NEW open water race: Fontana Lake 5K, 10K, 15K in N.Carolina

drmdive

Swim Without Limits announces its NEW open water swimming event! The Fontana Lake - Best Dammed Lake - 5K, 10K, & 15K, June 22, 2019 in Almond, North Carolina (Near Bryson City).

Solo swimmers can challenge themselves in either distance or you can do the 15K as a relay with three swimmers each swimming a 5K. The course is a 5K course going out around an island in the beautiful Lake Fontana! Come for an amazing swim and stay for all of the other adventures that await...whitewater kayaking, hiking, mtn. biking, kayaking, zip-lining with our sponsor Nantahala Outdoor Center (www.noc.com).

Registration will open January 21, 2019.

Look for more information soon on www.swimwithoutlimits.com. Hope to see you there!

slknight

This looks great! What's the approximate water temp that time of year?

(BTW, Bryson City is misspelled on the flyer.)

timsroot

That looks intriguing. And my in laws recently told me that they wouldn't be used to go to the mountains to babysit

Katie

Just saw on the Swim Without Limits site that the date has changed to July 20, 2019 because they had a conflict with the race venue on the originally communicated date of June 22. Bummer. Wish it were held in June!

drmdive

Fontana Lake 5K, 10K, 15K open water race REGISTRATION IS OPEN

Fontana Lake 5K, 10K, 15K open water race REGISTRATION IS OPEN! July 20, 2019 in Almond, North Carolina (Near Bryson City). Solo swimmers can challenge themselves in any distance or you can do the 15K as a 3-person relay team (3 x 5K). The course is a 5K course going out around an island in the beautiful Fontana Lake! Come for an amazing swim and stay for all of the other adventures that await...whitewater kayaking, hiking, mtn. biking, kayaking, zip-lining with our sponsor Nantahala Outdoor Center (www.noc.com).

For more information and to register, go to: https://www.swimwithoutlimits.com/event-information-fontana-lake/

Carly

Yah NC! I'm going to try and be there!

ChefKen

This was a well run event and a lot of fun. The lake was getting warmer and warmer as the date approached, so there was a lot of concern that the 10 & 15k's would not happen, but that morning, we were lucky to have 84 degree water, and all 3 distances were on! The location is absolutely amazing, and the lake water was just lovely. They are saying that it will be held in JUNE next year, so we should be guaranteed MUCH cooler water! I'll definitely be back! I don't normally love loops, but the course has some twists and turns, and even goes around an island in the middle of the lake, so it doesn't really feel like loops... you just get to know the course

Sara_Wolf

@ChefKen said:
This was a well run event and a lot of fun. The lake was getting warmer and warmer as the date approached, so there was a lot of concern that the 10 & 15k's would not happen, but that morning, we were lucky to have 84 degree water, and all 3 distances were on! The location is absolutely amazing, and the lake water was just lovely. They are saying that it will be held in JUNE next year, so we should be guaranteed MUCH cooler water! I'll definitely be back! I don't normally love loops, but the course has some twists and turns, and even goes around an island in the middle of the lake, so it doesn't really feel like loops... you just get to know the course

Did the longer events use escort kayakers? Or was it completely self supported?

ChefKen

@Sara_Wolf , it was a 5k loop with 2 feed stations 1 at the start and one almost half way through the course, so no kayaker support.

flystorms

Oh, definitely putting this one on the calendar for next year, then. Sounds fantastic! Thanks for the update. And man, that 84 degrees sounds perfect.

Sara_Wolf

@ChefKen said:
@Sara_Wolf , it was a 5k loop with 2 feed stations 1 at the start and one almost half way through the course, so no kayaker support.

How did that work for you?
Did you do the longer routes?

Wondering whether having the feedstations like that was super crowded or not?

ChefKen

@Sara_Wolf It worked out great. I swam the 10k in 3:34, so I was feeding a less often than I would for a much longer swim, but it was fine. The cold water on my head felt really nice at the first feed station since it was so hot! I'm sure there may have been moments when they were crowded, but everyone was in a big hurry and didn't block others, and they had it so there was plenty of room for everyone and the attendants were helpful.

ChefKen

@flystorms said:
Oh, definitely putting this one on the calendar for next year, then. Sounds fantastic! Thanks for the update. And man, that 84 degrees sounds perfect.

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Katie

I second @ChefKen 's assessment- the race was really well run and the location was fantastic. The lake is really serene (no homes along the shorelines that we swam along) and feels rather deserted in some ways; water quality, even with the warmer temps was fantastic. I am looking forward to the June date for next year; cooler waters honestly would make this an ideal swim.
For those who like to travel while swimming, keep in mind this location is about 40 minutes outside of Asheville, NC and right by the Blue Ridge Parkway. Not too shabby!

Katie

@flystorms said:
Oh, definitely putting this one on the calendar for next year, then. Sounds fantastic! Thanks for the update. And man, that 84 degrees sounds perfect.

Quite a few of the 15k'ers got out after the first or second loop because of the water temps. Hyperthermia was definitely a factor to contend with if you're used to cooler water temps.