STACY, GRETCHEN and SCOTT….Lighthouse TRI

Fairport Harbor Lighthouse Triathlon July 17th 2016

Fairport Harbor, Ohio

2K kayak, 20K bike, 5K run.

1st place overall kayak relay team.

Finish time: 1:22:16

Review.

The Fairport Harbor Lighthouse Triathlon is one of my favorites. Fairport Harbor Beach is a beautiful setting for a race and the course is fast and flat. I usually compete as an individual in the kayak division of this race but because I raced solo the day before I enlisted the help of a few Team ER teammates to compete in the relay. I started the race in the 2K kayak. There were clearly a lot less competitors in kayaks this year probably due to the 2 other adventure triathlons being held the same weekend. The water was calm with little wind. From the turn to the first buoy 4 boats separated from the pack. We left the rest of the field well behind. I was 4th out of the water behind the overall winner, the 3rd place overall winner, and another relay team kayak. I beat my kayak split time from last year by a few seconds. Stacy Rhea took over in the bike leg. Other than a small hill at the start, the course is fairly flat. Stacy rocked the 20K bike course in 36:30 making up a lot of ground on the relay team in front of us. Gretchen Schnee Snyder anchored the running leg. Gretchen battled the rising humidity and intense sun to pass the leading relay team runner and bring home the victory for Team ER. Lake Metro Parks always puts on a great event. They did however manage to miscalculate the number of awards needed for the race. We will be receiving our 1st play kayak relay team awards in the mail.

SCOTT ORLANDO……Headwaters Adventure TRI

Headwaters Adventure Triathlon July 16th 2016

Mantua, Ohio

2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 5 mile kayak.

8th overall and 2nd in age division.

Finish time: 1:53:54

Review.

The Portage Park District resurrected one of the area’s best adventure triathlons. The race was not held last year due to lack of volunteers to organize the race. The race starts with an out and back 2 mile flat trail run. Unfortunately the turnaround point was not marked or monitored. At 2.2 miles or so down the trail the leading group of runners realized this and created their own turnaround point. In a show of good sportsmanship the majority of the runners went to the same spot established by the lead runners before turning. The run ended up being 2.4 – 2.5 miles. The bike leg of this race is through the rolling hills of Hiram and Mantua. The bike course ends at Camp Hi in Hiram for the kayak leg of the race. The water was low and slow in the Cuyahoga River. I spent the first 2 miles really paddling hard with little efficiency. It wasn’t until a few boats passed me that I realized my rudder was hitting a lot of seaweed creating enormous drag. I pulled my rudder out of the water and it felt like an anchor was removed! I quickly got by the few boats that had previously passed me and gained on the boats in front of me. I believe had I not used my rudder in the first 2 miles I would have finished 5th overall. The race was well organized. Nice tech shirts were provided to all participants. This race has a few things to tweak for next year but for the first year back it was well organized and had great participation.