Tampa Bay Marathon Swim 2012

evmo

This is the official "cheering"/discussion thread for the 15th Annual <b>Tampa Bay Marathon Swim</b>, to be held on April 21. Race director @RonCollins just released the official start list of 16 solo swimmers:

<ul>
<li>Brad Denton, 48M, Scottsdale, AZ</li>
<li>Chris Burke, 50M, St. Petersburg, FL</li>
<li>Greg Larson, 43M, San Rafael, CA</li>
<li>Rob Kent, 47M, Oakville, Ontario</li>
<li>Dan Boyle, 46M, New York, NY</li>
<li>Mark Smitherman, 53M, Clearwater, FL</li>
<li>Alan Barry, 48M, Asheville, NC</li>
<li>Pat Marzulli, 63M, Indian Rocks Beach, FL</li>
<li>Sarah Thomas, 29F, Englewood, CO</li>
<li>Patti Bauernfeind, 44F, Dublin, CA</li>
<li>Bart Cobb, 57M, Tampa, FL</li>
<li>Arnie Bellini, 53M, Tampa, FL</li>
<li>Tibor Molnar, 19M, Shelton, CT</li>
<li>Katie Brooks, 23F, Asheville, NC</li>
<li>Steve Gruenwald, 50M, Anchorage, AK</li>
<li>Mauro Giancona, 40M, Palermo, Italy</li>
</ul>
Forum members @ssthomas, @caburke, and @bcobb are among them. Go Sarah, Chris, and Bart! (Have I missed anyone?)

<a href="http://www.distancematters.com">www.distancematters.com</a&gt;

LOSTswimmer

Should be fun! I'm looking forward to it... getting a bit nervous that is... tough to get some good long swims in this time of year... hopin' for the best!

ssthomas

Almost taper time! I can't wait to get out there!

SDCOTTEN

Wow, two Asheville swimmers out of 16. I would like to meet the two of you sometime. Someday I might like to do this swim. I am in Asheville as well.

bobswims

Two words: Power Plant.

evmo

For some context to Bob's words of wisdom, start here and read to the end of the thread.

Lesson learned: Stay in the shipping channel

ssthomas

Jeeze....thanks for the info @evmo and @bobswins! Shipping channel for me. I was whining in the Harlem last year at MIMS when it was 68. Thought my head was gonna pop off... I better stay away from the power plant! Though the 86 degree pool I train in might come in handy. It probably has more toxins than a nuclear power plant does...

ForeverSwim

My money is on @ssthomas; heard she was going to have an amazing crew

ssthomas

Only the best, @foreverswim! :-)

evmo

Another navigational tip: Don't try to cut the corner going around Pinellas Point unless your boat captain knows the bottom topography like the back of his hand. It gets extremely shallow in parts and you risk running aground.

My pilot took the more conservative route (straight out into the Bay), and I still managed to hit an unexpected shoal and sliced my hand open on a bed of oysters. My first thought was, "A shark is going to smell this from 20 miles away."

Plus, it's debatable whether cutting the corner saves time anyway, since you're not benefiting from the current further out in the Bay.

Here's a shot from last year, a few minutes before the start. Hope you guys get better conditions!

ssthomas

For my mother and sister's sake, I hope the conditions are better. They have a tendency to get a little sick....

bobswims

Check my blog entry at www.bobswims.com for ariel view of my successful short cut. Yes I did have to bend my elbow to avoid scraping the bottom, but the current pushed me along at a good clip. It put me back in with the leaders (at least for a little while). But make sure you check the course out the day before with your pilot, and have your kayaker guide you through.

evmo

TBMS - happening tomorrow.

Lots of Forum members will be there - @caburke, @LOSTswimmer, @bcobb, @ssthomas (with @ForeverSwim as crew), @Jamie (crewing for Greg Larson), @RonCollins orchestrating.

Color commentary by yours truly on the TBMS Twitter.

GPS tracking here.

Weather a bit sketchy at this point... let's hope for the best.

Tune in around 7am Eastern (-0500 for our GMT friends).

ForeverSwim

Weather?! Oh, we are finishing this race! Chop, storms or snow won't stop this marathon train...

ssthomas

I'm in. A little rain can't stop me!

IronMike

Hey, where's the Tweets? It started, right? It looks like it on the GPS.

IronMike

IronMike wrote:

Hey, where's the Tweets? It started, right? It looks like it on the GPS.

Tweets have started!

KNicholas

Cheering for Brad Denton, Arizona swimmer and previous winner of TBMS!

evmo

3hr15min into the race, @ssthomas is approaching St. Pete Pier. She's the overall leader, just ahead of Mauro Gianconia and the Hammerhead relay. @caburke is in a tight race for 3rd with Patti Bauernfeind. @ForeverSwim took his pic of Sarah:

evmo

Race called at 1:32pm due to incoming angry stormfront, with @ssthomas leading by (literally) a mile. @caburke a strong third second. Unfortunate turn of events... but that's open water swimming!

ssthomas

The finish line was so close I could taste it......

IronMike

Congrats to all despite the weather canx. Can't be surprised at the lightning capital of the world.