Would there be intrest in a 10k OW in Mid MO in 2009

can you time it to be right after the Indy nationals? if so, you might get more interest given that a number of people will already be in the middle of the country.

Beautiful new lakes to swim in are always of interest, but some of us won't be doing a 10k just yet. Can you set up shorter courses as well? (Options of 10k, 5k, 2.5k, and so forth would seem more likely to draw the numbers.) Difficult things to deal with: roving course markers, buoys too far apart to see, kayakers that run over one, cold, stale muffins at end. Camping facilities nearby? Other entertainments so those who drive could make it a weekend? Anything in the water to be concerned about? :eek: A new lake to swim in! :)

Suggestions on dates are a good start. Anything that OW swimmers like, please mention, additionally things that you hate please mention, as these are pitfalls I would like to avoid. I would like to make it as swimmer and spectator friendly event as I can. Any suggestions please, keep em coming. Trev

Trevor I would certainly encourage you to think about it as you have to start somewhere. I'd take a look at the demographics in the immediate vicinity how many swimmers can you draw from a 150 mile radius of the site? How many years can you to invest to get word of mouth going etc. Our local 10K in Ft. Collins, Colorado has been going strong for 10 years now and was the National Champion site in 2006. The first couple of years the event had about 15-25 entrants. They currently have no problem reaching the race max of around 60 swimmers, the national championship year it was 100. There are strong master swimming demographics in the area. First Ft. Collins is college town, then Boulder, CO, another college town, is only 40 miles away and they have a very strong masters community and then Denver is 60 miles away also with a strong masters swimming community to draw from. At least 85% of the entrants are within a radius of 150 miles of the lake. Plus they run a second race at the same time a 2.4 mile swim which gets them a slice of the triathlon crowd, which is very big in Colorado. www.horsetoothswim.com/index.shtml

I'll link the OW freshwater calendar I put together for 2008. OW swims tend to bunch together in July and August, with multiple events occurring on same weekends and even same days, so a new event would likely be competing with existing ones: forums.usms.org/showthread.php I'll redo the calendar for 2009, probably in February. How far from Indianapolis is the venue? Thanks, VB

And we'd love to remind you that if it's hot in Indy, there will be the 10K National Championship Event at Harbor Springs, Michigan, the weekend following the LC Nationals..not a bad ride straight up from Indy...and people can stay at one of the beautiful resorts on Lake Michigan, like Holland, where I live, or South Haven or Grand Haven. Also great camping along the Lake...Muskegon, Sleeping Bear Dunes, as well as the towns I mentioned. JP

I'm interested in the Harbor Springs / Traverse Bay event, especially if there is a shorter option. I scoped it out this summer in terms of driving distance, and it was a bit more (rental car $$ and time) than I could afford, but the swim is on my calendar for one of these years. Something to work toward. :cheerleader: VB

I'm interested in the Harbor Springs / Traverse Bay event, especially if there is a shorter option. I scoped it out this summer in terms of driving distance, and it was a bit more (rental car $$ and time) than I could afford, but the swim is on my calendar for one of these years. Something to work toward. VB If you mean the Coastal Crawl in early August, I agree! :agree: It looks like fun and it's relatively close. Only a little more than 6 hours drive. Good long weekend. For the CC, they have 1-, 2- and 3-miles. JIM

Absolutely all open water swimmers like the option of swimming in wetsuits, they prefer it if there's just one category for awards rather than splitting out the wetsuit and non-wetsuit people. :bolt: (Just kidding.) I'd be more likely to do a 5k than a 10k, but already have one on the calendar for next year (Big Shoulders) and probably wouldn't make the trip.

Yes. I would be interested in a 10K OW in '09 as long as it doesn't conflict with any other Chicago-area events. Congrats to Nomad64 on your achievement!