Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach are beautiful in September and October. The 2026 race takes place on Sunday, October 11. Hurricane season does not end until November 30, so conditions can change quickly. The average air temperature is 75°F with an average water temperature of 77–80°F. The average wind speed is 5–10 mph, usually out of the southwest. Race-morning sunrise and tide times, along with a tide-flow breakdown by swimmer pace, are in the Swim the Loop Course & Tide Guide.

Swim the Loop starts and finishes at the Dockside Restaurant on Airlie Road, on the Wilmington side of the Intracoastal Waterway. The 3.5-mile course circles Harbor Island and starts at high tide to ensure an even but challenging tide pattern throughout the swim. Don’t be fooled, though: there will be stretches of incoming tide, falling tide and slack tide.

Motts Channel Sprint starts at the Trailborn Surf & Sound on Wrightsville Beach and finishes across the Intracoastal Waterway at the Dockside Restaurant on Airlie Road. The course is approximately 1.3 miles and is a point-to-point swim. It also starts at high tide to ensure a slight incoming to slack tide throughout the swim.