Description

Virtual Open Water Swim Challenge

 2020 – Southwest Tour

When:   October 1 st 2020 - March 31 st 2021 .             

Entry Chairman: Karen Reeder                                                         

Email:  [email protected]

Eligibility:   Open to anyone who swims!   Sign up by October 1 st

Categories:  Participants pick ONE of 5 goal distances to complete within the 6-month time-frame.  Swimmers will be emailed a form to keep track of their distance. Distance categories are listed below.  Swimming anywhere, open water or pools counts for yardage.  Distances swum in meters need to be converted to yards.

1) 50 miles Colorado River, Utah - 88,000 yards: averaging 3,382 yards per week

2)  75 miles, Navajo Lake - Colorado and New Mexico, 5,073 yards per week

3) 100 miles Rio Grande River, Texas = 176,000 yards: averaging 6,765 yards per week

4) 150 miles, Great Salt Lake, Utah- 264,000 yards: averaging 10,150 yards per week

5) 200 miles, Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona - 352,000 yards: averaging 13,530 yards per week

Awards :  All finishers receive a $10 gift certificate from A3 Performance SwimWear.  If you are unsure about which category to choose, contact the entry chairman. 

Entry Fees:     Entry : $40

                       Workouts :  $100 - Swimmers may purchase workouts which will be sent out once a week for 26 week to assist with your training.  Workout sample is shown below

                        Rainleaf Microfiber Towels:   $25.00 (choice of Blue, Purple or Bright Green) which includes shipping within the U.S.  Towels will be printed with the category, 50 Mile Swim Colorado River, Utah, for example, based upon the swimmers’ sign-up category.   Towels will be mailed in early November.  

Monthly Updates:  Participants will receive a monthly update and log into a goggle docs sheet to update their yardage and compare with other swimmers in the challenge.   

Workout Sample:  There will be three categories for each workout.  Category A will be about 1300-1700 yards, category B about 2200-2700 yards and category C 3500-4000 yards

A)        200 swim warm-up choice  

300 swim @:20 rest, 2 x 50 - 1 easy/1 fast @:15 rest     

200 swim @:20 rest, 4 x 50 – 1 easy/1 fast @:15 rest        

            100 swim @:20 rest, 6 x 50 – 1 easy/1 fast @:15 rest

            100 warm-down

            1500 yards

B)        Warm-up 200 swim, 100 kick, 200 pull        

            400 swim @:15 rest, 2 x 50 – 1 easy/1 fast @:15 rest

            300 swim @:15 rest, 4 x 50 – 1 easy/1fast @:15 rest

            200 swim @:15 rest, 4 x 50 – 1 easy/1 fast @:15 rest        

            100 swim @:15 rest, 2 x 50 – 1 easy/1 fast @:15 rest

            200 warm-down

            2300 yards

C)        Warm-up 200 swim, 200 kick, 200 pull

            500 swim @:15 rest, 2 x 50 – 1 easy/fast @:15 rest

            400 swim @:15 rest, 4 x 50 – 1 easy/1 fast @:15 rest

            300 swim @:15 rest, 6 x 50 – 1 easy/1fast @:15 rest

            200 swim @:15 rest, 8 x 50 – 1 easy/1 fast @:15 rest        

            100 swim @:15 rest, 10 x 50 – 1 easy/1 fast @:15 rest

            Warm-down 200 swim choice

            3800 yards

More about the Swims: 

Colorado River, Utah– Swimmers will start at Potash boat launch, just south of Moab and head south in the Colorado River.  Swimmers will share the water with kayakers and canoers on vacation trips down river through stunning vistas of Canyonlands National Park.  The 50-mile swim finishes at the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers.  

Navajo Lake, Colorado/New Mexico.  This swim tour of Navajo lake starts in Arboles, Colorado at the north end of the lake.  Swimmers head south along the lake, crossing into New Mexico and 23 miles to the Navajo Dam.  Then they will head north exploring the western branch of the lake to the northernmost point and return.   After this 25-mile round trip, swimmers head back towards Colorado to the starting point for the 75-mile round trip. 

Rio Grande, Texas:   This swim begins near Redford at the western edge of Big Bend Ranch State Park on the border of Texas and Mexico.   Swimmers will head east in the river exploring the lower canyons of the Rio Grande including the famous Santa Elena Canyon.   The 100-mile swim finishes at the southernmost point of the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park.

Great Salt Lake, Utah:  This tour of the Great Salt Lake is a clockwise navigation of the lake staring at Antelope State.  Swimmers head south along the shoreline to the southernmost part and then turn north, swimming along the western shoreline.  After reading the shore on the north end of the lake, swimmers turn south.  About midway down the lake, swimmers head east to go around Fremont Island and then back to the starting point on Antelope Island for the 150-mile finish.  

Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona:  This tour begins at the Hite Crossing bridge on the northernmost end of the lake.  Swimmers head south passing Good Hope Bay and Bullfrog Marina.  The course takes a round trip detour east up the San Juan river for 37 miles (total 75 miles) before heading south again in the main lake channel.  The 200-mile course finishes at Wahweap Marina, Arizona.