Bridges to Bluffs 2022
Knoxville, TN
September 11, 2022
This race has earned its spot as one of my favorite events. All aspects of the event were top notch. The communication leading up to the event was excellent. Instead of one giant e-mail that most people won’t really get through, there were a series of emails sent out leading up to the race. The organization of all the events throughout both days was great. There always seemed to be someone nearby letting us know when things were going to be happening or where to go. Then we have the venue: riverboats, bridges, city center, football stadium, rolling hills, bluffs, castle-like boathouses, and untouched nature. It had everything but the kitchen sink, which thinking back, I may have seen one under a bridge. So, it had everything. And that’s why this is my top race to suggest to people in the area looking to get into open water swimming. Let’s dive into some details!
Packet Pickup and Dinner
My happy pilot
The packets are picked up at the same location as the dinner and race briefing. This happens to be the same riverboat you will be jumping off of to start the journey downriver. There is a bar on the boat that serves both adult and non-adult beverages. I highly encourage liquid carb loading. The paddles started churning around 5:30pm and we were off for a preview of the course, dinner, and a briefing. The cruise was about 2 hours long and a great time to meet some awesome people from all over, or just be a hermit at your table. The dinner consisted of pasta, chicken, carrots, green beans, rolls, and salad. That feast was then followed by dessert of banana pudding or a second option. All the food was good, so good in fact that I stuffed my face and didn’t leave room for dessert. My pilot got the banana pudding which is the only reason I knew about that one. The brief was your standard course briefing covering all the important things and ensuring all pilots had the phone numbers in case of trouble. I don’t recall what my expectations going into a riverboat dinner were, but it exceeded them greatly. What a cool way to kick things off.
Post-dinner
Kayak/paddleboard drop off was open the night before the race. This was a really nice perk for participants and let everyone sleep in a little longer the next morning. I wasn’t a part of the drop off, but my pilot said it was a party at kayak staging. They had people out with everyone’s kayaks overnight to make sure they were safe and going to be there in the morning. There were plenty of friendly volunteers around to help unload kayaks, number them, and get them placed in the right order.
Race Day
Met up with my pilot at the finish line site around 6:30am to make sure we were on the 7:00 bus to the start. We did a triple check of everything we needed out on the water and went over the feeding game plan. My “feeding game plan” consists of a predetermined snack every 30 minutes to keep fuel in the engine. One important bag to remember to bring is the race swag bag given at packet pickup. It had my bib number written on it and could be used to transport any items I wanted with me on the riverboat back to the finish. The swag bag as an event transported item is common practice in races with separate start and end points. Once we had everything organized and packed up, we walked over to the bus loading which was conveniently located near a brick and mortar bathroom building. There was event staff at the buses letting us know that all participants near the 7am shuttle will be loaded up. They didn’t want people waiting on friends or pilots and not having enough room on the last bus.
A short school bus ride later and all the swimmers were dropped off at the riverboat. The pilots were then taken to the kayak loading area. This was another great time to chat with other swimmers to avoid the pre-race nerves and get your number marking. My old man showed up which was a great distraction for me to keep from overthinking the race. He also helped get a lot more photos of the event.
The weather was perfect that morning and the boat was able to leave on time. We were lining up on the lower deck according to bib number during the quick ferry to the start line (sitting stationary in the middle of the river). Once the riverboat was in place and the kayakers were loading into the river, the conga line of swimmers made their way to the top deck in preparation for the plank walk into the river. The sound system was having some issues trying to play the National Anthem. After a few attempts, one of the swimmers with serious talent started belting it out and the rest of us did our best to back her up. It was a pretty special moment and really got everyone amped to get going! Kind of hope the sound system messes up again in years to come. The time to start had come and off we went, one by one walking to the bow and taking the leap (No spring boarding off the front). That was hands down the coolest way I have ever seen a race started.
A deep breath, a big step, aaaand SPLASH! The race had officially started, time to see if I could make it to the end in time. The water was in the mid-70s, which wasn’t shocking to plunge into but also not warm. My pilot quickly met up with me and off we went through downtown Knoxville via the river. There was so much to try to take in while also focusing on my stroke. I was also very anxious about keeping between the shore and first support of each bridge. Some of them looked pretty narrow, which I always visualize as shallow water with slimy stuff. No worries! They were all plenty wide and I never saw the bottom. However, I also flipped over to do backstroke for all of them, because looking up at the bridges from underneath was so cool. My favorite of them was the train bridge.
I made sure to pay attention to Neyland stadium as we floated on by and it was a pretty cool view from the water. The segway between the city and untouched landscape was a long string of boathouses and nice homes. Occasionally I saw a bird of prey up in the sky which is always a humbling reminder to me about where I am swimming and how I’m the visitor there.
A little past mid-way it felt like the current had not only stopped but was working against me. The river does start widening which slows the push from the current. I don't believe there was an eddy at any point, just my body complaining about having to work a little harder. There was also a time where we hugged the inside of a bend for a while, which is home to the slower current. The glorious helping hand provided by the TVA seemed to fade as the race went on. I tried to stay positive and know that there is always a small boost by the flowing river.
Along the way, I noticed the race photographers a couple times in kayaks or on a boat. There was one instance where I did not notice them ahead of time and I nearly dropped a log in the river. I was just taking in the scenery and swimming along breathing every other stroke. Then out of nowhere, this thing emerges from the water a foot away from me holding a gopro. I still don’t know if I audibly screamed or swore, but my heart skipped a couple beats. The masked creature with a front mount snorkel took me completely by surprise and I’m still waiting to see that GoPro footage. The other notable paparazzi experience happened shortly after. We saw a guy waving at us across the river from a random loading dock. I quickly recognized the vehicle he was standing next to. My dad managed to find us at this random location along the river. With a big smile, exaggerated wave, and chuckling as my head went back into the water, I was off and trying to get back in a rhythm.
The last bit felt much longer than a mile, but alas it is not. During the briefing you will be warned about not swimming too close to shore as it gets shallow in some spots near the final push. I can attest to that as I had to yell to my pilot to go deeper, I was starting to run aground at one point. I was trying to play the angles and get an edge on the person in front of me, but quickly found out why they were out a bit further. I also swam through a couple little patches of milfoil, but they were smaller clumps and non-existent once I went a bit deeper.
Once you can see that glowing orange of the finish line trough, a rush of endorphins kick-in. It’s time to push hard to get to the metal “Finish” sign to give it a slap!
Exhausted, excited, and ready to see how walking is going to work. You climb out the exit point setup on shore along with the pilots who are being assisted by volunteers to get out of the water. A big hug and thanks to my pilot, and it’s time to find my pack from the riverboat along with my old man.
The finisher medal was a nice Yeti 20oz Rambler cup with laser engraving of the logo for Bridges to Bluffs. Which I find infinitely more useful than an actual medal. AND they had them in a bunch of different colors, so you got to choose one that suited you best. There was also a large buffet of BBQ and a bunch of sides. It was a bit of a blur at that point and I forgot to take pictures of it, but all the food was fantastic.
This race from packet pickup to the awards ceremony was so well executed and at such a cool venue that I will be making this a staple on my race calendar for the foreseeable future. Thanks KOWS and Will for making this one of my all time favorite races to date!
Semi-coherent ramblings by Jimmy Hanson
Excellent video on Knoxville Open Water Swimmers website for the 2022 race
Link to site: Bridges to Bluffs 2022