Valley Forge Marathon Swim
dpm50
PA, U.S.Senior Member
Registration is open! Register early and get in for less than $100!
Back for its third year, this swim has been renamed in memory of its founder, Charles Bender. Charles passed away suddenly on March 6, 2017. He was very active as a marathon swimmer, triathlete, and runner. In fact, two days before his death, he ran a 20 mile trail race, with no difficulty. After he and a few others, including the current race director, John Kenny, took an exploratory swim of what became the course, Charles set about to organize and direct the event. He was an energetic presence at swim practices (both as coach and as a swimmer), at triathlons, whether participating or officiating, and in the community. He will be missed!
In its second year, the start/finish point changed, but the overall course remains the same--along the Schuylkill River between Norristown and Valley Forge. It's a scenic swim, and the water is generally calm or at most mildly choppy, so a great swim for newcomers to marathon swimming. Here's the link to apply and/or send questions.
http://www.imathlete.com/events/EventOverview.aspx?fEID=64997&z=1489530535382
Comments
This is an 8 mile river swim, 2 miles downstream, 4 upstream, and last 2 miles downstream.
@dpm50
You seem to know everything about this swim. Any idea how difficult it is to get a paddler if you don't have your own to bring? I can reach out to John directly but didn't know if you had any input for me and others who may be interested in participating.
Thanks
Hey Franco -
I did it in 2015. I had a kayaker from a local college, but he had to bail out with about 9 days to go. They have Saturday swims in the river and I went to the Saturday swim 7 days before the event in the hope that I'd find someone there that I could weasel into kayaking for me. By luck, I did find someone and, not only did he kayak for me, but his dad wanted to join in, so I got 2 kayakers for the price of one. If you are having trouble finding someone, I suggest going to one of the river swims like I did and ask around.
I have signed up for the 2017 race also.
-LBJ
“Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” - Oscar Wilde
@Leonard_Jansen has a good suggestion about going to the river swims.
In addition, if you're on Facebook, I recommend a couple of groups:
French Creek Racing Swim Training: John Kenny is the lead admin of this group and also the race director. He'll post updates and also members can put out requests for kayakers. Turned out a friend of mine volunteered to kayak for me last year, seeing my post on the group page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Frenchcreekswimtraining/
Valley Forge Watershed Association
John has been working with this group, and members have volunteered in past events.
FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/816785581789437/
Website: http://vfwa.org/ActivitiesEvents.htm
The number of swimmers is still small, so people typically haven't had problems finding kayakers. And you don't have to have someone lined up before you register.
Giving this a bump, because at midnight, EDT, tonight (Friday, May 5), the price goes up. But the registration remains open, so don't worry if you miss the midnight deadline! You'll pay more but you can still get in!