Temperature
While the conditions have remained relatively stable over the history of the race, the biggest variable is by far temperature.
Lake Ontario is a large and very deep body of water and in the summer months is subject to "rollovers" where the cold water from the bottom of the lake is brought up to the top of the surface of the lake, dramatically reducing the temperature. This can happen overnight. Typically in mid-August when we hold the race the temperature is more stable as more of the lake has warmed top to bottom. As of 2018 we have moved the race back a weekend in a hope to benefit from statistically higher water temperatures. In the 10 previous years of the LOST Race we have had 2 years where the temperature has dipped below 55F/13C. In both of those years we offered a shortened version of the race. Typically the lake temperature in August is between 60F-70F (15C-21C).
Conditions
The conditions on Lake Ontario can vary year to year and over the history of the LOST Race we've seen a bit of everything. While there have been a couple years with some waves typically the race has been flat and smooth. The water is almost always clear with high visibility. Some years there has been a slight positive current aiding swimmers.
Race Cancellation
In the unlikely event that we have to cancel the race for safety reasons (storms, water temperature, rough water conditions, etc) we will unfortunately not be able to provide refunds as all of our costs are paid upfront (insurance, timing system, swag, medals, permits, etc). Naturally this would be our last choice, but we take the safety of our swimmers very seriously and is our top priority.
For similar reasons, like most races, we are unfortunately unable to issue individual refunds for any reason.
Safety
This is our top priority. So if you find that we tend to err to the side of safety, this is why. Realistically what this means is that if there is significant danger of any type we will cancel the race… or if we feel that for any reason you may not be able to safely complete the race, we will ask/tell you that you must abort the race. Naturally we want you to be able to complete the race and we will try our best to accommodate you, however there is a 2 hour cut off... but… it is a rough cut off (for the LOST Race, the LOST Mile is at the discretion of the on-water crew). Meaning that it depends on the conditions. If it is a tough year and everyone is much slower, then we will take that into account, but by the same token if it is a rough year we may make the cut off shorter too. Open water swimming is not an exact science, we balance: wanting to see you finish… with safety to make the call.
Prizes
We award prizes for both the LOST Race and LOST Mile. We recognize the top 3 swimmers in 4 categories for each event. The categories are: Male Wetsuit, Female Wetsuit, Male Non-Wetsuit, Female Non-Wetsuit. The 4 winners in both the LOST Race and LOST Mile will also have their names engraved on a prestigous trophy!
