Riverfest Endurance Swim 2010
RiverFest Endurance Swim August 20, 2010
The first RiverFest Endurance Swim covering a distance of 11.76 miles was held on August 20, 2010. Nine solo swimmers and one relay team of two toed the starting line at John Storm Park in Oregon City. The swim was the opening event of the 4th Annual RiverFest, a three day celebration of the Willamette River. The morning brought clear blue skies, and smooth water, with a nice water tempiture of 71 degrees.
Among the groups was two time English Channel crosser Michelle Macy, and another crosser David Livengood, for a number of the participants this was their longest swim ever. Another swimmer, nineteen year old Mackenzie Bradley used this as her qualifier for her English Channel attempt scheduled for the summer of 2011.
From the first stroke to the finish Michelle Macy swam out ahead of everyone else. Mackenzie Bradley kept Macy in her sights early, but the more experienced swimmer slowly put distance between herself and the teenager. A pack of four swimmers including Ron Thompson, Summir Harris, Kimberley Duffy, and Joni Young swam in a tight pack for the first 7 miles, all close enough to use each other as pacers. A little farther back Jacqueline Parker and David Livengood held a nice consistent pace following the group ahead. Mike Swan and his relay partner Magnus Johannesson worked hard to keep pace but found themselves falling off the back early and couldn’t make up that time.
The wind came up in the early afternoon and added to the challenge of the distance. Macy continued to distance herself from the rest of the talented group of swimmers. The stretch from the Sellwood Bridge to the finish was swam in bumpy, wind driven water, giving reason for an earlier start time next year, to avoid the afternoon wind. See the final standing and times posted below.
We had an incredible experience putting this event on. It was a pleasure getting to spend time around this talented group of swimmers. A big thank you goes out to our area’s premier swim shop J.D. Pence, without Curtis Taylor’s help and guidance the event wouldn’t have been possible. Also to the folks at Speedo, who were more than generous in their sponsorship of the event. Laurelwood Brewery came in and gave the swimmers something to swim for in throwing in a case of the great organic brew to each of the winners.
We are already planning for next year, as this was a truly unique event for our area. I want to thank all of the volunteers who came out and helped put on our race. They were spectacular, and made my job as the race director super simple. Thank you all so much.
Riverfest Endurance Swim - 11.7 miles
Friday August 20, 2010
Name - Age - Gender - Finish Time
1st PLACE
Michelle Macy - 33 - Female – 05:18:40
2nd PLACE
RonThompson - 50 - Male – 06:02:13
3rd PLACE
Mackenzie Bradley - 19 - Female – 06:04:20
4th PLACE
Joni Young - 49 - Female – 06:07:39
5th PLACE
Summir Harris - 31 - Female – 06:08:36
6th PLACE
Duffy, Kimberly - 36 - Female – 06:17:16
7th PLACE
Parker, Jacqueline - 32 - Female – 06:40:25
8th PLACE
Dow, Keith - 55 - Male- 06:41:26
9th PLACE
Livengood, David - 47 - Male – 07:04:35
10th PLACE
Johannesson, Magnus - 53 - Male - 08:04:35
