Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
“This is our day. Now let’s make the best of it versus comparing ourselves to others or our expectations.”
Chris Hauth
Today I am joined by my friend, coach and teammate Chris Hauth for a special edition of Coach’s Corner – a spin on my typical podcast format — to recap our breathtaking, once-in-a-lifetime adventure competing in the Ötillö Swimrun World Championships in Sweden.
A sub-9 hour Ironman, Chris (@AIMPCoach) is a former professional triathlete, two-time Olympic Swimmer and one of the world’s most respected endurance coaches. In 2006, Chris won the Ironman Coeur D’Alene and went on to be the first American amateur & 4th overall American at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
When he’s not training and racing, Chris runs AIMP Coaching, mentoring a wide spectrum of athletes ranging from elite professionals — including Ironman and Western States top finishers, Ultraman winners and Olympic Trials qualifiers — to first time half-marathoners. Under Chris’ tutelage since 2008, he deftly guided me through three Ultraman World Championships, EPIC5. and now Ötillö.
This past Monday, Chris and I joined 300 athletes from 24 countries to race Ötillö as a two-man team, traversing 26 islands spread across the outer-reaches of the Swedish archipelago on foot and by sea. All told, 40 miles of running and 6 miles of swimming.
It was a truly extraordinary experience. Punishing. Humbling. Brutal, beautiful and beyond extreme.
Along the way we met gale force winds. Sideways rain. Bone-chilling Baltic waters. And six-foot swells. We were on our hands and knees, scaling vertical granite slippery as ice. We trudged through bogs in knee-deep mud. Loose rocks left us flat on our backs. We bushwhacked terrain so difficult, so impossibly technical, it all feels now like an impossible dream.
Today we share the incredible story.
I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange.
Peace + Plants,
P.S. – For more on the adventure, please read Adam Skolnick’s piece for the New York Times, A Brutal Competition, Island to Island, in Sweden. I am deeply honored to be featured. But I didn’t get here by myself. It has been a long, challenging road. So thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has supported me and my work over the years. I am truly humbled.
Listen & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Soundcloud | Stitcher
Photographs courtesy of Tomasz Jakubowski
charity: water
I want to personally thank everyone who responded to my podcast with Scott Harrison and donated to charity: water by joining The Spring. As of the date of this writing, the RRP community has collectively raised enough revenue to build 4 wells annually! Amazing. Inspired by your generosity, my company has decided to sponsor one well per year – so that makes 5 wells for 2017. But why not make it 10? For just $20-$40 in monthly donations (100% of which go directly to clean water projects), you can make an incalculable difference in countless lives by investing in a world where everyone has clean water. There is simply no better feeling than providing a basic, life-altering human right. To learn more and join, please visit The Spring at cwtr.org/richroll.com
Thanks to this week’s sponsors:
Note: One of the best ways to support the podcast is to support the sponsors. For a complete list of all RRP sponsors and their respective vanity url’s and discount codes, visit my Resources page and click “Sponsors”.
Background, Context & Reference
- Connect With Chris: Website | Twitter | Email
- Apple Podcasts: The Weekly Word Podcast with Chris Hauth
- Website: ÖTILLÖ – Swim Run World Series
- The New York Times: A Brutal Competition, Island to Island, in Sweden by Adam Skolnick
- YouTube: ÖTILLÖ The Swimrun World Championship – LIVE 2017
- YouTube: Rich Roll & Chris Hauth Interview After Ötillö 2017
- YouTube: ÖTILLÖ The Swimrun World Championship – 2016
- ACTIONHUB: ÖTILLÖ: A Revolutionary Sport for Both Land and Sea by Lauren Montemurri
- Slowtwitch: The passion behind ÖTILLÖ by Lars Finanger
- Slowtwitch: Epic conditions at 2017 ÖTILLÖ World Championships by Herbert Krabel
- Slowtwitch: A 2017 ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Championship gallery by Herbert Krabel
- Flickr: Ötillö Swimrun World Championships 2017 Photo Gallery
- AIMPCoaching: Endurance Fueling by Chris Hauth
- AIMPCoaching: Better Than Yesterday by Chris Hauth
- AIMPCoaching: 4 Questions To Start Your Season by Chris Hauth
- XTRI: Interview with Chris Hauth
- XTRI: Chris Hauth: Throwing Up A Brick – Learning To Understand “Bad” Workouts by Chris Hauth
- NBC Sports: Hunter McIntyre: From frat boy to fitness enthusiast
- New York Magazine: Ditching All My Running Gadgets Made Me a Better Runner by Brad Stulberg
Notable People Discussed
- Jonas Colting: Swedish ultra triathlon Champion and 3 time ÖTILLÖ winner
- Michael Lemmel: ÖTILLÖ Swimrun World Series race director
- Jakob Edholm: ÖTILLÖ – Swimrun World Series official photographer
- Tomasz Jakubowski: official photographer for ÖTILLÖ 2017 Team 23
- Josefine Ås: PR director for ÖTILLÖ – Swimrun World Series 2017
- Precision Hydration: ÖTILLÖ – Swimrun World Series official hydration supplier
- ROKA: sports apparel and eyeware
Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy
- RRP #297: How To Train Smart: Coach’s Corner With Chris Hauth
- RRP #285: Louis Cole On Living The Life of Adventure (with Chris Hauth)
- RRP #021: Chris Hauth On Endurance Training For Maximum Results
- RRP #256: Chris Hauth: Building Better Athletes, Training For Optimal Performance & Achieving Fitness For Life
- RRP #037: Hillary Biscay – 60 Ironmans & Counting
- RRP #252: Dr. Michael Gervais On Elite Performance & The Psychology of Self-Mastery
- RRP #293: How To Achieve Peak Performance — And Sustain It — With Brad Stulberg & Steve Magness
Thanks to Jason Camiolo for production, audio engineering, show notes and interstitial music; Shawn Patterson for graphics. Theme music by Ana Leimma.
*Disclosure: Books and products denoted with an asterisk are hyperlinked to an affiliate program. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Check Out Our New Meal Planner!
Are you a company interested in sponsoring the podcast? Click here to learn more & take our sponsor survey.
HOW CAN I SUPPORT THE PODCAST?
Tell Your Friends & Share Online!
Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Stitcher | Soundcloud | TuneIn
Donate: Check out our Patreon account!
Download Our Free App! Now you can access, stream, download and share the entire RRP catalog in the palm of your hand on any iOS mobile device (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch) with our mobile app. Never miss an episode, plus special announcements, discounts, giveaways. Already downloaded? Awesome. When you have a minute, and it feels right to you, do us a solid and give the app a review in the iTunes Store.
