by Ambassador Erin Trail
For the very first time since filling with water, Reuter-Hess Reservoir opened its doors to nearly 150 athletes for the inaugural Parker Open Water Swim. The 1.2 mile and 2.4 mile swim event was organized by Without Limits Productions  and the event title sponsor was SwimLabs Denver.
photo credit: Joe Long
Saturday morning greeted athletes with a spectacular show – a full sunrise rainbow that stretched over Parker and the calm waters of Reuter-Hess. The water was a perfect 70 degrees and wind was practically non-existent. Participants were the first group of swimmers to EVER swim in this reservoir and everyone was excited to experience its pristine waters.
Fun Event Facts:
The water depth at the first buoy was 95 feet. That’s DEEP!
80 people raced the 1.2 mile swim; 56 people raced the 2.4 mile distance
Some seriously speedy swimmers were out there! The top finishers for the 1.2 mile distance finished in 27:54 (Michelle Orgill) and 28:07 (Ryan Turbyfill). The top finishers for the 2.4 mile distance finished in 50:03 (Kathleen Steffe) and 46:53 (Niki Siloahti)
Participant ages ranged from 11 years of age to 68 years young!
The reservoir still has another 60 vertical feet of filling capacity, which means future events won’t include that long walk down the boat ramp to the water’s edge.
Without Limits and Parker Parks and Recreation are planning on making this even an annual occurrence. Plan on seeing the 2018 announcement early in the spring!
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