In what must be a first in endurance racing, the inaugural Trans Cape SwimRun held on Sunday, saw more females take part than male.
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A field of 74 teams saw 29 women's, 27 men's and 18 mixed teams take part. SwimRun is a relatively new sport that hails from Sweden.
It's a transition-free format where participants alternate between running and swimming, meaning they swim in their shoes and run with a flotation device strapped to their leg.
Teams of two must stay together for the duration, never more than 10 metres apart. Trans Cape SwimRun covered over 26km with 10 run and nine swim segments.
The most common word heard at the finish line on Sunday was 'amazing!' The beautiful beaches, bays and trails between Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse and the Dunsborough Bay Yacht Club were at their stunning best on the day as the temperature reached the low 30's. By giving participants the option of receiving an event t-shirt, which more often than not ends up at the bottom of a drawer, or instead donating the equivalent cost of the t-shirt, event organisers presented the Friends of Meelup Regional Park with a cheque for $750.
Margaret River resident and Race Director Aaron Milward said the event and location were a great match.
"The Meelup Regional Park is such an integral part of the event and are some of the most beautiful trails to run on, it felt like a great way to support the Friends in preserving the park and educating people about it," he said.
"We even had a dieback mat where runners had to wipe their feet for 15 seconds before they could keep going - everyone was on board".
Local residents were well represented, with 21 people from around the Cape.
While the rest came mostly from Perth, there was a ladies team (Pink Ladies) from Yuna in the mid-west, one person from Kojonup and a couple living in Singapore.
The Dunsborough Bay Yacht Club provided prizes of club memberships to the top four local finishers and were really enthusiastic about hosting the finish line.
They put on old-fashioned hospitality, with free food for athletes on Saturday afternoon as they registered, a bbq at the finish offering gourmet burgers and an ice cream van to replenish the athletes and 70-odd volunteers needed to make the event a great success.
Photo two includes Amy Smith and Freya Hohnen and was taken by Trina Thom.
