The Glen Lake Swim, Viva Las Glennie was held in Goffstown, NH on August 13th. A threatening forecast had volunteers on edge for several days leading up to the event, but come race morning, the sun came poking through, delivering a beautiful day on which to hold the fifth episode of this unique U.S. Masters Swimming-sanctioned competition. The water temperature was 72 degrees, making it perfect for swimming with or without a wetsuit.
The Glen Lake Swim has a subtitle each year. This year’s Viva Las Glennie theme harkened back to the days of the very first verifiable Glennie sightings at Glen Lake during the 1960s, and was a celebration of the best music from that era. Glennie is the friendly plesiosaur-like creature that has been trapped in Glen Lake since the Gregg’s Falls Dam was constructed in 1918. Rocking the lake shore before, during, and after the race was Mark Shelton, a three-time inductee in the Elvis Tribute Artist Hall of Fame. Mark sang many of Elvis’ greatest hits, including a special composition written just for the day, entitled “Viva Las Glennie.”
The swim course was a one-mile triangular-shaped circuit lined with nine large colorful buoys that were deployed on the water at daybreak by event volunteers. Nine-foot-tall orange triangular buoys marked the turns. Seven-foot yellow buoys lined the straightaways. There were two competitions, a one-mile single-loop race and a two-mile double loop competition. 150 swimmers participated and were grouped in five waves. The swimmers were seeded according to their estimated swim times, with the fastest swimmers starting in the first waves and the slower swimmers starting in the later waves. Grouping the swimmers in waves of approximately 30 competitors each was done for safety reasons, as it minimized passing and provided for better spacing of swimmers. It also made it easier for the dozens of kayak support volunteers and lifeguards to monitor swimmers as they traversed the course. Every participant wore a timing chip on their ankle. The event was net-timed with a separate clock starting when the horn sounded to start each wave, therefore it was not a disadvantage for a swimmer to start in a later wave.
In addition to the kayakers and lifeguards, both the Goffstown Fire Department and the New Hampshire Marine Patrol were on hand to lend assistance and to keep recreational boat traffic away from the swim course. The event also had two support vessels on the course, one of which transported Dr. David Lewis, a physician and the organizing committee’s safety representative. Goffstown CERT was shore-side, ready to provide any assistance necessary. Fortunately no assistance was necessary on the water or on dry land.
When the swimmers exited the water they were greeted by Elvis and were presented with colorful leis and a replica Viva Las Glennie vinyl record that can be used as a drink coaster. Framed gold, silver and bronze records were awarded to the winners of each race division, and colorful commemorative dice sets were given to the age-group winners.
Swimming to victory in the one-mile race was Michael Dowd (skins) from Holbrook, NY, finishing in 23:30. Michael is just 21 years old and was swimming in his first open-water race. Winning the women’s skins division was Brenna Dowd from Bustins Island, ME at 25:41. In the wetsuit division, David Keyes from New Boston, NH took top honors for males at 25:31, and the women's wetsuit competition was won by Jocelyn Nokes of Nashua, NH at 26:37.
In the two-mile race, and for the third year in a row, Eric Nilsson from Boston , MA (skins) was first out of the water, swimming an incredible 41:50 time, his fastest Glennie yet. First overall female was Jill Blankenhorn from Barrington, RI (skins) at 49:56. First male wetsuit swimmer, and the second two-miler out of the water was Stuart Cromarty, of Foster, RI at 42:54. The first female wetsuit swimmer was Brooke O’Connor of Billerica, MA at 55:52.
Goffstown Television live-streamed the event with a multi-camera shoot. Several hours of footage will be edited down into a program that will premiere at Chunky’s Cinema Pub in Manchester, NH later this year, followed by online availability. The premier will be free to all swim participants, volunteers and their families.
Top prizes for the event were furnished by SwimOutlet.com, DICK’S Sporting Goods, and Runner’s Alley/Marathon Sports. Many other local and national sponsors contributed to the event’s success, including: Eversource, New Wave Swim Buoy, Elliot Health System, Northeast Delta Dental, Hitchiner, SweetWater Swim Studio, Chunky's Cinema Pub, Mountain Base Brewery, Pelmac Industries, St. Mary's Bank, Lymeez, Staples - Bedford, NH, Sully's Superette, Panera Bread, Stonyfield Farm, Goldenrod Restaurant, Goffstown Hannaford, Trek Hooksett. A very special thanks to all volunteers, Goffstown Parks and Recreation, and the Granite YMCA for their invaluable assistance.
