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Chattanooga 70.3, pre race swimming in river
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Any locals know of safe places to swim in the river leading into race weekend? It looks as if pools remain closed; do I have that right? Thanks much.
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Re: Chattanooga 70.3, pre race swimming in river [Danmelbre] [ In reply to ]
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I'm sure others will chime in but I did the 70.3 in 2019 and am doing it this year. I swam at Chickamauga Reservoir. It's further up the river and you won't feel the current but it'll give you a chance to get a practice swim in. You'll see a lot of people swimming there. Another option is to swim at Coolidge Park. I swam there the day before the race and saw a lot of groups. Only issue was the current was so strong I didn't last long. My plan this year is to swim only at Chickamauga Reservoir.

As far as I know you will not be able to swim at this year's swim start/exit.
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Re: Chattanooga 70.3, pre race swimming in river [Danmelbre] [ In reply to ]
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I did IM Chattanooga in 2019 and swam in the river at Coolidge Park. If you are looking to do a longer swim it might not be so great with the current, but I swam upstream for 20 minutes and then came back in about one-third of that. In my case I just wanted to get a feel for the river as pools were open for a proper swim. Good luck!!
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Re: Chattanooga 70.3, pre race swimming in river [trigirl2013] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for info. Good luck.
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Re: Chattanooga 70.3, pre race swimming in river [Danmelbre] [ In reply to ]
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We swam at the dam. Just look out for goose poop
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Re: Chattanooga 70.3, pre race swimming in river [Danmelbre] [ In reply to ]
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I’ve done the awesome 70.3 Chatt a number of times and there has always been a large group of people swimming on the Saturday on the other side of the river right across from transition.....I’ve chatted with locals who were there just for a swim and of course tones of other registered athletes...... you really can’t miss it. Great spot to test out the river. Enjoy Chatt.....for me, it’s one of the great races.
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Re: Chattanooga 70.3, pre race swimming in river [JasonGeorge] [ In reply to ]
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JasonGeorge wrote:
I did IM Chattanooga in 2019 and swam in the river at Coolidge Park. If you are looking to do a longer swim it might not be so great with the current, but I swam upstream for 20 minutes and then came back in about one-third of that. In my case I just wanted to get a feel for the river as pools were open for a proper swim. Good luck!!

Coolidge Park is a nice place to do a quick swim pre-race for the Ironman, but I have the sense the river has much higher flow during the Spring? Am I making that up?

Dimond Bikes Superfan
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Re: Chattanooga 70.3, pre race swimming in river [ericlambi] [ In reply to ]
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It would make sense that the water volume in the spring and early summer is greater than later in the year. But the water volume is actually controlled by a dam upstream, so depending upon when they release water, the current can vary quite a bit, even day-to-day.
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Re: Chattanooga 70.3, pre race swimming in river [Danmelbre] [ In reply to ]
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I've never been to Chattanooga and just want to swim like 10 min in the river on Sat to figure out which wetsuit to wear next day. Sleeved or sleeveless.
If I see people swimming, I will jump in right there. I usually see some people in and out of the water near the race site.
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Re: Chattanooga 70.3, pre race swimming in river [s13tx] [ In reply to ]
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Swimming is not allowed at the venue before or after the race. That area is an active marina with electrical current and signs will be posted asking for your cooperation. The power is shut off for the race. Please swim at one of the other spots mentioned, both will have a lot of triathletes swimming around. As mentioned, the current can be pretty severe in preparation for slowing it down the following day so be careful if you swim across the river under the Market Street Bridge. Brian
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Re: Chattanooga 70.3, pre race swimming in river [endurathonrd] [ In reply to ]
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endurathonrd wrote:
Swimming is not allowed at the venue before or after the race. That area is an active marina with electrical current and signs will be posted asking for your cooperation. The power is shut off for the race. Please swim at one of the other spots mentioned, both will have a lot of triathletes swimming around. As mentioned, the current can be pretty severe in preparation for slowing it down the following day so be careful if you swim across the river under the Market Street Bridge. Brian

Oh ok, got it. Will do and thanks for the heads up. I don't even have to swim actually. I just want to dip my body to feel the temp.
I just don't like cold water, so want to see if sleeveless would work for me or not.
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Re: Chattanooga 70.3, pre race swimming in river [s13tx] [ In reply to ]
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Anyone find a place to keep an eye on the water temp?
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Re: Chattanooga 70.3, pre race swimming in river [Mbellis5] [ In reply to ]
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68 today but cool morning. I expect it to be where it normally is 72/73 on race day.
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