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seeded rolling start at IM Chattanooga 70.3
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so I did IM Chattanooga 70.3 in 2015 and recall it being a rolling start but not with seeding. Is it better with a seeded rolling start? I only found the first few hundred yards going against the current slightly congested then after that the river was so wide you had plenty of space. So you just line up near time you anticipate completely the swim? are people that bad about self-seeding? How does that benefit them? I've only done HIMs with rolling starts and no self seeding so just curious how it impacts everything.
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Re: seeded rolling start at IM Chattanooga 70.3 [mickison] [ In reply to ]
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I did this race last year and can't compare to 2015. I went out in near the back of the 2nd wave. I had plenty of open water. They had us jumping in a couple swimmers at a time. There was no contact to speak of really. I followed some fast feet for the first half, who starting zig zagging so I swam the second half solo mostly passing people the whole time with a few occasionally breaks if I found some good feet. With the downstream current and sun behind, I was flying. It was pretty awesome actually.

So I guess from my perspective, the seeded rolling start "worked" well. Given how many people I passed though, I think people seeded themselves somewhat aspirationally. So if you want to follow fast feet, I'd line up a little closer to the front than you think.
Last edited by: wintershade: Apr 15, 19 13:49
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Re: seeded rolling start at IM Chattanooga 70.3 [wintershade] [ In reply to ]
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it was my first half distance back in 2015 and wetsuit legal and with current made for a fast swim. I'm trying to figure out how much faster I'll be 5 years later. I don't want to seed myself properly. And I will be curious to see what the current is like on race day.
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Re: seeded rolling start at IM Chattanooga 70.3 [mickison] [ In reply to ]
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Get there early in the game and line up where you want.
Raced in 2018 and it was tight to the first buoy and then wide open after the turn.
By far my favorite swim not just being down river... but not getting kicked, punched, hit, swam over, etc.

Keep in mind a lot of people will try and line up front regardless of their capability. They want to "have as much time as possible" to complete the swim even though their time starts when the jump in regardless of where in line they are.

Ryan
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Re: seeded rolling start at IM Chattanooga 70.3 [TriJayhawkRyan] [ In reply to ]
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That last comment is why I held off for a few years of doing a self seeded start at the Chatt events. Every year I take a look at the swim times of those in the water first, hoping for just a few random outliers, but am amazed at how many people are not even close to seeding themselves correctly (start with 25 minute swimmers and swim almost double that). Its hundreds of athletes. Unfortunately this just screws it up for everyone. They are also the ones who then are unhappy with their swim and think it was too rough and wonder why they got swam over... This system should make for an incredibly smooth swim, a faster swim for everyone, the chance to catch the right feet, if they seed themselves accordingly.

Im reluctant to do so, but I will be making this change (self seeded instead of first come, first serve) for IMChoo as well. That race I fear will be even worse because of the lack of daylight and shortened timeline, but Ive got to give it a shot.

Stay safe out there and see everyone in just over a month.

Brian
Last edited by: endurathonrd: Apr 15, 19 15:16
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Re: seeded rolling start at IM Chattanooga 70.3 [endurathonrd] [ In reply to ]
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I certainly won’t be starting with the 25 minute group. I swam 33 minutes at Chattanooga half in 2015 so I’m probably a better swimmer 4 years later but it’s not like I’m going to swim 5 minutes faster or anything unless the current is super strong.
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Re: seeded rolling start at IM Chattanooga 70.3 [mickison] [ In reply to ]
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I raced Choo last year and was told to subtract roughly 5 minutes off your average 2km swim time. I usually swim 35-37 minutes for 2km so I lined up at the back of the 31 minute sign. Figured that would be good and give me some leeway. Jumped in off the dock and headed up river. It was a bit crowded like others have stated but by the time you make the turn to go down river it spreads out big time. Very wide and very open. I’m not kidding when I say I probably passed 100 - 120 swimmers. It was stupid. I was passing people doing breast stroke and struggling to finish. Mind you they could have cramped up or panicked but I think people tend to give themselves too much credit. Anywho, long story even longer I ended up swimming 27.xx but it was also cut a little short. About 1680-1700 metres. So I think the 5 minute rule for that swim is close to accurate.
Good luck and enjoy the race.
Chatty is a beautiful city.

P.S. I took one of the last buses to the start line. You can just keep walking and walking to get to your desired start time. People were very nice and letting others go through. I didn’t find that to be a problem.
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