07/07/2025
ROCKMAN SWIMRUN 2025
42 km total — 6 km swim, 36 km technical trail, 3291 m elevation gain.
13 hours. Brutal. Unforgettable.
Hard to describe this day. I haven’t fully processed it.
You prepare for months—physically, mentally—knowing it’s going to hurt.
You try to be ready for what’s predictable:
4444 stairs, cold swims, technical trails, endless climbs…
Then, the forecast drops: cold + rain.
No turning back. This isn’t a picnic—it’s Rockman.
So I double up:
Two wetsuits. Wool base layer. Neoprene gloves.
Still… I knew I’d freeze. And I did.
Hot? Never.
Race day, 6:30 AM the start.
A boat takes us into the Lysefjord. The sky is grey, cloudy and foggy.
Two long swims (2+ km each). Longer than planned.
We swim in cold water, run in rivers, stay soaked all day.
Mud? There’s clean mud (just dirt) and dirty mud (real s**t). And we had s**t until our knees…
At one point my leg gets stuck between submerged boards.
I scream. Pull it out, and thanks god the leg is unbroken. I keep going.
Conditions? Borderline insane.
But the hours fly. Maria and I keep pushing, passing cut-offs, finding the way together.
Sometimes with others—it builds solidarity.
Stopping? NEVER an option.
Late afternoon. We know we still have hours to go.
Then we find a woman in hypothermia, and another helping her.
We give them jackets, warming pads, survival blankets.
We move to get help—if I’d stopped for 2 more minutes, I would’ve gone hypothermic too.
After 30 mins, we find someone with a phone.
They call for help, and we press on.
We get lost—because someone removed trail markings.
But that’s how we meet two rescuers still searching for that girl—an hour later.
Everyone’s exhausted. Everyone’s crazy.
We finally see the finish line.
We’ve done extra kilometers. We’re broken, but we’re done.
Olof is there. It was tough for him too.
Crossing that line was all that mattered.
Time? Who cares.
At the finish:
Tears. Relief. Pain.
We called it “A Day in Misery.”
Still not sure what to feel.
Did I enjoy it? I don’t know.
Would I do it again? Probably…
The journey always matters more than the finish line, I think.
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