Summary: <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> “This is our day. Now let’s make the best of it versus comparing ourselves to others or our expectations.”<br> Chris Hauth<br> <br> <br> Today I am joined by my friend, coach and teammate Chris Hauth for a special edition of Coach’s Corner – a spin on my typical podcast format — to recap our breathtaking, once-in-a-lifetime adventure competing in the <a href="http://otilloswimrun.com/races/otillo/">Ötillö Swimrun World Championships</a> in Sweden.<br> A sub-9 hour Ironman, Chris (<a href="http://twitter.com/AIMPCoach">@AIMPCoach</a>) is a former professional triathlete, two-time Olympic Swimmer and one of the world’s most respected endurance coaches. In 2006, Chris won the Ironman Coeur D’Alene and went on to be the first American amateur & 4th overall American at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.<br> When he’s not training and racing, Chris runs <a href="http://www.aimpcoaching.com/">AIMP Coaching, </a>mentoring a wide spectrum of athletes ranging from elite professionals — including Ironman and Western States top finishers, Ultraman winners and Olympic Trials qualifiers — to first time half-marathoners. Under Chris’ tutelage since 2008, he deftly guided me through three <a href="http://ultramanlive.com/">Ultraman World Championships,</a> <a href="http://www.epic5.com/">EPIC5.</a> and now Ötillö.<br> <br> This past Monday, Chris and I joined 300 athletes from 24 countries to race Ötillö as a two-man team, traversing 26 islands spread across the outer-reaches of the Swedish archipelago on foot and by sea. All told, 40 miles of running and 6 miles of swimming.<br> It was a truly extraordinary experience. Punishing. Humbling. Brutal, beautiful and beyond extreme.<br> Along the way we met gale force winds. Sideways rain. Bone-chilling Baltic waters. And six-foot swells. We were on our hands and knees, scaling vertical granite slippery as ice. We trudged through bogs in knee-deep mud. Loose rocks left us flat on our backs. We bushwhacked terrain so difficult, so impossibly technical, it all feels now like an impossible dream.<br> Today we share the incredible story.<br> I sincerely hope you enjoy the exchange.<br> Peace + Plants,<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> P.S. – For more on the adventure, please read Adam Skolnick’s piece for the New York Times, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/sports/a-brutal-competition-island-to-island-in-sweden.html" target="_blank">A Brutal Competition, Island to Island, in Sweden.</a> I am deeply honored to be featured. But I didn’t get here by myself. It has been a long, challenging road. So thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has supported me and my work over the years. I am truly humbled.<br> Listen & Subscribe on <a title="iTunes RRP" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rich-roll-podcast/id582272991?mt=2" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a> | <a title="Soundcloud RRP" href="https://soundcloud.com/richroll" target="_blank">Soundcloud</a> | <a title="Stitcher RRP" href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/30437" target="_blank">Stitcher</a><br> Photographs courtesy of <a href="http://www.tomaszjakubowski.com/" target="_blank">Tomasz Jakubowski</a><br> charity: water<br> I want to personally thank everyone who responded to <a href="http://www.richroll.com/podcast/scott-harrison/" target="_blank">my podcast with Scott Harrison</a> and donated to charity: water by joining <a href="http://cwtr.org/richrollspring" target="_blank">The Spring.</a> As of the date of this writing, the RRP community has collectively raised enough revenue to build 4 wells annually! Amazing. Inspired by your generosity, my company has decided to sponsor one well per year – so that makes 5 wells for 2017. But why not make it 10? For just $20-$40 in monthly donations (100% of which go directly to clean water projects),
