Gritty Rascals Swimrun Coniston

For his first swimrun in seven years, Jonathan Cowie took on a 47+km race in the Lake District

“Everybody say ‘midlife crisis!’” someone shouts as we gather on the shore of Coniston Water for the obligatory pre-race photo. Not wanting to cast dispersions on my fellow athletes, but the ripple of knowing laughter suggests that he hit the nail on the head. I am one of 31 swimrunners ready to take on the Gritty Rascals Swimrun Coniston Full Course – nearly 50km of racing across the fells and through the lakes of the Lake District from Coniston to Grasmere via Windermere and Rydal Water.

Midlife crisis rings true for me: I have full course Ötillö Utö and Engadin races under my belt, and various shorter swimruns, but those events were seven injury-plagued years ago. Plus, later this year I turn 50. Was I about to make the classic middle-aged man’s mistake of foolishly trying to recapture past sporting glories?

After torrential rain the day before, race morning dawned with blue skies and late-September sunshine. But it was cold: 4 degrees as we ran into the lake for our first swim. Thankfully the water was warmer, around 14 degrees. As we swam to the marker flag on the opposite shore I reminded myself that my race tactic was ‘steady away’. With predicted finish times of between 5 and 10 hours, this was no time for going out hard.

After the first swim (730m), the starting pack was already breaking up and the solitary nature of the race began to assert itself. The following 2km run was a reminder that my last swimrun race was seven years ago: my pull buoy was slowly slipping down my thigh and past my knee, making it difficult to run. Turns out that seven-year-old elastic is prone to losing its elasticity! Luckily a quick fix with a carabiner averted a kit fail.

The first section of the course is swim-heavy: four crossings of the beautiful Coniston Water with views of the iconic Old Man and surrounding fells, with short runs on low-level trails and a small amount of road in between. At just over 1km, the second swim is the longest of the day. Every swim throughout the race was easy to navigate, with volunteers at entry and exit flags as well as kayakers on the water.

After the fourth swim came the longest run of the course: 15km up and down through Grizedale Forest to Windermere. This was lovely running along a network of criss-crossing trails and tracks. The route was well marked, but running solo it was easy to zone out so I was glad I had also downloaded the route to my watch, which gave me warning of turns ahead. From the village of Far Sawrey the course then meandered down to Windermere.

Checkpoint 4 was at 24km, meaning we were now half way! This was the point where I had planned to check in with how I was feeling. I hadn’t trained as hard as I would have done in the past for a race of this distance, and I had been plagued by lower back problems that put me out of action for weeks. But I had made the most of my local fells, running the Fairfield Horseshoe and Langdale Pikes, and had done one 20-mile run.

My swim training had all been in open water, but I had prioritised distance over intensity, culminating in a 5km swim of the length of Wastwater in full swimrun kit (paddles included). I figured if I could do that in one go then the shorter swims of the race would be a breeze! Thankfully I was right, and as I plunged into Windermere for swim five I was feeling confident.

As I swam and ran my way along Windermere towards Ambleside, I was joined by athletes taking on the shorter Gritty and Sprint races. After five hours of wandering lonely as a cloud, it was nice to have some company.

Three swims in Windermere were followed by the second longest and steepest run of the day, but the scramble up Loughrigg Fell was worth it for the classic Lakeland views from the summit. After a muddy run down off the fell to Rydal Water, the penultimate swim of the day was followed by a 2km run along the river to Grasmere to the final swim, a 780m traverse of the lake.

The last mile to the finish in Grasmere village was an exercise in dodging hikers enjoying the afternoon sunshine, but after seven and a half hours of swimrunning, I felt elated as I ran past them. To the sound of cow bells I crossed the line, happy with my performance and more than happy to tuck into the massive bowl of crisps on the nutrition table. After a biosecurity hose down, I reflected that maybe there is swimrun life in the middle-aged dog yet.

Three reasons to take on Swimrun Coniston

• Classic Lakeland views and swims coupled with runnable trails and manageable elevation
• Well-supported race, including five checkpoints manned by enthusiastic volunteers with a variety of race nutrition
• Party atmosphere at the finish line at Tweedies Bar with music, pizza van, soup and showers

Race stats

Full Course

47km+
9 swims (7km total)
10 runs (40km total)
Transitions: 18
Longest swim: 1,030m
Longest run: 15km
Ascent: 1,050m
Checkpoints: 5
First man: Ghislain Vachette (5hr 31mins)
First woman: Tamsyn Clark (6hr 44mins)
First pair: Team Chiall Current (8hr 01mins)
Last finisher: 10hr 35mins

Fancy something shorter?

Gritty Course

21km
5 swims (3km total)
6 runs (18km total)

Sprint Course

15km
4 runs (13km total)
3 swims (2km total)

2026 entries open now: grittyrascals.com