East Coast Open Water Festival
About this race
Dates: September 26-27, 2026
Address: Smith Mountain Lake State Park, 1235 State Park Road, Huddleston, VA, 24104
Start/Finish: This is less than a quarter of a mile from Mariners Landing (where we’ve had it for the last six years). We have moved to a new location to accommodate for the growth of our event. Please make sure you take a moment to familiarize yourself with the Smith Mountain Lake webpage and plan accordingly. The start location is on the beach directly behind the Smith Mountain Lake State Park.
Parking: Please note that there is a $7 parking fee, which covers both days into the park. Participants are encouraged to pre-pay for parking upon registration for a discounted price of $5 or anyone (competing or not) is able to purchase a standalone pass within the registration store. Anyone who pre-pays for parking will be put on the pre-paid list at the guard shack.
Time of first event: Saturday, 10 am, Sunday, 11 am
Course: The racecourse will consist of a mile loop marked with large colored buoys. There
will be an in water start at the start/finish line. Finish Banner marks finish line. A video based timing system will be used.
Schedule of Events
Saturday, Sept 26th
- 5K Swim Race –Open to All Ages
- Registration 9:00 am to 9:45 am
- Race Starts at 10:00 am
- One Mile Splash / One Mile Dash – Open to All Ages
- Registration 10:45 am to 11:30 am
- Race Starts at 12:00 pm (noon)
- The Great Knockout -Open to All Ages
- Registration 12:00 pm to 12:45 pm
- Race Starts at 1:00 pm
Sunday, Sept 27th
- Half Mile Race –Open to 9 & Under
- Registration 10:00 am to 10:45 am
- Race Starts at 11:00 am
- One Mile Race -Open to All Ages
- Registration 10:30 am to 11:15 am
- Race Starts at 11:30 am
- Half Mile Splash / Half Mile Dash –Open to All Ages
- Registration 11:30 pm to 12:15 pm
- Race Starts at 12:30 pm
Registration Options
- Individuals are encouraged to use this page for registration.
- You are permitted to register multiple participants under the same transaction.
- Teams can request a coupon code, which would permit either individuals on a team to register without having to pay at that time or a coach can enter all of their athletes and then be sent a single invoice or the entry fee would be payable at check-in.
- Large Teams can request a preformatted spreadsheet to complete their entries. This option would bypass the online platform and allow for a team leader to enter all information on the spreadsheet. Please contact the meet director if you are interested in this option.
Registration Fees
Fee for one individual event...........................................$ 85.00
Two Events ....................................................................$100.00
Three Events..................................................................$110.00
(Fees include registration: swim cap, and event T-Shirt)
*** Note: discount applied at check-out. You must register for multiple events during the same transaction in order to receive the discount.
Awards:
5K Open Water Swim Winners: Top Male and Female: Backpacks and Plaques.
All Other Events will be Awarded 1st, 2nd, 3rd Place Plaques
Age Divisions:
1/2 Mile: 9 & Under Only
1 Mile: 10-11, 12-13, 14-15, 16-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50 & Over
5K: 11 & Under, 12-13, 14-15, 16-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50 & Over
Half Mile Splash / Half Mile Dash: 9 & Under, 10-11, 12-13, 14-17, 18 & Over
One Mile Splash / One Mile Dash: 12 & Under, 13-15, 16-19, 20-29, 30 & Over
The Great Knockout: 1,500, 1,000, 500 with a 15-minute break between and after the 1,500, we will drop down to 20 swimmers, after the 1,000, we will drop down to 10 swimmers.
Note: Age on September 26th, 2026 will determine age for the entire meet.
Volunteering
Anyone wishing to help with registration check-in, body marking, on the water drink station, event check-in, water safety personnel or first aid station, please contact Doug Fonder at DougFonder@gmail.com
Pick your distance
Swimming
5K Swim Race
The Great Knockout
1,500, 1,000, 500 with 15 minute break between and after the 1,500 we will drop down to 20 swimmer, after the 1,000 we will drop down to 10 swimmers.
Half Mile Race (9&Under)
One Mile Race
Swimrun
One Mile Splash / One Mile Dash
Half Mile Splash / Half Mile Dash
Typical race-day weather
Based on 7 years of Open-Meteo archive data for this event's race dates in Huddleston, plus the 3 days either side.
The sun rises at 7:09 AM and sets at 7:09 PM local time (EDT) in Huddleston on September 26, 2026 — 11h 59m of daylight.
Course
No course map published yet.
The organizer hasn't released a route for this event, and we don't publish guesses. If you're the organizer, send us a GPX file and we'll draw the profile.
Reviews
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2026 results — East Coast Open Water Festival
193 finishers across 6 distances · leading places in the 5K Swim Race
| Place | Name | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connor Minear | 1:00:46 | 19:34 /mi |
| 2 | Samuel Moller | 1:00:51 | 19:35 /mi |
| 3 | Noah Pruwer | 1:00:52 | 19:35 /mi |
| 4 | Ahmed Abdalla | 1:01:38 | 19:50 /mi |
| 5 | Cole Nelson | 1:03:25 | 20:25 /mi |
Every finisher is on the results page, filterable by distance, gender and age group.
All results by year
Other races near Huddleston
Different organizers, within 40 miles, in the next three months
SML Turkey Trot
Shorefire Trail Races
Falling Creek 24-hour Running Event
Deck the Heels 5K Night Run
Where this page comes from. Race details were last updated on . We re-check listings regularly and again in the week before race day.
- Entries, prices, waves and inclusions — the event's official registration page
- Temperature and humidity — Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)
- Elevation and terrain relief — Copernicus DEM GLO-90, ESA (CC BY 4.0)
- Comparisons and counts — Race Discovery calendar, 7 Huddleston events
Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.