14 c if fine, a bit fresh on your face when you first get in but not that you notice once your work rate is up. Single silicon cap, no boots or gloves for me. Up to an hour is OK before the fingers and feet start to chill a little.

Good look with your race, sounds fun :-)

WD :-)

You should be fine in a full suit for less than an hour. Once you get going you really won't notice.

We just went snorkeling in Iceland in 3.5 C water. Of course we had dry suits - our faces were cold at the start but by the end we stayed in the water and played for a while.

Sound like a cool event . . . post photos!!

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

"14 c if fine, a bit fresh on your face when you first get in but not that you notice once your work rate is up. Single silicon cap, no boots or gloves for me. Up to an hour is OK before the fingers and feet start to chill a little. "

Thanks, that's about what I figured. On the videos and photos on the site, folks just have normal wet suits. My concern is that many of these participants live in Lapland and don't feel cold water like the rest of us ...

A group of us saw that race too. It's on next year's 'to do'.
It looks a great event.

14C as other say will be fresh, but fine.
I did a swim 2 weeks ago in 11C. That was defo 'refreshing'. The organisers cut it down from 3.8k to 2.5 k (2 laps rather than 3).
I went wirh my normal wetsuit (orca 3.8) and a thin short sleeved base layer under.
No gloves. No booties. Just the 1 normal event swim hat.
I was fine - my face was a bit numb (couldnt full move lips when 1st out to properly form words !) But core was fine - i could have comfortably done the 3rd lap. I'm not small tho (6ft, 200lbs). Think my pace is similar to what you say for you.

One of my friends who did the same swim was pretty much spent from the cold tho after 2 laps (only a couple of mins behind me to finish but she's prob only 120 or 130lbs.

But my experience is 2 or 3 degrees warmer makes a huge difference to me. I can be in 14C a LOT longer than say 10.

Enjoy the event !

Good to know, thanks!

57*F is downright balmy!

Totally depends where you come from and what you are used to.
.
I have refused invitations to cold water/climate events because I know I just find it too hard to deal with cold water,which for me would be anything under 18C.I would never do the event you are doing event even though it looks cool.(no pun intended).
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I am off to Lithuania for a tri with a long swim in August and am dreading the swim.I'll have wetsuit and neoprene hood at the ready.

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Really like this site for the variety of how to information based on his experience. https://loneswimmer.com/...ming-articles-index/

The Bible of Cold Water Swimming – Index
I get asked various questions related to cold because I like to write about it. Those questions often inspire further writing ideas. One thing I realised was there was no good agreement on cold water.
A poll of open water gave the following results.

• Under 5ºC (41ºF) – 0%
• Under 10ºC (50ºF) – 7%
• Under 12.5°C (54.5°F) – 14%
• Under 15°C (59°F) – 20%
• Under 17.5°C (63.5°F) – 24%
• Under 20°C (68°F) – 15%
• Under 22.5°C (72.5°F) – 17%

Good luck. You'll be swimming in cold water. Lots of tips on how to do it at the website above.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

14 is plenty warm. Worlds in 2008 was 11, Banff was like 10 in 2010.

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2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
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That's fascinating stuff. You guys are giving up the goods to my question. I'm feeling more at ease (wish I would've swam more just in the pool this year, but oh well ...)

I've always liked cold water-- I'm the guy that jumps in the alpine river while we're camping. While I have done plenty of triathlons in Oregon, Washington and Canada in cold water lakes, those tend to be late summer and otherwise haven't practiced a lot in cold water.

Other fun fact: The night before the swim, I'm doing a 55 K trail running race (https://nutsyllaspallas.com/en/) in northern Finland. I haven't found a way to *bike* from the run to the swim to make it an unofficial Lapland tri, but I still might try. We leave July 4; first race is July 12.

Wow you must be such a badass

A foot cramp during the swim? Nah, let's not mention it.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

I hope not, just looking for adventure. Hope it's not a fool's folly ...

One thing that makes a big difference in all the answers here is, salt or fresh water? You say river, but is it an ocean river? 57 ocean water is not horrible like others have said, 57 freshwater is super cold, another dimension from the ocean counterpart..

OK, just to be clear on my comments from post 2, they are based on inland fresh water.

Two frequent locations, a country park ‘pond’ (IMUK location) and a basin off the Manchester ship canal system. I know the basin is about 6 meters deep and I believe the pond is a bit less at 5 meters max - not sure if depth gives a different ‘feeling’ to a true thermometer reading ?

WD :-)

It appears to be a freshwater river. I'm not sure I understand the differences in fresh vs salt but I guess I shall see ... thanks