SCAR SWIM SERIES 2016

Saturday, April 30, 2016 5:05 PM (GMT-7) - Series standings

Race info
Sport: Swimming - open water
Location: Tonto National Forest, AZ, United States
Series type: Total time
Series races: 4
Completed races: 4
Racers: 48
Updated: Thursday, May 5, 2016 7:29 AM (GMT-7)
Organized by: Kent Nicholas
Race website: SCARSWIM.com
Race notes
SCAR SWIM SERIES started with a sunny low wind day at Saguaro. Bald eagles were seen on the way out to the start and it served as a good warm up. Canyon Lake was as beautiful as ever. The start was cold - below 62F - but as the swimmers continued swimming down the narrow canyon they warmed up. The wind stayed low and several big horn sheep were seen at waters edge on the way to the start.

Apache comes with a reputation - that it's long and windy and difficult. Although the wind was not at its peak the temperature was a bit chillier. The combination of wind and water temp resulted in only 11 finishers (1 with a wetsuit). Water temp ranged from 64 - 68F throughout the swim. It was below 62F at the start. Fortunately the crew and swimmers were better prepared that previous years for the cool water temps - packing dry bags full of dry items to change into following the swim. Apache made swimmers reflect on what they would do differently - how they would change their approach - how to avoid being scalped. Advice: acclimate to cold water. It's ironic that swimmers traveling from cold climates are less acclimated than swimmers coming from warm climates. No matter if you live in the sunshine or the snow, swimmers need to acclimate during winter training by soaking in ice baths. The warm indoor pool is necessary to train, and it's nice that the air temp for indoor pools is comfortable, but acclimating to cold water is essential.

With hopes of Roosevelt being a warm down swim, nothing could be further from the truth. Water temp - no problem. Squalls with heavy rain and intense cross wind made for a bumpy ride after an hour into the swim. The field of swimmers was spread all over the course but with 36 finishers out of 41 at the starting line, this swim gave those that were beat up at Apache a sense of redemption.

All in all a good year. The SCAR buckle going to two deserving swimmers: Stephen Rouch and Kristin Jones.
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  • Series winners

  • right arrow imageClick on a green category name to see full results
 Category Winner Winning total Racers
 Overall Stephen Rouch 15:45:31.11 48
 Female Kristin Jones 16:54:01.49 26
 Male Stephen Rouch 15:45:31.11 21
 Female/Male SCRATCHERS - MAC Kids Relay -3 races 1