Horsetooth 10K Swim Letter #3 2009

August 6, 2009

Final Notices

Just one week to the 10K Swim! Water temp: 73 F

If you did not receive the first two welcome letters, please contact George Thorntonlouiset36@comcast.net

ACTION ITEM:
Send a short bio for inclusion in the brochure for the dinner and mandatory meeting Saturday evening. Deadline: Sunday noon, August 9.

SPECIAL HOTEL RATE
Marriot Hotel, 350 East Horsetooth Road, $104, 1-800-342-4398, mention Horsetooth Open Water Swim Local phone: 970-226-5200. Location: just east of College, 3 miles south of Mulberry.

INSURANCE COVERAGE
To participate in this USMS and USS sanctioned event you must either be a USMS or USS member. If you are not a USMS or USS member, you must pay a one-day membership fee. Many registrants paid this fee at registration and will be asked to sign the appropriate form at check-in Saturday evening before the dinner and meeting. If you are NOT a member of USMS or USS and you did NOT pay the one-day fee when you registered, you must pay Saturday August 15. Please bring a check made to Team Fort Collins.

ESSENTIAL DATES/TIMES:
Saturday, August 15

Sunday, August 16

Parking Instructions for Horsetooth 10K Swim Event: We need your cooperation!

There is limited parking at Horsetooth Reservoir. Therefore, in conjunction with the Larimer County Parks and Open Lands, we have set up the following arrangements. We ask your cooperation to make our event successful and to accommodate other patrons of the venue.

SWIMMERS PROVIDING THEIR OWN PADDLERS

SWIMMERS WITH SPONSOR-PROVIDED PADDLER

OPTIONS FOR YOUR COOPERATION:

  1. Meet your paddler at the dinner/meeting on Saturday evening and arrange to ride to South Bay with him/her. You can leave your car at Hughes Stadium.
  2. Car pool with another swimmer!
  3. If you have someone else in your group, he/she can watch the start, then drive to Hughes Stadium where bus will take him/her to Satanka Cove. After the race, buses will take swimmers and spectators to Hughes Stadium.

SPONSOR-PROVIDED PADDLERS

ANY ONE PARKING AT SOUTH BAY OR SATANKA COVE MUST HAVE A PARKING PERMIT FOR THE MORNING. OBTAIN A PERMIT AT CHECK IN SATURDAY EVENING.

Answers to some recent questions:

  1. What swim suit is allowed? Please read the RULES on the website: www.horsetoothswim.com
  2. How can spectators watch this exciting event?
  3. How will paddlers get back to their car at start line?
    Paddlers may drive their car to the start area at South Bay and leave it there. Please obtain a parking pass at the check-in at the Orientation Meeting and Dinner. After you paddle in support of your swimmer, buses will transport you back to the start area to retrieve your car. A trailer will take craft back to South Bay. In addition, there will be various carpools being arranged after the race. Check with the Announcer to make arrangements.
  4. Whats the water temp?
    Water temperature in Horsetooth Reservoir on August 5 was 73 degrees. We hasten to state that the temperature can drop if the water czars decide to put in new water from the high country. Sorry, no guarantees for race day!
  5. What if there is bad weather?
    In the unlikely situation that severe weather on Sunday forces us to cancel the race, there will be no refunds of fees. We have not canceled in 9 years, so...
  6. What specific route must swimmers follow during the race from south to north along the western shore of Horsetooth Reservoir?
    The route is well marked and simple to follow: swim along the western shore from south to north! Caution: do not swim into the various coves along the western shore. The prescribed route will be described in detail and illustrated on maps at the orientation meeting Saturday evening. In general, you must get out no more than 10 boat lengths from the western shore of the reservoir. Last minute instructions on the route, clarification of any rules, and other safety measures will be described at the meeting.
  7. How will I get my morning clothes to the finish line?
    Do I have to swim back to the start area to retrieve my stuff? We will provide secure transport of your stuff to the finish area. Just have a small backpack, gym bag, or sack with your name on it, say with a luggage tag. No, you do not have to swim back to the start area!
  8. I'll be tired and hungry when I finish! Any food available?
    Yes, free fruit, sandwiches, soup, drinks for swimmers and paddlers. Spectators can buy food from the concession tent.

Fort Collins and Horsetooth Swim in the News!!

A recent survey of convention organizers voted Fort Collins one of the best places to hold a conference. Reason: there's nothing else to do, so conventioneers don't wander off.

Fort Collins, Colorado: We are number 2! We are number 2! Best Place to Live in the United States (Money Magazine, August 2008)! We fell from our #1 spot in 2006, but it's still a great place to live. Come early and stay late to enjoy our lively city!

Fort Collins, Colorado: Fast Company magazine listed Fort Collins among the 30 Best Cities to Work, Live, and Play, along with Toronto, London, and Shanghai based on assessments of creativity, innovation, and quality of community (Fast Company Magazine, July/August 2007). Here's the place to grow your business!

In the July 2007 issue of Triathlete magazine, Richard Martin wrote about "The Loneliness of the Open-Water Swimmer." He traces the history of the mostly obscure sport of open water swimming up to the present time when the 10K swim was an Olympic event in Beijing in 2008. He notes that in 1982 the world championship attracted a few dozen competitors. By contrast: Today it's not unusual for hundreds of swimmers to turn up for big races like the Waikiki Roughwater, the La Jolla Roughwater near San Diego, and the Horsetooth Open Water Swim in northern Colorado. You are participating in an event with international recognition!

