What a great swim!
Where to start… well, the turn-out was fantastic… 64 swimmers and tons of supporters! We had a few recreational swimmers, numerous Masters swimmers, lots of Ironman triathletes, a couple varsity swimmers, two Manhattan Island Marathon swimmers, one English Channel swimmer and one Lake Ontario swimmer… an amazing group of swimmers! In fact, we even had two more Lake Ontario swimmers that came out to cheer everyone in… Miguel Vadillo, who just finished his crossing this week, in 18 hours and 4 minutes… and Colleen Sheilds, who has already swum Lake O twice and is going for a third time… and the record for the oldest crossing ever (and possibly the fastest!).
And while we are on the topic of records for swims in Lake Ontario… the 64 swimmers in the 3rd annual LOST Race made it the largest race ever held in Lake Ontario… another record we hope to break next year!
The water conditions were great… but I’ll admit they were fairly tough. The air temp was nice and warm, the water temp was the warmest it has been all year… 71F / 22C!!! But it was pretty choppy… but that’s open water swimming, baby! To use Hamish’s great quote “I hope it howls! I may not be fast, but I’m a real hammer head!”… which is just what was required today!
The other side of the coin was that because of the amazing growth in numbers (8 in year 1, 39 in year 2 and 64 in year 3!) we needed to be a bit more organized and official. We are now an officially recognized Master’s Team and that was a sanctioned race! (and insured!) But equally important was that we had several people step up to the plate to help out! Melanie did an amazing job in registration, she was running the show! My daughters Jillian and Maisey deserve a pat on the back too for all their help… as do my parents, Bob and Dot, who helped out with parking and timing… as did Coach Mette (from Oakville Masters)! Joe Allen had his work cut out for him organizing the boats… especially in the rough water! And a special thanks to TOWARF (Town of Oakville Water and Air Rescue Force… the Auxiliary Coast Guard) and the Halton Police Marine Unit too.
I should also give credit to our 2 swimmers that pulled out… which might sound strange, but I personally want to thank them for using their common sense and deciding not to continue and just ending their swim before a rescue was necessary. From what I understand they just called it a day and swam over to the Police boat and got a ride back… no fuss, no muss. Hey, everyone has had a day like that, but it’s a whole lot nicer for everyone when people stay in touch with how they are feeling. It’s always tough to make that call, especially when we often train ourselves to push through it.
Nice to see everyone was on the same page… come out and have a good tough race… and some fun! Well done, everyone!
Now, unfortunately I was a bit disorganized this year and didn’t get a single picture, so if you have some pics (and there were lots of people that got them), please email them to me at [email protected] and I’ll include them in a post and stick a few in the LOST Race section too!
The one thing I do have, that I’m sure everyone wants to see is the results… so here you go! They will also be on the LOST Race tab too… (I made a couple of corrections!) LOST Race results, 2010 . Dylan Kent was able to retain his title as overall winner of the LOST Race for the 3rd year in a row… and this time in the “naked” division! In fact, his margin of victory was greater this year over his pal John Steadman than it was last year with a wetsuit! Figure that one out! Might have something to do with the rough water?
Again, thanks to all the volunteers, be they boaters or land-lubbers… I, and everyone there certainly appreciated it! Also, thanks to all the swimmers for coming out… I am flattered and excited that so many people like our “little” race… it is just that much more fun with more people to swim with! So keep spreading the word and we’ll see you next year for the 4th Annual LOST Race… and you are, of course, welcome to come out for a LOST Swim every Saturday morning at 8:00 (note that we start where we finished today though!)
Some good press in the Oakville Beaver yesterday and the Beaver and SNAP newspapers were there taking pictures, so keep your eye out for all of us in the Beaver and SNAP!
Cheers,
Rob
PS. more pictures to come… check back soon!
thanks to all who put this event together and helped out on the day…I had so much fun and really enjoyed being able to swim a full 3.8K with out being put through a start that feels like a washing machine (yes, I’m one of the mentioned Ironman racers who came out). I can’t wait to participate again next year, and maybe even make it out to one of your Saturday swims…
Thanks again.
linnea
Congratulations to all the brave souls that stepped off solid ground into the choppy waters of Lake Ontario. A nice warm lake this time I might add. Seeing all the swimmers and supporters at Start and Finish was great. Due to the fantastic organization (again) by everyone, we can all look back on a great experience and just look forward to another race next year with I am sure even more swimmers.
Thanks
Ronald
I would like to thank Rob and the Kent Family for organizing such a wonderful event. It was a challenging event, yet a lot of fun. I met some great people and all of us really enjoyed the day. I was so impressed with Caelyn, who demonstrated such bravery and determination. Caelyn showed us what it takes to be a starter, a finisher and, in all of our eyes, a winner! I hope to see you all back next year.
When I saw how choppy the water was ( I could still feel the waves as I was falling asleep that night) I was a little nervous. However, the race was so well organized with all the great support I knew whatever happened everything would turn out alright.
The most amazing memory of the day was the determination of Caelyn to touch the flag. If I ever think of quitting during a race I will think of Caelyn and her not giving up until she reached her goal. Caelyn is an awesome inspiration!
Thanks to everyone who contributed to make the event a success.
Geoff
As a non-participant who was there to support my wife and her two swimming partners, I was very impressed by the organization of the event. This was Sarah’s first open water race and she thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I loved the site as well as how friendly all participants and organizers were.
Great job-see you next year!
Peter
Thank you Rob and everyone who helped out. It was a great race – looking forward to next year!
Thanks Rob and everyone else who made this possible!
Had a blast although definitely swallowed way to much lake water due to the crashing waves!
If I am here in the summer next year I will make sure to hobble my way down again.
Sean
Rob, Joanne, Maisey, Melanie, Mette and all those I’m forgetting that helped to make this day happen
– THANK YOU!
It’s amazing to think that you put in all that time and energy to make this event happen – such a generous initiative, and sooo appreciated.
Well Organized, and so much fun to be a part of – Thank you again.
A big thanks to Rob for setting up L.O.S.T and the annual L.O.S.T. race. – Fantastic
Also to the volunteers who helped out with the L.O.S.T. race event -Thank you.
Cheers,
Victor
Congratulations to all the Kents for organizing an amazing day of racing on our most precious resource Lake Ontario.
I just want to set the official record straight – Im not 54 yet! And I didn’t have the courage to swim that distance “naked” yet. Maybe next year. I used a full wetsuit.
You perhaps saw me floundering around in the chop encouraging Caelyn, this year’s “highest value swimmer?” who was out there bravely fighting the choppy waters for 2 hours and 4 minutes. I only encouraged her for the last 75 meters. She deserves huge applause.
And thanks to all the Kayakers for keeping an eye on the rest of us.
Kayakers Kim and Steve Eroclani of Port Credit said… “Well it was like herding cats!”
And I thought we all swam like sharks.
Hamish
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