Hey Peeps - who out there has done any of these races in the past? Any tips? Anything you love/didn't like about these races and/or locations?
2017 U.S. Masters Swimming Open Water National Championships
6-9 Mile OW Nationals (7 miles)
Swim Around Lido Key, Sarasota, Florida, April 22, 2017
9+ Mile OW Nationals (10 miles)
Chattanooga, Tennessee, June 3, 2017
1-3 Mile OW Nationals (2.4 miles)
Chattanooga, Tennessee, June 4, 2017
2-Mile Cable OW Nationals
Foster Lake, Oregon, June 24, 2017
3-6 Mile OW Nationals (5K)
Elk Lake, Oregon, July 30, 2017
1-Mile OW Nationals
Angle Lake, Washington, September 23, 2017
I've swum one of the courses in Chattanooga. If they race it as I believe they will, the 2.4 mile course will swim downstream and finish in the center of Chattanooga. I've done a 4.5 mile race there twice, and the 2.4 mile course is the last half of that. They run a well-organized race usually with a check-in available the evening before the swim. There is transportation to the starting line and a bag drop off there so you can retrieve your items at the finish line. There is a wide variety of places to stay and some wonderful restaurants within walking distance of race finish for a beer and brunch.
It's a downstream swim, but the current varies wildly. Swum on the Tennessee River, the current speed depends on whether or not the TVA has opened dams upstream or not, and these events are not forecast so you won't know what sort of current you'll have until about 12 hours before the race. The first year I swam, the current was near negligible. In 2015, I swam it in about an hour and a half which is closer to my 3.5 mile pace.
The water is warmer than I care for, but then it looks like you swim in Texas so it may be cooler than what you do.
I presume the 10-mile race will be on the Swim the Suck course. I've not swum that course, but have always wanted to. I'm definitely considering adding this to my calendar.
I've swum one of the courses in Chattanooga. If they race it as I believe they will, the 2.4 mile course will swim downstream and finish in the center of Chattanooga. I've done a 4.5 mile race there twice, and the 2.4 mile course is the last half of that. They run a well-organized race usually with a check-in available the evening before the swim. There is transportation to the starting line and a bag drop off there so you can retrieve your items at the finish line. There is a wide variety of places to stay and some wonderful restaurants within walking distance of race finish for a beer and brunch.
It's a downstream swim, but the current varies wildly. Swum on the Tennessee River, the current speed depends on whether or not the TVA has opened dams upstream or not, and these events are not forecast so you won't know what sort of current you'll have until about 12 hours before the race. The first year I swam, the current was near negligible. In 2015, I swam it in about an hour and a half which is closer to my 3.5 mile pace.
The water is warmer than I care for, but then it looks like you swim in Texas so it may be cooler than what you do.
I presume the 10-mile race will be on the Swim the Suck course. I've not swum that course, but have always wanted to. I'm definitely considering adding this to my calendar.
