Port Elizabeth brothers Keegan and Jarryd Cooke will tackle a new challenge when they take on the Torpedo SwimRun Wild in September.
The event, which takes place in the Wilderness area on September 14-15, will feature multi-sports enthusiasts from across the country.
It will be the first freshwater event in the Torpedo SwimRun Series, after two Cape events took place in the icy Atlantic waters and on the coastline of Cape Town in 2017.
The Wild race distance is 26km, made up of four swim segments totalling 4km, and five run segments totalling 17km.
The remaining 5km is made up of a “swamble” – a combination of scrambling over rocks and swimming.
Keegan said he and his brother were excited about taking on the race for the first time.
“It’s always cool to do something different and test yourself in areas away from triathlon.
“Adding to the excitement is that you get to team up with a partner, which adds another dimension to the race.”
He said they would continue with their usual run and swim training, with some additional swimming in all of their gear to get accustomed to race requirements.
“At our next open water swim we will practise swimming with all our equipment on, then come out and run in wet shoes and just do that a couple of times to mimic how the race will be.”
Jarryd said they had not done much racing in the Wilderness area.
“Keegan and I have done races together in the past and we know our strengths and weaknesses,” he said.
“Being a trail run, there will be some twists and turns where you will need your partner to carry you through and vice versa.
“Both my brother and I are fairly strong swimmers and he is also quite strong as a trail runner so I think we will try to work the run sections the hardest and then just see how we feel in the water.”
Working a full-time job and still managing to get in fair amounts of training was a bit tricky for Jarryd, but he is quietly confident they have put in some decent sessions.
The third Torpedo SwimRun Cape on November 18 has drawn competitive athletes and race entries are sold out.
Events start on the Friday with a 6km prologue race before the real action gets under way a day later.