In 2018, Oregon will host three USMS National Championship swims in one week! The fun starts on Sunday, July 8th, with the Portland Bridge Swim, continues with the 2-Mile Foster Lake Cable Swim on Thursday, July 12th, and finishes with the 10K at Applegate Lake on Saturday, July 14th. Event information and entry will be available for all three events on January 1, 2018, at http://www.usms.org/longdist/ldnats18/.
Spend the week with us swimming through the wonderfully diverse and beautiful state of Oregon!
Portland Bridge Swim
Going into its 8th year under the guiding hand of founding Event Director Marisa Frieder, the Portland Bridge Swim is an 11-mile swim under all 12 bridges in Portland. It is the longest swimming race in the Pacific Northwest and has become a destination event for athletes across the country. 100 solo swimmers and relay teams will follow a scenic route through downtown, then face the mental challenge of continuing through the port while the next bridge mocks them from 5 miles away. This swim draws accomplished marathon swimmers who battle neck and neck for miles, as well as swimmers who train for months to meet the personal challenge. They all know that the Portland Bridge Swim is no sight-seeing tour, and that only the toughest will reach the beach at Cathedral Park. This swim will have a strict entry cap due to the extensive event safety logistics, so no procrastinating.
Foster Lake Cable Swims
Host team Central Oregon Masters and Event Director Bob Bruce will run the 8th annual Foster Lake Cable Swims—featuring the USMS Two-Mile Cable Swim National Championships—just off the I-5 corridor east of Sweet Home on the only permanent cable swim course in the nation west of Indiana. They will offer both one & two-mile swims on a surveyed course, so USMS records are in play in both swims; in the short history of this event, 22 USMS Individual Records & 39 USMS Relay Records have been set on this course!
The cable swim course is the nicest in the land, with a highly-visible surface cable, an in-water start, and an in-water international-style touch board finish. The venue at Lewis Creek Park is lovely & accessible, containing wide grass fields and plenty of shade under towering trees. There are two nearby campgrounds for RVs—Sunnyside (1.2 miles away) & River Bend (5 miles away)—and the special use permit allows for tent camping at the race venue on the night before the event.
Applegate Lake
Rogue Valley Masters and Event Director Matt Miller will host the oldest running open water swim in Oregon, the 29th annual Applegate Lake Open Water Weekend, featuring the USMS 10K National Championships on a four-loop course on Saturday, with simultaneous shorter 2.5K and 5K swims. Sunday features a 1500-meter swim & the popular 3 x 500-meter pick-up pursuit relay. Water temperature will be very comfortable in the mid-70s.
Located in beautiful southwestern Oregon, the pristine waters of Applegate Lake beckons you to swim in what is widely regarded as the best 10K swim event on the west coast. The Lake has a 10 MPH speed limit for boats, making for a very safe and smooth swim. The venue at Hart-Tish Park offers on-site camping, and there are several other nearby campgrounds to accommodate swimmers. Enjoy the wilderness of southwestern Oregon to the fullest and join us at Applegate Lake!