The Tennessee River through Chattanooga has become a popular place to go for a swim - and not just for locals.
This weekend, Chattanooga will host another national event in the river - the Chattanooga Swim Fest - as U.S. Masters Swimming brings the 2017 Middle and Ultramarathon Distance Open Water National Championships to town.
"It's been a lot of planning and a lot of people involved in making this happen," McCallie School Aquatics Director Stan Corcoran, who is helping direct the event, said. "Right now, things seem to be working pretty well, and everything is on track. We're excited about hosting it."
The event will consist of about 500 athletes over three days swimming in the Tennessee River, beginning tonight at 6 p.m. with a non-competitive, 1-mile swim for 135 athletes. The swim fest will continue Saturday and Sunday with the national championship races taking place at 8:30 a.m. both days.
Saturday's swim will be 2.4 miles - the middle distance championship - while Sunday's race will the 9.2-mile ultramarathon distance national championship.
For those wishing to attend, event organizers recommend coming Friday or Saturday. Both days' events will end at the ramp just past the Market Street Bridge, and attendees can watch the race from the Walnut Street Bridge or along the river. Friday's short race won't take long. Swimmers are expected to complete the 1-mile course in less than a half-hour. Spectators can go to the Walnut Street Bridge, see most of the race and watch the finish before dinner.
Sunday's ultramarathon will begin at the Girls Preparatory School dock and end at Baylor School. By the time swimmers reach viewing areas downtown, most racers will be spread out and come through in groups of four or less. It is also expected to storm Sunday morning, which could cause the cancellation of the event if there is lightning.
Unlike most national and international races hosted in Chattanooga in which the city openly applies or expresses interest in the event, United States Masters Swimming approached Chattanooga about hosting its national championship festival.
Chattanooga has developed a reputation for hosting such events after successfully holding swims such as the Chattanooga Rat Race and Swim the Suck and triathlons like Ironman and the Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon.
This will be the second time Chattanooga hosts one of the organization's championship events. Chattanooga Open Water Swimmers, also known as C.O.W.S., and Outdoor Chattanooga helped the city host the 2014 United States Masters Swimming Open Water National Championships.
The first festival was held a year later in 2015 in California. It rotated to Vermont in 2016 before coming to Chattanooga this weekend.
A U.S. Masters Swimming national championship festival is when two or more of the six national championship events are held in the same city.
Corcoran believes the races can become a staple in the Scenic City every few years if the city chooses to continue hosting the events.
"I would think if it stays in the eastern part of the country, with as well as our races have been run we could do a national championship at least every other year if we wanted to," he said. "The city is such a great place, and we have some groups that are here and are really helpful."
Contact staff writer Mark Pace at mpace@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6361. Follow him on Twitter @themarkpace.