Swimrun Lake James Course Preview

Low Tide Boyz, a Swimrun Podcast

Welcome to episode 113 of the Löw Tide Böyz - A Swimrun Podcast!

In this special episode, we are sharing our course preview for Swimrun Lake James. This race has been on our bucket list for a while and we are super stoked to be racing it this year. We are joined in the episode by race director Kristen Jeno, Purple Patch coach/race director John Stevens, and Mr. Swimrun himself Marcus Barton. So get your notepads out and enjoy listening to our breakdown of this super fun race.

Deep in the Heart of North Carolina

Swimrun Lake James takes place at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains at Lake James State Park in North Carolina and offers long and short course race distances that are full of rolling terrain and beautiful/chilly lake waters.

Getting to Lake James is pretty straight forward with several airports in the general area including Charlotte and Asheville. The race begins and ends at Fonta Flora Whippoorwill Farm just outside of the park entrance. Don’t let the name fool you, the race begins and ends at a local brewery called, Fonta Flora.

Course Overview(s)

The Long Course clocks in at about 4 miles of swimming and 15 miles of running. The course will have 14 run sections and 13 swim sections. The swim sections range from 20yds to 1600yds in a unique and picturesque lake setting. The run sections range from 25 meters to 7.5 miles.

The Short Course is about 2.7 miles of swimming and 10 miles of running. The course will have 8 run sections and 7 swim sections. The swim sections range from 20yds to 1300yds in a unique and picturesque lake setting. The run sections range from 25 meters to 5.5 miles.

The runs are made up of fire service trail roads, single track trails, paved roads, and off the beaten path wooded sections. The swims are in a lake and there could be some chop if it’s windy out. Water temps range from the mid 50s-low 60s fahrenheit.

We asked race director Kristen Jeno for a course walkthrough when we interviewed her back in episode 65 of the show and it was so good that we are sharing that again for everyone to listen to. We also have an annotated leg-by-leg breakdown that folks can reference as they listen.

Note that Kristen is walking everyone through the Long Course but the Short Course pretty much follows the same route until the end of the long run Leg 5 and then head’s back to the start line from there.

Leg-by-leg Breakdown

Long Course

Run 1: Whippoorwill Farm - OV Trail (.97 miles)

• This section turns into a single track pretty quickly from the start to be towards the front if you don’t want to get stuck in the bottleneck

Swim 1: (800yds)

• A big swim right out of the gate

Run 2: Paddy’s Creek Trail (.30 miles)

Swim 2: (50yds)

Run 3: Paddy’s Creek Trail - Beach area (.08 miles)

• Super short run so better to not do a full transition, maybe just get the pull buoy out the way and run to Swim 3 with the rest of your kit on

Swim 3: (700yds)

Run 4: OV Trail - Unmarked Service Road (.55 miles)

Swim 4: (300yds)

Run 5: Paddy’s Creek Trail - Homestead Trail - Lower Tindo Loop Trail - Unmarked Service Road (7.70 miles)

• This is the longest run leg of the day by far
• Teams should have a nutrition plan and pacing strategy dialed in
• The aid station on this leg is the first time cutoff. Teams need to reach the Homestead Trail intersection aid station by 10:00am
• The second time cutoff is at 11:30am at the end of this run.
• Short course heads back to the finish line from here

Swim 5: (1,600yds)

• This is the longest swim of the day
• Look for the strobe light signaling where the swim exit is
• Can get choppy if there’s wind

Run 6: Long Island (.08 miles)

Swim 6: (450yds)

Run 7: Middle Island (.05 miles)

Swim 7: (350yds)

Run 8: BBQ Island (.05 miles)

Swim 8: (50yds)

Run 9: Long Arm Campsite #3 - Long Arm Campsite #2 (.42 miles)

Swim 9: (125yds)

Run 10: Unmarked Trail (.05 miles)

Swim 10: (175yds)

Run 11: Unmarked Trail - Unmarked Service Road - Long Arm Campsite #1 (1.30 miles)

• The third and final time cutoff is at 1:30pm at the end of the run

Swim 11: (1,300yds)

• This is the last long swim of the day

Run 12: Half Mile Island (.45 miles)

Swim 12: (200yds)

Run 13: Unmarked Trail (.05 miles)

Swim 13: (100yds)

• Last swim of the day!

Run 14: Park Service Boat Ramp - Whippoorwill Farm (2.35 miles)

• Last run of the day!
• It’s an incline until the last mile so be ready for that

Training for Swimrun Lake James

As with any Swimrun, every course is different and requires athletes to prepare as best as they can for the demands that the course will present them. We asked our friend, endurance coach and stud Swimrunner, John Stevens to share with us how he would approach training for this race and what workouts he would recommend to prepare for the unique challenges that the race presents.

Deck ups!!!! You heard it here folks. John dropped a lot of knowledge about the importance of getting ready for all the swimming, quick transitions, and dealing with the terrain on the runs.

Race Tips

For race strategy and tips we couldn’t think of a better person to ask than the Swimrunner that has raced every single Swimrun Lake James event. Of course, we are talking about the one and only Marcus Barton. He points to being ready for the cold water and to check to make sure that you have your wetsuit zipped up before you get into the water.

Summary

This race is going to be dope! Lots of island to island Swimrunning in the European style will make for a ton of fun. If you want more background on the race, check out Episode 65 with the Swimrun Lake James race director Kirsten Jeno and Episode 69 for a Swimrun Lake James race recap with The Zaddy Daddies, A.K.A., Marcus Barton and Lee Greene. For deep, deep cuts of some Lake James content, check out Episode 75 with Team Keith and The Unicorn and Episode 73 with Team Phyllis Hold My Shower Beer.

Hope to see you there!

That’s it for this week’s show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player and leave us a five-star review. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, and on YouTube. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram. Email us at [e-mail] with any feedback and/or suggestions. Finally, you can support our efforts on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.

Thanks for listening and see you out there!

- Chip and Chris