To the volunteers, sponsors and race organizers of last weekend's USMS 10k Open Water National Championship, thank you. You put on a wonderful event from the ease of check-in, a fun social dinner & race talk, extremely helpful boat tours & terrific race/awards. The buoys were visible and the volunteers on boat support were very nice and quick to feed us. Sunday's open practice was a nice way to wrap up the weekend by meeting new swimmers and rehasing our races over breakfast and coffee. Can't wait until next year!
Thank you for the memories!
-Jenny Birmelin
Michigan Masters
www.swimfasttrifast.com
I agree with everything everyone has said. What a well run race! I really, really appreciated the boat tours of the course. That took a lot of anxiety out of the race the next day, despite the extremely hot racing conditions.
Because everything leading up to race day had been so well-organized, I felt confident that safety would be job one for the organizers, so rather than totally freaking out about 87 degree water, all I had to do was concentrate on swimming my race and paying attention to my body.
I could see all of the bouys and remembered the sighting points from the boat tour--I did not experience one moment of "now how did I end up HERE?" A FANTASTIC practice other organizers would do well to imitate was this: NUMBERED BOUYS. This is an innovation like ziplock bags or the light grids on the back of wrapping paper--why weren't things always done this way?
Even small details were taken care of: the goodie bag had great stuff in it--I like the luggage tag and the cool 2010k cup the most--a very cool, well-designed t-shirt, a tent to protect folks from the heat post-race, food and beverages right there after the race, a hose with a shower attachment for post-race clean up (made the drive home to Chicago SO much comfortable), and even lots of raffle prizes! It's amazing how much sponsorship the organizers lined up for this event.
I also have to commend *** Snider for responding to my emails immediately, even right after the race! A very nice guy.
Noblesville is a pretty place to visit, too, I might add.
I am a Chicago girl, and a Lake Michigan swimmer accustomed to swimming in temperatures between 60 to 70 degrees, so Morse Reservoir is tough for me due to its warmth. But I plan to return and do the race again because it was the best run open water race I have ever done, and because I so enjoyed the camaraderie of the other swimmers. I agree that this was a very fast field of competitors. Still, regular mortal swimmers like me also had a great time. Congratulations to everyone who participated. Such fun!
Ruth Giles-Ott, Chicago Smelts
I agree with everything everyone has said. What a well run race! I really, really appreciated the boat tours of the course. That took a lot of anxiety out of the race the next day, despite the extremely hot racing conditions.
Because everything leading up to race day had been so well-organized, I felt confident that safety would be job one for the organizers, so rather than totally freaking out about 87 degree water, all I had to do was concentrate on swimming my race and paying attention to my body.
I could see all of the bouys and remembered the sighting points from the boat tour--I did not experience one moment of "now how did I end up HERE?" A FANTASTIC practice other organizers would do well to imitate was this: NUMBERED BOUYS. This is an innovation like ziplock bags or the light grids on the back of wrapping paper--why weren't things always done this way?
Even small details were taken care of: the goodie bag had great stuff in it--I like the luggage tag and the cool 2010k cup the most--a very cool, well-designed t-shirt, a tent to protect folks from the heat post-race, food and beverages right there after the race, a hose with a shower attachment for post-race clean up (made the drive home to Chicago SO much comfortable), and even lots of raffle prizes! It's amazing how much sponsorship the organizers lined up for this event.
I also have to commend *** Snider for responding to my emails immediately, even right after the race! A very nice guy.
Noblesville is a pretty place to visit, too, I might add.
I am a Chicago girl, and a Lake Michigan swimmer accustomed to swimming in temperatures between 60 to 70 degrees, so Morse Reservoir is tough for me due to its warmth. But I plan to return and do the race again because it was the best run open water race I have ever done, and because I so enjoyed the camaraderie of the other swimmers. I agree that this was a very fast field of competitors. Still, regular mortal swimmers like me also had a great time. Congratulations to everyone who participated. Such fun!
Ruth Giles-Ott, Chicago Smelts
