I'm thinking of organizing a 10K open water swim race for 2013, mostly because there isn't one in our whole state that I know of (Texas...has anyone heard of a 10K here?) and we have a great venue. I've only done a few open water races, so I'd love advice from those of you who have done others. What makes a good race? Any special touches you appreciate? Anything you hate?
Some things I've gathered from my own experience and from reading through past threads on here:
- Accurate timing is important (we have a local timing company with a proven swim timing system, I'll work on getting a sponsor that would offset the cost of using them)
- Figure out rules for wetsuit/non wetsuit awards and apparel and make these clear in advance
- Figure out what to serve at feeding stations and have cups that aren't too tiny
- Our venue would allow for either a point-to-point course or a multi-lap course. Point-to-point seems more interesting, but more logistically challenging, because it would be harder to offer other distances (I was thinking the 10K field would be pretty small, so we could also offer a 5K and either a mile or 1K to allow more people to participate). Another option would be different out-and-back legs in opposite directions from the start beach. What do you think about how to handle this?
Thanks so much for any ideas.
I haven't found one yet but I would like a kegger at the end. That and crystal clear water in the 70s, beautiful women, and a live band on a sand dune.Then I suggest you attend the King of the Pier in Seaside Heights, NJ.
Kegger -check:chug:
Crystal clear water in the 70s -check:drowning:
Beautiful women -check:cheerleader:
Live band on a sand dune -check:dj_dance:
And don’t forget the barbecue:turkey:
Depending on turnout there could literally be a keg at the end :). There will be beer, it's just a question of keg vs. bottles. I'm surprised to hear this isn't common!? At runs it's pretty common.
I like many kayaks, clear water, and a friendly gathering at the end.
My favorite "race" usually ends up with more than one kayak for each racer.
http://teallakeswim.com/home
i swam the pre-swim last year for the corpus triathlon and would swim corpus christi bay again. because of pre-swim conditions / results, they made the triathlon a run - bike - run.
the pre-race swim was Saturday afternoon, May 14, 2011, and the wind was a little much, and probably much greater than in the morning. They decided next day's triathlon would skip the swim.
nevertheless I would do a swim there again. What do i like an open water race?... among a few things an 8:00 am start.
Really? I did the swim too. Everyone else in my division dropped out due to the jellyfish, so I "won" overall (if you could call it that...haha...I would estimate I got 50+ stings). We had always held the tri in April before the jellyfish arrive. Last year an organizing group from Austin had taken over and wanted to move it to May...lesson learned not to have a swim there in May. The swim I'd like to have would be planned to avoid jellyfish season.
that was actually considered a "calm" day for here.
I'd like water at the completion and food. Also a t-shirt. Also, safety. Also, I'd like swimmers disqual'd if they swim a race with a pull buoy.
All of this has been lacking in one or more of my limited experience (6) open water swims.
I think for locals or somewhat locals, a point to point is nice. "Hey Fred, how far was the swim last weekend?"
"It was from Corpus City Beach across to Jimmy's fish shock on the other side." It gives a nice frame of reference. Here in Maryland, we have the "I swam the length of the bay bridge" opportunity.
For people from out of town, I don't think it's as big of a deal.
Like others noted, I am happy for each andevery opportunity to race open water no matter the situation.
Likes: 500 m buoys every 6 ft for the near sighted.
Figure eight course to incite collisions and make for excellent viewing opportunities.
Special wool suit division for the old timers (and bankers).
Likes: 500 m buoys every 6 ft for the near sighted.
Figure eight course to incite collisions and make for excellent viewing opportunities.
Special wool suit division for the old timers (and bankers).
I've done two OW races & I'll never do another one without wearing my contacts (they work fine with goggles). I was slaloming all over the place trying to spot the buoys until I figured out to just follow any splashing in front of me.
