandudno Surf Lifesaving. Jamie Day and Lauren Granger were first, beating previous Torpedo SwimRun Cape winners, Bianca Tarboton and Linda Detering, into second place. In third place were Carla Farina and Su-Yen Thornhill. The winning Mixed team was Alessandra Bayly and Johann Minnaar.

Richard McMartin, Torpedo SwimRun co-founder, says they are thrilled with how the event went: “After the success of the first two Cape events that include tough cold ocean swims, it was great to see the format work equally well in our first freshwater SwimRun. We have some of the most beautiful coastlines, waterways, beaches and forests in South Africa, and I believe we have the potential to be the SwimRun capital of the world.”

Nik Martin says: “This was one of the most unbelievable physical events I have ever done. The technicality of the whole route, especially the Kaaimans, was spectacular – diving in and out of the pools, jumping, slipping and sliding over the rocks. We struggled a bit running on the flats, but made up time on the Kaaimans, which gave a us the solid lead.”

Lauren Granger (left) and Jamie Day

Lauren Granger had this to say: “That is without a doubt the most fun I have had in any race, swimming, running, or otherwise. So much variety, starting off in the beautiful Kaaimans. It’s tough, it’s challenging, it’s nothing anyone is used to and you figure it out as you go along. It’s been the most unreal experience and the race is incredible.”

SwimRun offers off-road and open-water adventure along coastal and inland waterways, with routes designed around the natural environment and with distances varying from race to race. The multiple swim and run segments see athletes swimming and running in the same gear, with no transitions as there are in triathlon.

“We are announcing another event in the Torpedo SwimRun Series this week, and look forward to catering for a bigger group of athletes at our next freshwater event that will take place in the beautiful Cape Winelands,” says McMartin.

With prize money set at R 100k for November’s Cape event, Torpedo SwimRun is attracting both serious competitive athletes, and fit and adventurous fun-seekers.

Picture credit: Caleb Bjergfelt

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Recently crowned Ironman Champs vying for Torpedo SwimRun podium this weekend

Torpedo SwimRun Wild takes place in Wilderness this Friday 14 and on Saturday 15 September, with Torpedo SwimRun Cape defending champs from both the Men’s and Women’s categories taking on the first freshwater SwimRun in South Africa as favourites.

Men’s winners of both previous Cape events on the Atlantic Coastline in Cape Town, Michael Lord and JP Burger, are starting out confident after Burger’s recent crowning as the Ironman 70.3 World Champion (18 – 24 age category).  Other Men’s teams will be looking to upset the pair’s unbeaten record, and  Rohan Meyer, another age group Ironman 70.3 World Champion, will be hoping to do just that with team mate Rudolf Visser, who also raced at the World Champs.

Port Elizabeth brothers Keegan and Jarryd Cooke are powerful all-rounders and will be looking to make an impression on their home turf in their first SwimRun. The wildcard Men’s teams are no doubt the agile athletes from Llandudno Surf Lifesaving, Rob Twiddle and Rob Schaff, who came 3rd in Torpedo Cape last year. They have reconnoitered the route and are in good form ahead of the Surf Lifesaving Championships in Australia later this year.

Calvin Amor, who posted many of the fastest run segment times from Torpedo Cape, has enlisted Andy During who is powerful in the water. The first half of the race consists of highly technical swambling (a rugged combination of swimming and scrambling) and if Amor and During have a large enough gap by halfway, they could be hard to pull back.

In the Women’s field Bianca Tarboton and Linda Detering will be tough to beat. Both athletes are strong runners and swimmers and have reconnoitered the Kaaimans ravine over the past months. They will have backup from another strong Llandudno Surf Lifesaving Mixed team, Alessandra Bayly and Johann Minnaar. Bayly won the inaugural Torpedo Cape in 2017 in the Women’s category with team mate Christina Geromont.

The wildcard Women’s team will be Carla Farina and Su-yen Thornhill. Although this will be their first SwimRun, they have strong triathlon backgrounds and will be fast over the open sections of the second half of the course.

The Wild race distance is 26km, made up of four segments totaling 4km, and five run segments totaling 17km. The other 5kms are made up of “swamble”.

SwimRun offers off-road and open-water adventure along coastal and inland waterways, with routes designed around the natural environment and with distances varying from race to race. The multiple swim and run segments see athletes swimming and running in the same gear, with no transitions as there are in triathlon.

Richard McMartin, Torpedo SwimRun co-founder, says that the third Torpedo SwimRun Cape on 18 November is already sold out, and that they are working hard to roll out the series to cater for the growing demand for the sport.

“We are announcing another event in the Torpedo SwimRun Series soon, and look forward to catering for a bigger group of athletes at our next freshwater event that will take place in the beautiful Cape Winelands,” he says.

With prize money set at R 100k for November’s Cape event, Torpedo SwimRun is attracting both serious competitive athletes, and fit and adventurous fun-seekers.

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Race wide open for Torpedo SwimRun Cape athletes to bag R 100k in prize money

Race wide open for Torpedo SwimRun Cape athletes to bag R 100k in prize money

Organizers of the Torpedo SwimRun Series have announced a prize purse of R 100k for the Torpedo SwimRun Cape that takes place in November 2018 along the Cape Town Atlantic coastline. Torpedo SwimRun is rolling out the series across South Africa with Cape as the pinnacle race, and Torpedo SwimRun Wild is set to take place in freshwater rivers, forest and on the beaches of Wilderness in September.

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Second Torpedo Swimrun a great success

The second Torpedo SwimRun yesterday saw a field of over 100 two-person teams negotiate multiple run and swim segments from Sandy Bay to Clifton 4th beach in Cape Town. The natural beauty of the course, located on the Cape Town Atlantic Seaboard, is resulting in the race fast becoming an iconic event for both serious athletes and fit adventure-seekers.

The top spot was taken by Jean-Paul Burger…

[runridedive]

Extreme Openwater and Ice Swimmer Ryan Stramrood takes up the Torpedo challenge

Extreme Openwater and Ice Swimmer Ryan Stramrood takes up the Torpedo challenge

Entries are still open for the second Torpedo SwimRun, which takes place on 19 November in Cape Town. Extreme open water and ice swimmer Ryan Stramrood has entered the race with fellow extreme swimmer Mark de Klerk as his teammate. Ryan has never worn a wetsuit for open water swimming before, and he does not own a pair of running shoes, but has decided to step far out of his comfort zone to take…