As we rapidly approach the 2026 season, it’s the perfect time to look back at what SöS members got up to in 2025. There were definitely more members out racing than in 2024 and some great achievements all round, from those taking part in their first swimrun races to others qualifying for the Ötillö Swimrun World Championships. We’re very proud of you all and can’t wait to see what 2026 brings. But for now, here’s a rundown of 2025:
June
Racing for us commenced in June, when loads of members made the short hop down the coast to Dorset for the Studland Swimrun. People took part in all three distances, mostly solo but also in teams. Sarah and Lulu (team Dancing Queens) were the second women’s team home in the long-distance event and Vini was third in the men’s solo short-distance race having finally returned to racing after a long hiatus—the fomo obviously finally got too strong! But it’s not all about the podium, many took part in their first swimrun race and the feeling of camaraderie was incredible. The fact we could pull together an entire set of kit (admittedly with a little outside help, thank you Simon for the lend of the suit) for the one swimrunner whose kit stayed at home that day is amazing.
Late June saw a small group head off to Wales, for Gritty Rascals’ Gower event. Adrian and Anthony formed Team AA to take on the full distance, finishing in an epic third place, while Sarah and Louise raced the half (Gritty) distance as Söuthsea Swimrun Sirens and eventually took the top spot on the podium after being chased around the coast by several other women’s teams. Vini continued his glorious return by topping the podium in the men’s sprint solo category.
July
Sadly, Mad Hatters Roseland was cancelled in July after entry numbers were too low to run the event, but Sarah, Adrian and Louise headed down to Cornwall regardless and spent a great couple of days both swimming and swimrunning with the wonderful Mad Hatters crew. The casual swimrun safari might be my new favourite way to swimrun.
Still in July, Vini continued his successful season with a sneaky trip to the Wales Swimrun, where he raced himself onto the podium once again, finishing as the second man and third person overall in the sprint race (worth noting the “sprint” was three hours of tough but fun racing).
August
In August, new SöS member Gaz Roberts, who’d also raced Ötillö Uto in early June and is no stranger to swimrun or endurance racing, took on the One Water Race in Sweden as part of Team UK. A non-stop, three-person, 250km swimrun over 60 hours, One Water Race is basically insane. Only two teams out of ten completed the course and although Team UK wasn’t one of them, Gaz’s stories of his experiences at the event provide an excellent insight into ways people are using the swimrun format to push endurance boundaries.
Also in August, Mark took the first of his solo trips to Sweden, on this occasion to Finnhamn, to investigate the more grassroots Swedish swimrun scene. I think he’d definitely recommend looking beyond the big event brands. This and his September event were run by Swedish brand Wolffwear.
September
Then in September the weather gods disappointingly caused the cancellation of Mad Hatters’ Gribbin swimrun, which is a lovely course i’m sure many of us hope to get back down to in 2026. The Bewl swimrun was on that same weekend and based around Bewl Water reservoir in Kent/East Sussex, so a lot more sheltered. Geraldine, Mark and Sarah took a very enjoyable day trip to take part over two of the available distances, learning that even a reservoir can get interestingly choppy when the wind blows at just the right strength and angle.
Mark took himself off to Sweden once again, this time to Husarö Swimrun, for a fun-looking circumnavigation of another of the many islands in the Stockholm archipelago.
Still in September, obviously a popular month for swimrunning, Sarah, Adrian and Louise, plus Christina and a number of her family and friends, travelled north to Gritty Rascals Coniston Swimrun. With a view to taking on Rockman in 2026, Sarah and Adrian formed Söuthsea Swimrun Rockstars and took on the epic 45-km full course, while Louise raced solo in the Gritty and Christina teamed up with her daughter for the sprint. It was a beautiful but tough day out, nevertheless, team Rockstars were the first mixed team home (don’t ask out of how many!) and the Doves were first women’s team in the sprint.
October
A suggestion from another lovely swimrun buddy at Coniston led to a very speedy entry into the Ötillö Cannes World Series event for Sarah, as she hunted more Ötillö points to add to those obtained at Coniston (an Otillo Merit Race), in support of an application for the 2026 Ötillö World Championships. The Cannes World Series is a really interesting course that takes in islands, old town charm, hills, a challenging forest trail, a nudist beach, and potentially, lots of stinging jellyfish. Thankfully, there weren’t as many of the little beasties around as at the 2022 event, and Ötillö points were added without any unfortunate wildlife encounters.
Two weeks later Sarah ended the season at Swimrun Cote D’Azure, which she highly recommends if you’re looking for some last-minute autumnal warmth (both air and sea) in the South of France. What’s not to love, frankly.
Ötillö World Championships
Swimrun Christmas brought the very exciting news that Adrian, Gaz and Sarah had all qualified for the 2026 Ötillö World Championships, Adrian and Sarah as Söuthsea Swimrun Rockstars and Gaz as part of Team G&T with UK swimrunner Tamsyn Clark. So one thing is certain, there’ll be a lot more swimrunning in 2026!
Apologies if I’ve missed any of your activities, please feel free to comment if you raced anywhere else in 2025 and would like to recommend an event for SöS members in 2026. And welcome to all our new and, indeed, returning members (with a special shout out to Rupert, who has already entered several events for 2026). Again, this isn’t an exhaustive list of the fabulous swimrun options available in the British Isles, other companies and races are available, for example, among others, We Swimrun hosts events in Wales and Liverpool, Scilly 60 hosts events in the stunning Scilly Isles, and 3D Events host Swimrun Jersey.