Madison Open Water Swim Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Jason E.
Sun Prairie, WI

  (08-28-2009)

"Course:
This is a rectangular, 1.2-mile course. 2.4-mile participants make 2 laps. The course is roughly the same as Ironman Wisconsin, though I noted a slight difference in the shape. The Ironman course is a little more squared and further out into the water to make room for over 2,000 competitors. Conditions were ideal. Cool air and warm water, not to forget, very calm. Of course this is conditional, and out of control of organizers. The water itself is what it is, Lake Monona. A pretty gross urban lake, but people know that about this lake. It was no surprise, and they participate for it's distance and 2.4-miles, not because the water is nice.

Organization:
Packet-pickup seemed simple enough. Maybe a little slow. While I didn't order a shirt, I noticed a few other people wondering where there shirt was. It seems they were only available after the race, but I'm not too sure. Nobody made any kind of an announcement, and when somebody at the food tent after the race asked, the volunteer response was "Yeah, I have some here. Did you order one? What size do you need?" Making up for that though was a very nice contingent of in-the-water volunteers. This may have been in response to a number or recent deaths to Wisconsin triathletes in the water, including one in this very spot just a week earlier.

Crowd:
Small, for a small race. However, crowd matters very little when you're swimming. At least for me. All I see is water, and all I hear is me.

Overall:
This race is more or less Ironman prep. Very few people I spoke with participated as "swimmers" first. Most people were preparing for Ironman, or getting a taste of the distance for a future Ironman. The timing is also perfect, roughly 4 weeks before the big one. Therefore, a perfect prep race.
"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009