Diane Benke’s Swedish Swimrun: Not For Slackers

On September 2, Diane Benke will run 11 miles on a rocky trail, from one end of a Swedish island to another.

But that’s not the half of it.

Or even 1/46th.

The cross-island run is just one element in the day-long Ötillö Swimrun World Championship.

The endurance sport combines open-water swimming and trail running. Two competitors — tethered together — swim from one island to the next. They clamber ashore, untie themselves, run across that isle, then jump in the water to do it again.

The Ötillö event in the Stockholm archipelago involves 46 transitions: water to land, and vice versa. She’ll race across 24 islands in all.

I’m exhausted just writing about it.

Swimming in the Ötillö swim run …

For Diane — a Westport mom of 2 teenage boys — it will be a walk in the park.

Well, maybe not quite. But Diane is not plunging into this unprepared.

The Short Hills, New Jersey native swam in high school. She got into marathons and triathlons as “an outlet, and something social” while building her career in marketing and consulting.

Her coach introduced her to a Marine he’d served with, Blake Benke. They had a mutual interest in endurance sport: He was an Ironman competitor.

They married, moved to Danbury for his job, then 15 years ago came to Westport.

The Benkes discovered this is “an amazing, active community for athletes.” They run, swim and bike with friends.

And, Diane notes, “Westport has its own triathlon, point-to-point open water swim, and summer running series.”

… then transitioning to an island …

Diane loved the open water swimming portion of triathlons. But though she wold emerge from the water in the lead, she was soon passed by bikers.

When a triathlon friend told her about swimrun, she thought, “Perfect! No bikes!”

She did her first swimrun in Boston Harbor before COVID. She was intrigued that — in contrast to triathlon, with its “hardcore competitors and fancy bikes” — this was “more about the environment, being in nature, with lots of camaraderie.”

Though fast-growing, swimrun is still in its infancy, Diane says. The community is “tight and friendly, from all over the country. We get a lot of joy from this.”

As a wife and mother with many responsibilities, leading a fast-paced life swimrun is “uniquely mine,” Diane says.

The physical demands are great. But so is the mental aspect. She must focus hard, on ever-changing tides, currents, weather, shipping lanes, “things you can’t control” — and of course the grueling, quick transitions from water to land, then back again.

… and trail running.

Competitors must carry everything they need. In Maine, she lost a water flash when she forgot to zip up her wet suit.

Earlier this month, to prepare for the Swedish swimrun, Diane headed to Casco Bay, Maine. She felt good.

But, she notes, that event was only half the distance of the upcoming one. In Sweden she’ll swim 5.6 miles, and run 38 miles.

They’ll start around 6 a.m. Cut-off points are at 9 and 11:15 a.m. If a competitor has not reached that spot, they cannot continue. Everyone must finish by sunset; if they don’t, their swimrun ends then.

After tearing a hamstring in March, Diane has been training more than 15 hours a week, all summer. She runs all over Westport and Fairfield — often wearing a wet suit — and swims and runs from Compo Beach to Sherwood Island, then back.

She trains with Pete Roper, a Fairfield resident who is also going to Otillo.

But he’s not Diane’s partner. She’ll run and swim with Chrissy Halioris, who lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Diane Benke (right) with her partner Chrissy Halioris, at the Casco Bay Swimrun earlier this month. (Photos courtesy of Ötillö USA)

“She does mostly lake swimming. She doesn’t have cold water and ocean experience,” Diane says. “But she’s a very strong runner.”

The women met for the first time at a swimrun this past November, in Austin, Texas. Since then they’ve developed a friendship — and a high level of trust.

Diane will bring 3 different wet suits to Sweden. The Baltic Sea can be cold, and she has no idea what the weather will be like the day of the event.

She’ll be buoyed by her husband Blake.

Blake Benke

He’s no slouch in the endurance sports world himself. Click here to read an “06880” story about his 2013 adventure: a 153-mile (that’s right) Spartathlon race in Greece, tracing the epic journey of Pheidippides from Athens to Sparta.

Benke — with 2 young kids, and a full-time job on Wall Street — finished in 28 hours, 29 minutes and 34 seconds. He was the top US finisher (13th overall).

This time, he’ll be in a support role. He’s recovering from hip resurfacing in June.

Their 2 sons — Max, a sophomore who runs cross country at Staples, and Alex, a Hopkins 8th grader — will stay home, for school.

“I think they like what I do. It keeps me from bugging them about other things,” Diane says.

“They’re used to what Blake and I do. It seems pretty normal in our household.”

So normal, in fact, that sometimes on a training run, Diane will see Max with his Staples track teammates.

She has prepared well for next month’s 24-island, 13-hour swim-and-run in the Swedish archipelago.

But she is realistic.

“My goal is to not die, and finish happy,” she says.

“Look. I’m over 50. I’m 5-foot-nothing. I’m just treating this as an epic adventure.”

It sure is.

Good luck, Diane Benke. We’ll be following your Ötillö swimrun avidly.

From the comfort of our homes.

(To learn more about the Ötillö swimrun, click here.)

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