The Hydra Swrimrun didn’t disappoint, it was an amazing race in an amazing place. 

The Race

It was my 8th swimrun this year, continuing my social experiment of racing with a new partner each event. This time with Ireland’s Niamh Murphy. Due to arrival times we didn’t get the chance to test swimming together before the race so we’d learn as we went.

The race started at 08:00 sharp. Three Envol teams started hard. World Champ Saby+Viktor, Bartos+Sonia, and the men’s team father and son Oskar+Allan Strinning. We stuck with them the first 400m but for a race that I guessed would take us between 6 and 7 hours, we decided to back off a little. A men’s team Robert and Patrick were right behind us but as the first 5km run progressed we slowly edged away. 

We hit the first swim in this order, me leading then a short run before hitting the first of four steep climbs as the race traversed Hydra’s steep hills with swims on both sides of the island. Niamh suffers from getting cold on the swims so we decided to let her lead the following swims so she could work a little harder. [Link to Strava Route with some great photos from the course].

The weather in the days leading up to the race had been very gusty but we caught a break from Aeolus, god of the winds, and had truly perfect conditions. On the steep inclines that were more than 15% we power hiked, but the course was varied with many runnable accents and descents. The crossing of the island on the advanced course provided some magical views across this amazing landscape. We knew after the penultimate swim there was about 7km of very runnable trail and I wanted to save some energy for that.

We had a great race. Our strategy was perhaps on the conservative side (Niamh is a savage) but with very tough competition for 1st and 2nd, I believe we made the right call, finishing strong with smiles on our faces and beers in our hands (thanks Nico). Our time was 6 hours and 17 seconds.  Less than 20% behind world-class Saby/Victor, 8% behind Bartos/Sonia and 5% behind Oskar/Allan, claiming 4th place overall and 3rd in the Mixed Class.

I talked with the competitors in the other race distances. Everyone had had an amazing day. A big thank you to the organizer Constantinos Mitropapas and the entire Trimore team - it is a special place to swimrun.

Older Yet Faster

In the days running up to the race, Envol co-hosted a camp with French fitness coach and health influencer Lucile Woodward for a large group of women from her community. Lucile and I ran back together after one training session and the conversation drifted to running technique. She asked me if I’d read Older Yet Faster by Keith Bateman and Heidi Jones - I hadn’t. 

I realized she was complimenting my running, but I couldn't help but notice the gentle implication that I was not exactly in my prime. That’s okay - when I started my Forward Motion Stockholm coaching, my motto was “age group athletes doing more with less”. After all, that is exactly what we are trying to achieve with each passing year, and I was keen to hear Keith and Heidi's advice. I ordered it, and it was waiting for me when I returned to Stockholm.

Older Yet Faster: The Secret to Running Fast and Injury Free was first published in 2018 and now on the 3rd edition. The book aims to help runners of all levels transition to more efficient running techniques, aiming to reduce common injuries and enhance performance.

Although I can’t match Keith’s performances, we both experienced significant improvement in running times after the age of 45. I found the parallels in our approaches incredibly similar - both for speed and injury avoidance:

1. The primacy of technique 

2. The importance of run-specific strength

3. The use of minimalist shoes 

4. The significance of natural movement

It is a great resource combining evidence-based insights with practical steps to help you improve your performance and to reduce the risk of injury.

It also brought to mind one of the first books that truly changed the way I ran - Running Fast and Injury Free is a 60-page PDF book <LINK> authored by Gordon Pirie, and edited by John S. Gilbody after his death.

It is important to put Pirie’s work in a timeline; he was born in Leeds in 1931 and died in 1991. Pirie broke multiple world records, including the 3-mile and 6-mile distances, and won a silver medal in the 5,000 meters at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. The manuscript was collated and edited after his death during the years 1994 to 2004.

So he wrote this before 1991, how long before I don’t know, but the ideas advocating forefoot striking and criticizing modern running shoes for causing injuries only re-emerged after 2009 with McDougals Book, Born to Run.

It’s a great read, take his running laws on page 6, all of which I have adopted:

1. Running with correct technique (even in prepared bare feet), on any surface, is injury free. 

2. Running equals springing through the air, landing elastically on the forefoot with a flexed knee (thus producing quiet feet). On landing, the foot should be directly below the body. (Walking is landing on the heels with a straight leg). 

3. Any and all additions to the body damage running skill. 

4. Quality beats quantity; the speed at which you practice the most will be your best speed. 

5. Walking damages running. 

6. The correct running tempo for human beings is between three and five steps per second. 

7. Arm power is directly proportional to leg power. 

8. Good posture is critical to running. (Don't lean forwards!). 

9. Speed kills endurance; endurance kills speed. 

10. Each individual can only execute one “Program” at any one time; an individual can be identified by his or her idiosyncrasies (i.e. “Program”). An individual can change his or her “Program” only by a determined, educational effort; each individual's “Program” degenerates unless it is controlled constantly. 

11. Static stretching exercises cause injuries! 

12. Running equals being out of breath, so breathing through the mouth is obligatory (hence the nickname “Puff Puff Pirie”).

I read Pirie’s book and Born to Run at about the same time. But before reading them there was another moment of awakening. I was turning 40 and had spent my thirties struggling through 10k runs in about an hour. I was a fast-walker (aka a heel striker). The running stores looked at my shity-gait and recommended stability shoes. Nobody ever mentioned running technique!

On a friend’s bookshelf, I stumbled across a copy of Dr. Nicholas Romanov's Pose Method of Running (2002). Reading it I had an epiphany - changing the way I ran almost overnight it was as if someone had released the hand-break. “Wow - is this how it should feel” - three months later I ran a marathon in 3 hours 15 (BQ for my age group). It took another two years to break 40 mins for the 10k at 42. After that the improvements continued, culminating with a series of PBs after the age of 50 - 5k 17:32, 10k 37:28, Half-Mara 1:23:59, and Marathon 2:59:20.

My journey has been more self-directed but you’d be wise to get Older Yet Faster. It does a great job of providing a step-by-step program for improvement. I find that most people underestimate the potential contribution to run speed that can be gained through good form and technique. Running is very much a movement skill and not only a “try hard” skill.

Whilst we are on the subject of book tips - the newly released Built to Run by Dr. Matthew D. Silver is another great resource covering the assessment of running form, mobility and strength exercises, breathing techniques, foot mechanics, and injury solutions.

Getting back to Older Yet Faster in some ways I find the title limiting. There isn’t much in the book that would apply only to older athletes. It could have just as well just be called “Faster”; but then for Keith, Heidi and others, age is indeed a nagging factor. I have a friend that has removed all the mirrors from his house to reduce this self objectification!

If age is just a number, then belief is the factor that determines how we use it. The gap between elite and amateur performance is so vast that age isn’t the real barrier for most of us - it’s our willingness to believe in what’s still possible and apply ourselves. 

For those who dare to remove the “mirrors” of self-limitation and negative self-image, there’s freedom in focusing on what the body can do, rather than how it might appear. 

With each race, let us prove that discipline, hard work, a strong mind, and unshakeable belief are the true keys to defying age and continually reaching new personal heights. 

This grandad intends to!