This was our fourth time taking on the One Water Race. We knew what was ahead: 250 kilometres through the Stockholm Archipelago, split between 70 kilometres of swimming and 180 kilometres of running. It never gets easier, but we’ve built experience — 2nd, 1st, and 2nd in our previous races — and we wanted to put that to use.
The race opened at a pace unlike anything we’d seen before. The field was deep and strong, and from the very first stages we were locked into a battle with Team 3. For most of the first 24 hours we swapped positions with them, never far apart. It made for an exciting but draining start. By the time things settled, we were sitting about an hour behind Team 6. It’s a position we know well: chasing, but doing so at our own rhythm.
Glenn took on the heavy lifting in the water. Having someone who can lead confidently across long, cold swims gave us a foundation. Liz kept us steady when the effort threatened to pull us apart. She had the right word at the right time and made sure we stayed positive and moving as one. Rob, our navigator and lead runner, carried the pressure of keeping us on track and pushing the pace on land. Julian, our support crew, was the extra set of eyes who reminded us of the bigger picture and helped us make the right calls.
By the second night, we hit a real low point. Utö was long, flat, and frankly boring, and the fatigue was catching up. Progress slowed. We made a quick decision to stop for a 30-minute sleep. It felt risky at the time, but it gave us what we needed. Waking up sharper and more cohesive was worth it, and it probably saved us hours later.
The 6 km swim across Danziger Gatt loomed large all race, and finishing it felt like clearing one of the biggest obstacles on the course. We were relieved. Then Julian told us the quickest route to the finish still meant another 7 km of swimming to Landsort. That was a hard moment to process. But it was also simple: there was no way around it, so we got back in the water.
We crossed the line in 2nd place. Four races, four finishes: 2nd, 1st, 2nd, and now 2nd again. We’re proud of that consistency. Would we have liked the win? Absolutely. But the race doesn’t hand out easy results, and standing together at the finish knowing we’d given what we had was enough.
