Alexis Kardes is part of the core coaching crew at Envol Swimrun. He is the one putting the running sessions into the weekly training plans for Team Envol. He was the best male Team Envol performer at Ötillö World Championships this year. He might be a a top swimrunner to us but the fact is he is a pretty good triathlete as well! Alexis raced in the National league in France this year. Next year he has his goal set on the 70.3 Challenge series.
We asked him if it’s really a good idea to try and perform in two sports at the same time.
You compete in triathlon on a high level – why are you doing swimrun?
I started Swimrun in October 2020 for Ötillö Cannes. I have always been attracted to this sport, especially after watching the documentary on Ötillö with David Hauss in 2017. I said to myself that one day I would like to try that because I’m a good runner and a decent. The year of covid in 2020 allowed me to start. Since then I have decided to make it a priority in my season.
How can you make the training work for both sports?
For my training I just added swimming sessions that focus on paddle/pb more than the one I was doing before. And in running too, I focused my winter on longer sessions, especially with long runs of 30-40km. It’s pretty good because I would like to try 70.3 next year in addition to swimrun.
What is the biggest challenge in combining the two sports?
The biggest challenge for me is not to have an injury. Especially when running on a much more technical field than in triathlon. It’s not easy to go from the road to wet, slippery rock.
I can add to find a good balance in my calendar between triathlon races and swimrun races.
What is more fun – triathlon or swimrun?
For sure swimrun. It’s very fun to share a race with someone. During the race you have ups and downs but it’s always good memories. There is a natural, wild side that you don’t find in triathlon.
What are the differences between the triathlon and the swimrun community?
Since I had started my career I had met a lot of people in triathlons, swimrun and running … made a lot of memories! The swimrun community is much smaller than in triathlon. There is a family side in swimrun that there is not in triathlon. It’s a sport with human scale and not a business like in triathlon with Ironman. Since I have joined Team Envol I have met a family more than a team.
