Swimrun Côte Vermeille

Between the Pyrenees sloping straight into the Mediterranean, it’s hard to find a setting that fits the swimrun spirit 🏊. The Swimrun International Côte Vermeille brings together in mid-June no fewer than seven formats spread across Cerbère, Banyuls-sur-Mer, Port-Vendres, Collioure and Argelès-sur-Mer 📍. These five communes in the Pyrénées-Orientales share the course without ever stepping on each other’s fins 😵‍💫. Video game fans will almost hear an echo of the "Bois Vermeil" from Mario Kart, except that here, no trampoline releases you from swimming 🍄.

It all starts in 2016 under the impulse of the association Challenge 02 and its co-organizer Sylvain Rousselat, with a clear goal: to mirror the beauty of the coastline and the sporting rigor it deserves 🤌. The race quickly earns the unofficial title of first swimrun event held in France, a pioneer status it has never relinquished since 🇫🇷. Eleven editions later, the event attracts more than 35 nationalities at the start with an online broadcast followed in more than 150 countries worldwide 🌍. From 10 years for the youngest competitors up to 70 years for the toughest veterans, the age range is dizzying before even the cliffs 🎂.

The course itself does not hold back. Competitors race in pairs linked by a bungee, alternating turquoise creeks and steep trails through the Albères massif. All this with the ascent toward the Fort Saint-Elme that overlooks Collioure, or the technical climb toward the Madeloc Tower on the longest distances 🥵. The swimstake place in the protected waters of the Cerbère-Banyuls marine reserve and the marine natural park of the Gulf of Lion, between red porphyry cliffs and terraced vineyards that plunge almost into the sea 🍇.

Seven distances make up the program, from the initiation format to the monster kilometer 🔥. The "Kids" opens the ball at 3.8 km, of which 0.7 km of swimming in 4 sections and 3.1 km of running in 4 sections ⚡️The "Short" climbs to 12.8 km with 2.11 km of swimming and 10.74 km of running across 5 sections each🌟. Then comes the "Medium", split into two versions: a "France"version for licensed competition and counting as a step of the FFTRI Championship, and a public versionfor the general public. All both are on 26.6 km with 4.06 km of swimming in 9 sections and 22.44 km of running in 9 sections for 738 mD+ 📈. The "Long" stretches to 47.2 km, 6.94 km of swimming in 13 sections and 40.3 km of running in 13 sections for 1 863 mD+ 😳. Summit of the plateau, the "Ultra ÖTILLÖ" covers 63.3 km between Cerbère and Argelès, with 8.66 km of swimming in 17 sections and 54.73 km of running in 18 sections for 2 498 mD+, the only French event to offer a direct qualification for the World Championship 🤓. A relay version of this same distance finally lets teams of 3 to 6 teammates share the effort across three legs of about a twenty kilometers each 🔄.

Pioneering race, the event does not leave environmental concerns to luck ♻️. It traverses no fewer than six Natura 2000 sites, a marine nature reservea marine parkand two educational marine areas, the organizers donate 1% of every registration to solidarity and environmental groups, a way to maintain the playground that has sustained it for a beautiful decade 🌿. The vibe, it’s impressive: between two running sections, competitors pass through heritage villages, mingle with surprised tourists on terraces and often leave with a Southen accent glued to their sides even when they’re not locals 🤣.

The Côte Vermeille knows how to welcome its day guests, whether they come as spectators or finishers freshly out of the water 🏅.