The Race Committee looks forward to meeting you and to a successful swim! Any last minute questions?? Email George Thornton @ louiset36@comcast.net or call 970-482-1818. Cordially, George Thornton and the Race Committee

DIRECTIONS TO THE VENUES

All of the following directions begin at the intersection of College Avenue (north/south) and Mulberry Street (east/west). This is one of the main intersections in central Fort Collins.

Pre-Race Dinner
First Presbyterian Church, 531 South College Avenue, Saturday evening Mandatory Meeting for 10K Swimmers The church is ½ block south of College and Mulberry

South Bay Parking for 10K Swimmers, Swimmers Providing Own Paddlers, and Other Paddlers
Pick up a parking permit at the pre-race dinner and meeting. You can get to the start of the 10K swim at South Bay two ways:

  1. From College and Mulberry, drive south on College for three miles, turn west (right) on Horsetooth Drive, drive west for two miles, turn south on Taft Hill and drive south for 5/10 mile, turn west on County Road 38E. Once you are on CR 38E headed west, drive up the hill approaching the reservoir. At the top of the hill you will come to Spring Canyon Dam. Stay on CR 38E to the south, circle around the south end of the reservoir, enter the South Bay entrance, drive north past the parking area for the boat trailers. DO NOT PARK IN THIS AREA FOR STORAGE OF BOAT TRAINERS! Proceed past the boat ramps and park in the furthest parking areas near the swim beach.
  2. Drive to Hughes Stadium as described below. Continue west on 42 C for 5/10 mile, turn south on Centennial Drive, cross Spring Canyon Dam, proceed south of CR 38E as described above.

Spectators
THERE IS NO PARKING AT THE NORTH END NEAR THE FINISH OF THE 10K SWIM!! GO TO HUGHES STADIUM

Hughes Stadium, Parking for Spectators to Load on Buses/Vans: Overland Trail and County Road 42C
Drive west on Mulberry for approximately 3 miles, turn south on Overland Trail, drive approximately 1.5 miles, you will see the CSU Stadium on your right, turn west on County Road 42C, drive about 4/10 mile and enter the parking area south of the Stadium

Buses will run continuously throughout the morning transporting spectators to the north end, then transporting 10K swimmers and paddlers to South Bay, and transporting other swimmers and spectators to Hughes Stadium.

If you are driving from the start of the 10K swim, reverse the directions above: Leave South Bay, drive around the south end of the reservoir, proceed north until you come to Spring Creek Dam, head north across the dam onto Centennial Drive, drive about 1 mile, turn right onto CR 38E down the hill, and go to Hughes Stadium to catch a bus to the finish area.

Horsetooth Reservoir
The scenic venue for our swim is the 6.5 mile long reservoir on the west side of Fort Collins. It is a popular recreation site for boaters, hikers, rock climbers, campers, and picnickers. We start at the boat ramp at South Bay and swim 6.2 miles along the western shore, proceeding north to Satanka Cove at the northwest corner of the reservoir near the north dam. There are a number of other scenic coves on your left that might lure you astray, so you need to know the course: get help with navigation from your paddler. Your paddler is also one of your guards against the boaters and personal water craft buzzing around the lake. We have never had any incident, but it is important that you stick to the western shore, and coordinate with your paddler to provide protection.

SPECTATORS -- NO PARKING AT SATANKA COVE AT THE FINISH: Please believe us on this point! Spectators will be bused from Hughes Stadium to the finish area. Starting at 6:00 a.m, buses and vans will start transporting folks to the finish area. In the early morning, preference will be given to swimmers in the shorter races that start and end at Satanka Cove at the north end. Spectators for the 10K can board buses about 8:00 a.m. The buses and vans will run continuously throughout the morning, shuttling spectators to the finish area, and then swimmers and spectators back their cars. PLEASE PLEASE, do not try to drive to Santanka Cove: you will not be allowed to cross the north dam to Santanka Cove.

BEFORE RACE DAY: If you wish to view the race course before Sunday, you may get there in two ways:

  • Follow the directions to Hughes Stadium and South Bay parking described above, or
  • From College and Mulberry, drive south on College for three miles, turn west (right) on Horsetooth Drive, drive west for two miles, turn south on Taft Hill and drive south for 5/10 mile, turn west on County Road 38E. Once you are on CR 38E headed west, drive up the hill approaching the reservoir. At the top of the hill you will come to Spring Canyon Dam. Proceed slowly south on CR 38. After a few hundred yards, pull off onto the first small gravel turnout. At this point you can look across the lake to the south and see the north boat ramp. That is the start line. (Just to the north of that site is a small swim beach. That is the only place on Horsetooth where you can swim. If you wish to swim, you must proceed south, circle around to the entrance, pay a fee, and go for a dip.) After you view the start area, look to the north and you will see the dam on the far horizon – that’s about 6 miles north!! Great sight, huh??? You will swim along the west shore. There are other pull-off spots along this section of the road. After sizing up the venue from that point, you can drive north along the east side of the reservoir. You will cross Spring Canyon Dam, go up and down the hills, cross Dixon Canyon Dam (look down to the east to see Hughes Stadium), then up another hill. Along the top of this ridge are some parking areas including Rotary Park and Sunrise Park where you can see the middle part of your swim route. Proceed further north, cross Soldier Canyon Dam, then up the hill again to Skyline Park where you can see the finish area. (For those who also run road races, Centennial Drive is the early stage of the famous Horsetooth Half Marathon, run each year in May.) Resuming your drive north, at the bottom of the “Dam Hill” you will see the Horsetooth Dam across the north end of the reservoir. Before race day (BUT NOT SUNDAY!!), you can drive across the dam and see the finish line in Satanka Cove. The official finish of the 10K swim will be on the boat ramp or the adjacent shoreline, depending on the water level on race day. Refreshments, EMTs, etc will be available on race day.

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