I saw this too but figured that they were not shinguards but some type of flotation aid. Loving the homebrew non-commercial innovations going on in this race.

Yeah I saw a lot of Innov8's and a few pairs of Solomon trail shoes. Something with tread that dries quickly and you don't mind running in wet.

I have a few friends who would be down for the swim or for the run portion. But I don't have a lot of friends who are ultra-marathoners and open water swimmers.

With a bungee in the water my wife may actually be the best teammate I know. My brother is a faster runner, but worthless in the water. The flip side is that he's the only one I know stupid enough to want to try something like this. Maybe I'll buy him swimming lessons for his 39th birthday and an entry fee for his 40th.

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/kj

http://kjmcawesome.tumblr.com/

Its not shin guards but rather small pieces of foam plastic to help with bouyancy and reduce drag from the shoes when swimming.

OtillO has released a fabulous video on their Facebook site.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=669632429801033

For the past 2 year the OtillO with IM/ultra with 2 different friends, and this year I did the Rockman (http://rockmanswimrun.com/) with my partner. I am faster and more endurant, but she is a slightly better swimmer. Racing with wife/partner is a very good challenge and a good test for a couple. Great memories, highly recommended :)

Defining what is the profile of the ideal team mate is not easy. I would guess:
- Mentally strong
- Easy going and in the same time able to push themselves, and you if necessary, hard
- Close enough in speed, but not necessarily exactly matching
- Experienced in technical trail running

Overall it's better to be rugged rather than simply fast.

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Francois-Xavier Li @FrancoisLi
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." George Bernard Shaw
http://www.swimrunfrance.fr
http://www.worldofswimrun.com

From what I was told over the past weekend, Jonas would be a good person to share some insight about equipment choices that made sense in theory but not on race day!

Many teams utilized the foam strips lined inside their compression socks. As someone who did half the race without a pull buoy and the last half with one, I concur it is far less taxing to have additional flotation to balance out the drag created by your wet shoes.

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Lars Finanger
Odyssey SwimRun