Open Water Swim gives swimmers strokes

Juneau’s Open Water Swim Series continues to be a hit among local swimmers looking for a few more strokes outside their normal pool routines.

On Saturday, roughly 15 hearty souls entered the third contest in the six-week race calendar on Auke Lake.

“It is so uniquely Alaskan,” Mitch Schumacher, 37, said. “You see it frozen all winter and then to be like, ‘Oh, it’s 58 degrees.’ Like, that sounds great, and then you get out there. It’s a little disconcerting because it’s pitch black so you really don’t know where you’re going unless you’re looking. A couple times when it’s been really nice and you’re swimming and if you look and you breathe on the right side, you can see the Mendenhall Glacier and there’s just like nothing like that, like, here I am in an Alaskan Lake, I can see a glacier. It’s just truly incredible. And so exhilarating and fun, too, so it’s great.”

This is the third year of the Open Water Swim Series. The event’s motto echoes the words of renowned open water swimmer Steven Munatones: No lines, no lanes, no limits.

“The key in cold water is staying relaxed,” race founder Scott Griffith, 52, said. “I think a lot of people get out there in a panic. So key is staying relaxed, having smooth sighting and not having to waste too much energy looking where you are going. And having a good pace.”

The race was started by Griffith, Juneau’s Glacier Swim Club coach, to create more interest in open water swimming and keep the GSC masters swimmers in the water.

“We would lose a lot of our masters in the summer because they would come swim on nice days in the lakes,” Griffith said. “So we just said, ‘Why don’t we put together a series of lake swims?’ We did the first year, just kind of trial and error, and everybody loved it and wanted to see it again. So every year we have more people and it kind of leads up perfectly to the Aukeman Tri. So it kind of gives people a race environment to come swim open water and get ready for the Aukeman.”

Racers must be older than 16 unless they’re year-round swimmers or have open water experience. Awards are presented at the end of the six-week series. Racers score points for each finish, similar to the Juneau Trail and Road Runners’ Nugget Alaskan Outfitter Cup. Point awards are given to age groups 40 and over, 19-39 and 18 and under.

“And then if people do all six, they also get an award,” Griffith said. “It’s kind of like a geezers’ Sunday (run), only it’s a masters’ Saturday. Well, we did have a 14-year-old last week. Of course, it was sunny last week, I think we had 21. I think each year we’ve had more come. It is somewhat weather dependent, of course. If it’s a nice summer, more people are gonna come out and swim. But I think with the rise in the triathlon community in town, we’ve seen a rise in open water, so that kind of was the point of it. We do have some people that just swim, but I would say over half are triathletes that need to get into open water swimming. We even had our first guy from Skagway, they did the first one. We’ve had some people that are, ‘oh, we’re in town, we heard about this.’ It is fun and appealing.”

The race is sponsored by the GSC. Co-coach Amber Kelly, the race director Saturday, said, “Interest increases each week and sometimes we get newer swimmers. Last week we had a 14-year-old come through and do it. She was on the swim team. If they are on a swim team already, they’re allowed to participate. Otherwise, it is a case-by-case decision.”

Kristin Jones won Saturday’s 1,500-meter swim in 21 minutes 28 seconds, just ahead of Schumacher in 21:33 and Griffith in 21:39. Brian Bull swam 23:25, Hannah Bailey 25:16, John Kennon Kirk 25:32, Emily Haskell 26:03, Michele Shirakura 27:04, Abbey Cummings 27:14, Ken Platt 29:45, Cathy Tide 30:09, Suzanne Sauerteig 32:25, Savannah Dindinger 32:58, and Lisa Egan Lagerquist 38:30.

“Oh man, it’s just like a smooth lake out here,” Jones said. “No walls, no turns. It’s just really awesome to just be able to swim straight and just not stop, you know, you just keep going. Sighting is important and having clear goggles, where you can see around you. And you know like I was just saying a little earlier, I kind of got off course a little bit and went a little wide there, which I know not to do, but I was just kind of doing it. It’s just been really fun to have a warm enough lake finally to get in and swim a little bit.”

The next race is scheduled for July 12 (500 and 2,000 meters), July 19 (1,000 and 2,500 meters) and July 26 (1,500 and 3,000 meters). Awards are scheduled for Aug. 2.

“I think the appeal is the community,” Morgan Williams, 48, said. “It’s a nice group out here. I like seeing the natural aspects of it. When I swim in the ocean, I see starfish, and sea anemones and seals, and it’s a great way to participate in nature, even on cloudy days. … You see a lot of beautiful things in the water. There’s some areas around here where there’s petrified trees and different grasses and stuff like that, like cloud formations when you breathe… It’s a cool way, too, you know, to get into nature. I think that’s probably the big thing, that’s the biggest draw for me.”

One entrant noted the importance of being prepared.

“This was my shakedown swim,” triathlete Sauerteig said. “And I was in the water and realized I didn’t have my goggles. Ran up and got those. Got back out there in the water. Started swimming, realized I forgot the wax for my ears. That makes a huge difference. Finished the course. Running out and up the little runway here. Realized, ‘Oh, that’s what’s wrong. I had my suit on backwards.’ First sign that something was not quite right was when I was going in the water and I couldn’t put my strap where I normally put it. That should have been the key. Oh my gosh, it still worked. I still survived.”

• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.