Ok, so the more they email me, the more I get nervous about the water temp. Last year it was 69 which stung to get in, but it made for a nice swimming temp. By the end, though, my fingers and toes felt a little numb, but that could have been tired (??).
But this year, it could be up to 10 degrees colder?! What to do when the coolest water I can find here in Cincinnati is 80?
Greetings Big Shoulders enthusiasts. Race Director, Chris, here. In hopes of bringing some level of calm to this chat, I'm chiming in.
The Big Shoulders race committee has analyzed Andy Seibts' time in this year's race, and done all that we can to verify its accuracy. We have found no conclusive evidence to deem his time to be inaccurate or otherwise incorrect. The basis for our decision is as follows:
-His chip time confirms he started with the 3rd wave (white caps) at 8:10 and came in at 9:06 and change for a 56:21time.
-Several swimmers have confirmed that he started in the 3rd wave.
-Others from the race committee saw him finish and noted the clock showed 9:06.
-There is no evidence that Andy failed to round any of the 8' Orange Buoys that mark the corners of the course, or that Andy otherwise cheated.
-He swam the 1 mile in Clovis, CA and got 2d in his age group, despite a horrible swim.
-He won his age group at the USMS 10K in Harbor Springs despite going off course by 400 m.
-He trained in the pool this summer by going 5K with 1:10 repeats (confirmed by other swimmers).
-He swam in a Blue Seventy suit, which he said is a big advantage to "plus sized swimmers."
-He confirms he had the swim of his life, staying straight on course for the entire swim, and using every opportunity to "slingshot" draft off others as he rounded the course. (For those unfamiliar, the race is conducted on a 2.5K triangular course, and Andy went in the 3rd wave, allowing him to swim through the first two waves and draft off of other fast swimmers as he went by).
-This is the first year he's really targeted and trained for Big Shoulders. In the past, he's just kind of casually done it for fun.
-Those who know Andy and his swimming accomplishments can verify that he has destroyed records in age groups as he has aged up. While his time was a surprise for a 51 year old, the fact that Andy was in the mix with the lead pack should come as no surprise to those who are familiar with his accomplishments.
For these reasons, we have concluded that Andy's time is legitimate, and we are standing firm with our result showing Andy won the race. Congratulations to Andy on an amazing swim, and for striking a blow for aging athletes everywhere!
Thanks for your continued support of Big Shoulders.
Chris
Greetings Big Shoulders enthusiasts. Race Director, Chris, here. In hopes of bringing some level of calm to this chat, I'm chiming in.
The Big Shoulders race committee has analyzed Andy Seibts' time in this year's race, and done all that we can to verify its accuracy. We have found no conclusive evidence to deem his time to be inaccurate or otherwise incorrect. The basis for our decision is as follows:
-His chip time confirms he started with the 3rd wave (white caps) at 8:10 and came in at 9:06 and change for a 56:21time.
-Several swimmers have confirmed that he started in the 3rd wave.
-Others from the race committee saw him finish and noted the clock showed 9:06.
-There is no evidence that Andy failed to round any of the 8' Orange Buoys that mark the corners of the course, or that Andy otherwise cheated.
-He swam the 1 mile in Clovis, CA and got 2d in his age group, despite a horrible swim.
-He won his age group at the USMS 10K in Harbor Springs despite going off course by 400 m.
-He trained in the pool this summer by going 5K with 1:10 repeats (confirmed by other swimmers).
-He swam in a Blue Seventy suit, which he said is a big advantage to "plus sized swimmers."
-He confirms he had the swim of his life, staying straight on course for the entire swim, and using every opportunity to "slingshot" draft off others as he rounded the course. (For those unfamiliar, the race is conducted on a 2.5K triangular course, and Andy went in the 3rd wave, allowing him to swim through the first two waves and draft off of other fast swimmers as he went by).
-This is the first year he's really targeted and trained for Big Shoulders. In the past, he's just kind of casually done it for fun.
-Those who know Andy and his swimming accomplishments can verify that he has destroyed records in age groups as he has aged up. While his time was a surprise for a 51 year old, the fact that Andy was in the mix with the lead pack should come as no surprise to those who are familiar with his accomplishments.
For these reasons, we have concluded that Andy's time is legitimate, and we are standing firm with our result showing Andy won the race. Congratulations to Andy on an amazing swim, and for striking a blow for aging athletes everywhere!
Thanks for your continued support of Big Shoulders.
Chris
