Gritty Rascals bring back Swimrun Gower
Having revived Swimrun Coniston in 2023, Gritty Rascals events are bringing back Swimrun Gower in 2024. The event takes place on Saturday 29 June.
Swimrun Gower, in South Wales, was originally part of Breca’s popular swimrun series. The last full length edition took place in 2019. Breca hosted the last short distance edition in 2021.
For their first year, Gritty Rascals are recreating (approximately) the old sprint distance race, which they are calling the “Gritty” and covers 20.1km. They are also introducing a new shorter distance “Sprint” of 11.5km. They plan to reintroduce the full distance course in 2025.
We asked Gary Pavitt, the founder of Gritty Rascals, why swimrunners should consider Gower.
“Gower offers athletes the opportunity to swim and run somewhere that feels remote and wild, which harks back to the original spirit of swimun. At the same time, it’s just a short distance from a major city, which makes it easy to access. The way the tide and timings work means the event could even be done as a day trip.”
With runs on the hilly National Trust trails and sea swims, this event has a reputation for being challenging but rewarding. Compared with some other events, the swim distances are relatively short: this is a course that favours strong trail runners. It also has a sting in the tail with the steep climb into Mumbles Hill nature reserve after the final swim.
But just because the swims are shorter, it doesn’t mean they will be easy. You probably wouldn’t attempt to swim the 730m across Three Cliffs Bay or around the rugged headlands without the full safety support you get in an organised event.
In a significant change since the previous event, the finish area in Underhill Park has been redeveloped and a new complex built that has showers, changing facilities and a café. “It’s going to be much more appealing for athletes to stay around after they finish, refuel and celebrate their achievement,” says Gary.
Distance totals are as follows:
Gritty: Run – 17.9km, Swim – 2.2km, 8 transitions
Sprint: Run – 10km, Swim 1.5km, 6 transitions
Read our review of the original Breca Swimrun Gower.
