After my experience with Wolff Wear I was motivated to continue finding new squads to train with during my remaining time in Sweden.
The following week Nicolas Remires, head coach of Team Envol, allowed me to join a session with his group. Though the Swedish holiday had put pulled most of the active members away from town he was still able to assemble a half-dozen Ötillö veterans and champions for an evening of swimrun.
Our training session toured from Sickla through Hellåsgarden into the forests and lakes south of Stockholm. After two members split off for a shorter session partway I was left alone with Coach Nicolas and a squad of talented lady swimrunners.
Surrounded by battle braids it was a serious effort to both maintain my pace and handle the camera. Despite the higher intensity the mood stayed light and conversational as we passed through a seemingly endless network of trails and small lakes.
Rambling over earthen lakesides, larger trails, rocky ascents and flowing technical singletrack, if I hadn't known I was only minutes away from downtown Stockholm I wouldn’t have believed it.
It has been three weeks since my session with Envol. My first experience training with elite-level swimrunners left a deep impression on me and I’m still working through the logistics of what that inspiration will bring me in the months and years to come.
To view a session as exceptional while surrounded by athletes who see the same training as “weekly fun” was and remains a real eye-opener. The sport of swimrun encourages participants to explore, seek and find new challenges and surround yourself in a community just as eager to take them on. After the isolation I felt training for triathlon, it feels more and more that the community, camaraderie and teamwork of swimrun is exactly what I’ve been looking for.
Nicolas coaches locally and online with training sessions for local athletes through the week in and around Stockholm. An active competitor himself, winning the Ötillö Wales event shortly after our session, his skills and experience are clear and any athlete wanting to raise the level of their swimrun training would benefit from his guidance.
For more information or to contact Team Envol, Nicolas can be reached at:
Athletes