That is such a long ways away, impossible to predict. They had races there over summer with no issues, no reason to fret right now, we wont know until race week!

Where did you see too much algae?

---

_________________________________
Fit Endurance Coaching - Head Coach|Facebook
USAT L1 Coach | BikeFit Certified Fitter | Contributing Writer - Triathlete Magazine | ROKA

Thanks for that... make me feel much better!

Co-worker told me they canceled some practice swims in the river due to algae issues recently.

On Sep 15, training swim was cancelled due to E. Coli found in the river. I did a race in July and it was fine. People swim there all the time these days for practice, and I haven't heard anything about algae. Join Waco 70.3 facebook group and you can see what's going on.

This makes way more sense and is not surprising after all the rain we have had (bacteria runs off into rivers/water after storms). Usually with a few good days it's gone since there is a current.

---

_________________________________
Fit Endurance Coaching - Head Coach|Facebook
USAT L1 Coach | BikeFit Certified Fitter | Contributing Writer - Triathlete Magazine | ROKA

I'll just leave this here...

https://www.cbsnews.com/...man-dies-2018-10-02/

---

"They know f_ck-all over at Slowtwitch"
- Lionel Sanders

That is a small stagnant pond

---

_________________________________
Fit Endurance Coaching - Head Coach|Facebook
USAT L1 Coach | BikeFit Certified Fitter | Contributing Writer - Triathlete Magazine | ROKA

It can't be that stagnant - they surf there.

But this does raise the question as to whether race promoters in general take the question of water quality seriously enough. I personally would rather swim in salt water (of any decent quality) than any fresh water lake in Florida. Too many gators, amoebas and water moccasins. Someone please remind me of this statement when I line up at Miami Man in a month.

---

"They know f_ck-all over at Slowtwitch"
- Lionel Sanders

Forget the algae - anyone local to Waco have feedback on the water level in the Brazos River? The chart I checked shows the flow rate as being 10x normal. That plus 50 degree morning temperatures on race morning make me wonder whether the swim will be cancelled.

If the swim is cancelled, any idea how Ironman will handle that? I saw a recent full distance event where they sent out 10 bikers at a time a few minutes apart.

Anyone local to Waco have an update on river conditions?

I passed through Waco driving back from Austin this weekend and the current is very strong. If the race was yesterday the swim definitely would have been cancelled. The water quality doesnt look great either...very brown with some debris as well. Rain is in the forecast for Wednesday but the rest of the week should be dry. The lake levels of the 2 lakes upstream appear to have stopped rising so hopefully they can start to slow down the releases from those dams and get the river suitable to swim in by race day. Honestly I'd say it's 50/50 at best at this point.
3.2.0

Check the facebook group for details on the water level and current. Still pretty high at the moment. And they are forecasting more rain this week due to a hurricane coming in from the pacific. We will wait and see on what happens. I will be pretty bummed if they cancel the swim.

I wish I could, I don't have facebook nor would I even know how to use it if I did. But I agree, I will be bummed if they do unless its just not safe. No race is worth putting athletes at risk.

You're not missing out on anything...I've been a member of a few pre race bat shit crazy facebook groups but I think this one takes the cake. Reading those posts you'd think the race was being held in the Alps (the bike course is pancake flat) and that the swim was in the Amazon River.

Austin is now under a boil water notice as the water filtration plants are struggling to filter out all the silt & mud.

Sign up and ask someone for help. Facebook Waco group is a friendly fun group and a lot of good information is posted everyday. Waco is expecting some rain on Wednesday, so I think swim will be cancelled most likely. Problem is dams upstream are releasing water, so current is pretty string. We will have to swim about 60-70% against the current, so it's not safe for everyone. Not to mention debris floating around.

Has anyone heard from the race directors at all? I emailed them yesterday morning asking if they had any ideas as to what was going on but haven't gotten a reply yet.

---

Robert Dao
ATC Racing - Austin, TX
Gold's Gym Triathlon Coach
@speedao1
@daotraining

Haven't heard a thing "Officially" as of yet. Local news there is advising that they are closely monitoring the situation and will be making a final decision later this week. Talked to a few friends that are local to that area and they said that the river is very high and fast moving currently with lots of debris. Looking at this as well as available data I would venture to say we have a very slim chance of a swim, bike, run this weekend.

https://water.weather.gov/ahps/

Austin is a different river, but the Brazos is pretty muddy right now too and flowing very quickly. I'd be surprised if they did the normal swim. Meaning, maybe they somehow change it to more downstream...just don't overshoot the exit!

---

Brandon Marsh - Website | @BrandonMarshTX | RokaSports | 1stEndurance | ATC Bikeshop |

I would say there is pretty much no chance of the swim happening according to this forecast.

https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?gage=wbat2&wfo=fwd


Almost zero change in the flow rate or river height forecasted through Saturday. No forecast for Sunday but we would need substantial improvement vs. where we are right now and this doesnt show any whatsoever.

With all this rain today, I'm sure the flow in the river along with the water quality is not going to favor a swim.

Well guessed, straight line with the current from pecan bottom park is the plan.

Looking at the river today that's gonna be a real fast swim!

This is official?

---

https://twitter.com/mungub