Take The Lake is a rain-or-shine event. We celebrate the enduring spirit of perseverance, and completing these personal fitness challenges often means enduring the elements. However, your absolute safety is our number one priority. In coordination with local emergency management, public safety officials, and the Lake Waccamaw State Park Rangers, we monitor weather patterns continuously leading up to and during the 3-day weekend.
Weather Communication Channels:
In the event of weather-related delays, course alterations, or cancellations, public updates will be posted directly to the official Take The Lake Facebook Page. In addition, registered volunteers will receive direct updates via email and SMS text messages.
Weather Assessment Criteria:
The Steering Committee and local authorities evaluate the following criteria to determine event modifications:
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Lightning: If lightning is detected within a 10-mile radius of the course, activities will be delayed immediately for a minimum of 30 minutes from the last observed strike.
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Severe Winds & Open Water: High winds pose an immediate risk to the Sunday 14-Mile Paddle and Monday 4-Mile Open-Water Swim. In the event of dangerous water swells or chopping, courses may be shortened, shifted to wind-protected shoreline perimeters (e.g., keeping paddlers strictly "inside the poles"), or cancelled.
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Extreme Heat: Should the Heat Index reach hazardous levels, course cut-off times may be accelerated to ensure participants clear unshaded regions—such as Waccamaw Shores or the State Park Lakeshore Trail—before peak daytime temperatures.
No Refund Policy Reminder:
Because Take The Lake events are structurally free to enter (with the exception of a nominal $10 fee to cover timing infrastructure for the Saturday 5K Run/Walk), no refunds or rain-checks are issued in the event of a weather-forced cancellation. All shirts, patches, and commemorative vintage items remain available for packet pickup under all conditions.
