Knoxville, TN

September 11, 2022

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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Link to site: Bridges to Bluffs 2022