Endurance Is Better Together

There are moments during interviews when I completely forget I’m recording a podcast. This was one of those conversations.

I invited Chip Nicodemus from the Löw Tide Böyz onto Fireside Chat because I wanted to learn more about Swimrun. By the end of our conversation, I realized the episode had almost nothing to do with Swimrun.

Instead, it was about friendship..

The Sport That Makes You Ask Questions

The first time someone tells you about Swimrun, your brain starts firing questions faster than a toddler after eating birthday cake.

You swim…with your shoes on? You run…wearing a wetsuit? You’re tied to another person?

Wait…what?

The answers are fascinating, but they aren’t why I kept listening to Chip.

Every answer led to another question, yet every story kept coming back to one idea:

No one succeeds alone. Chip introduced himself in a way I wasn’t expecting.

Not as a World Championship athlete or as the co-host of the Löw Tide Böyz podcast. It wasn’t as someone who’s raced across 26 islands in Sweden.

He simply said: “I’m a dad.”

Immediately, everything changed. Because we’ve all met someone who introduces themselves with accomplishments. Very few people introduce themselves with purpose.

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One Plus One Equals Three

If there was one sentence that perfectly captured this entire conversation, it was this:

“One plus one equals three.”

Mathematically? Not great.

As a philosophy? Absolutely brilliant.

Chip explained that he becomes a better athlete because of his teammate. His teammate becomes a better athlete because of him. Together, they’re capable of something neither could accomplish alone.

That’s true in Swimrun and it’s true in life.

And honestly, it’s why many of us started endurance sports in the first place.

Not because we wanted another medal.

Because we wanted another story.

Adventure Beats Pace

One of my favorite parts of the conversation was hearing Chip talk about how Swimrun strips away comparison.

Nobody asks your bike split or your average watts.

Nobody argues about whether your watch measured 69.8 or 70.1 miles.

Instead, people ask something much more interesting. “How was the adventure?”

Imagine that.

An endurance sport where the conversation starts with the experience instead of the finish time. I’m in.

Maybe We Need More Of This

By the time we wrapped up the interview, I wasn’t thinking about Sweden or carbon fiber paddles. Despite chatting for an hour, I kinda forgot about swimrun.

I was thinking about the people I call when I need a long run. The friends who make bad miles better.

The conversations that somehow solve life’s problems somewhere between mile four and the coffee shop afterward.

Chip reminded me that endurance sports were never meant to be lonely.

Maybe that’s why his story resonated so deeply.

And maybe that’s why the phrase “one plus one equals three” might be the most accurate description of endurance sports I’ve heard in a long time.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a lake in Arizona to visit…and apparently I need to convince someone to let me tie a rope around their waist.

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