3rd time lucky is an often-used phrase. But a lot of hard work goes into luck. Team Australia feels very lucky to be the only team to put their hands on the lighthouse three times. The 3rd consecutive time when many very talented and well qualified teams have not ever managed once. In fact, no one who lines up on the start line is unworthy due to the hard selection criteria from Thomas and the One Water Race crew. And plenty of more qualified and experienced athletes would not even dare to take the start line, such is the ultimate challenge of this race. Even for those who have dared before it is daunting. Knowing what must be done and being able to execute it are two different things. And our success comes not just from our performance during the race, but of years of experience across a wide variety of races and life events. This race demands a unique set of skills and to date team Australia has been able to deliver.
Having put our hands on the Landsort lighthouse twice before never guarantees that it will happen again. A fact that we were ever aware of and never took for granted as we stood on the start line for the 2024 edition of the One Water Race. Nothing is given easy in this race, every kilometre swum and run must be earned. Every piece of ‘luck’ takes a lot of work. It has been quoted that this race is a beautiful, dark, beast. Never a truer word had been said.
Team Australia geographically live in very different parts of Australia, yet our super power is being able to work effectively together as a well-oiled machine. Again, this is not through luck. Julian is the most effective and organised sport crew one could hope for, and we follow his instructions without reservation, yet we must all play our roles and trust in each other that they will each also play theirs. Rob the confident, precise and fearless navigator, Glenn the superbly talented lead swimmer, Elizabeth the organiser and positive motivator. Only working as this complete team are we able to succeed in a challenge such as this. We worked hard throughout the year to keep the constant communication and team strategy and gear chatter up. A few training weekends a good excuse to put these to the test as a team unit.
Just as Thomas pushes the boundaries of what is possible with putting in a race, we also must push the boundaries of what we think is it possible to do. We must never settle. The level of the competition is always increasing. We all love racing and it was great to have other teams around and near us especially in the early part of the race, but we never lost our focus on what we must do and working together as a team. It is a long, long race, and disrespecting the course by getting distracted by competitors could have dire consequences.
Getting to the start line is also no mean feat, let alone getting to Landsort. Turning up healthy can be the biggest challenge. Avoiding serious injuries throughout the year, a pre-race cold, a bike crash or a dodgy gear dropping bike on the way to a pre-race massage were just some of the events that we had to contend with that could have derailed our race before the start gun had officially been fired. And fika. So much fika. The lure of fika once team Australia hits Sweden is strong and a necessary tradition we are only too happy to participate in. But too much of a good thing can be dangerous and although we could spend many more days enjoying the company of other teams and crew along with the saunas and stunning scenery at Arholma, I fear our performance would certainly suffer were we to have many more days of consuming the amount of fika we do pre-race.
For the most part, the race seemed to fly quickly by as we passed from island to island, avoiding ferries, putting on extra layers for the longer colder swims, consuming copious amounts of calories, and keeping up the banter to keep us motivated and spirits high. The first day seemed to quickly turn into the first night which then turned into the second day and so on. Highlighted by some amazing Thomas hugs out on course at various points – something we all look forward to immensely. Not to mention warm salty noodles shoved down the front of your wetsuit after a long swim to warm us up and then to be eaten and enjoyed a short time later. Blueberry soup is another local favourite of ours which we save uniquely for this race. This race has certainly grown in popularity being cheered on by random strangers on route and hearing support messages from home and those following online always lifts our spirits. As does the sun coming up on each new day of the race and the stunning scenery of the Swedish Archipelago which will never cease to amaze us.
Weather and conditions were very challenging this year. Some intense patches of cold water as well as strong currents from the south and wind, so much wind. Most noticeable was this for the infamous crossing of Danzinger Gatt. A huge moment in the race, and really not until one had succeeded at this can one begin to dream of touching the lighthouse door. This year we lengthened the Danzinger Gatt crossing electing to start from the pier at Nåttarö and at 230am in the darkness, the place where fear and scary monsters live, we embarked on our Danzinger Gatt experience for 2024. Buffeting winds, huge swell and the darkness engulfed us and we knew this was a defining moment of the race. After some kilometres a faint blue glow of a checkpoint would appear far in the distance, although it would be some hours before it would appear to get closer. Such was the swell however that those in the water thought it was a blinking light, despite our ever trustworthy support crew Julian telling us it wasn’t. The height of the waves crashing over us constantly made the blue checkpoint buoy disappear so regularly that we assumed it was flashing.
Often the monotony of doing one thing for an extended duration can increase the sleepiness, such as on a long Island run. This was not the case for Danzinger Gatt as every stroke we had to fight to stay on course, not get the swim tethers caught, and try to get our heads about the raging waters long enough to take a breath without inhaling or swallowing too much water. We had varying degrees of success at each of these things and it was 3 very sorry looking souls that nearly 4 hours later hit land on the other side of Danzinger Gatt. Not as much excitement at finishing this swimming stretch as previous times, there was too much exhaustion and relief for that, but the excitement would come soon after when we finally knew we had overcome the most significant barrier to Landsort and to another finish.
The final few islands on the way to Landsort are absolutely stunning and it is very stirring when you first catch a glimpse in the distance of the lighthouse. It was lovely to run (shuffle) the last island with Julian who is such a huge component of this successful team. Touching the lighthouse door is amazingly special and such a feeling of pride is overflowing. The Landsort lager and burger and chips tasting as glorious as we had imagined it would. We are thankful to have been able to complete this race for another time and cherish the memories we have created and will brag about for a long time to come. We are also incredibly thankful for all the support and assistance both in Stockholm and at home we have received to help get us to this point. It certainly takes more than a team to finish this race. And for that we are eternally grateful.
