MONT-TREMBLANT, IRONMAN CANADA……August 21 2016
Swim: 1:11:55
Bike 7:18:10
Run 4:40:35
Overall 13:25:26

20th age group

Ironman 70.3 Ohio
Delaware, OH
08/21/16

Time: 05:14:52
Place: 26 AG, 197 OA

Our bikes stayed intact in T1 despite tornados the night before the race with the weather breaking nicely on race day-temps in the mid to high 70’s, dry with some wind. I started the triangle shaped swim course in Delaware Lake (water temp 79 degrees) 48min after the sound of the cannon in wave 13 with expected congestion throughout. The bike course was flat and fast despite many turns with some rollers in the last 10-15 miles on country roads, single lane at times, with the last 1 mile being on a paved bike trail into T2. T2 was on the field in Selby Stadium at Ohio Wesleyan University with the run taking us out on rural streets outside of town, a 2 loop course with rolling hills and some shade along the Olentangy River. A stadium finish on the track back in the stadium made for a great end to my 2nd 70.3 race! As expected for an Ironman event, this was a large race (selling out in the first 48hrs last fall) that was well organized, participant friendly with great support throughout.

There was a strong showing of many in and out of state triathlon teams at this race. Chris Schmauder and I represented Team ER at this inaugural Ironman 70.3 event.

Ran the 5th leg of Burning River. 3:31:42 overall 13:19/M
16.78 miles. Team Crazy Eights finished 26 in coed division

Pittsburgh Triathlon and Adventure Triathlon

Adventure Triathlon 2 mile kayak, 20K bike and 5K run

Finish Time 1:07:33

16th overall

4th in age division

Race Review

This was my first time competing in the Pittsburgh Triathlon. I have stayed away from this race in the past because of the price. The race course is centered around Pittsburgh’s beautiful Point Park. The water leg of the race was cancelled due to unsafe sewage levels in the river. This year’s race was turned into a duathlon. The bike leg was mostly on the HOV lanes of the highway around the city on an out and back course. The first 6 miles of the bike course are a low grade steady incline. Once you hit the turnaround point it quickly becomes much faster as it’s all downhill back to the transition area. The out and back run course is flat and scenic as it follows a paved trail along Point Park and the river front. The entire race course provides nice scenic views of the rivers and downtown attractions and stadiums. The greatest challenge in completing this year’s race was the high temperature and extremely high humidity. Race time temperatures where in the mid 80’s with high humidity making it feel like the mid 90’s. Even though this race was expensive there was a lot of added value. The race organizers offered a free reception with drinks and outstanding food the night before the race. Every participant received a very nice high quality tech shirt, finisher medal, and draw string bag filled with samples from vendors and sponsors. Free live participant tracking was available. There was a nice vendor expo during registration, before, and after the race. Most vendors provided additional product samples and prize raffles. They even offered free medal engraving at participating local Dick’s Sporting Goods stores. If you plan to participate in this race next year register early for the best pricing and take advantage of all that is offered.

South Bend Indiana Xterra, off road Triathlon – 8-6-2016

Race is held at Potato State Park- about 20 miles south of South Bend Indiana.

The swim is in a decent sized lake, but they had a outbreak of blue/ green algae that made water conditions less than ideal. The swim was listed as ½ mile, but believe it was closer to ¾ of a mile. Bike loop was 2 loops on a tight 8-mile single track trail. The run was a 4.2 mile off road loop, with a few small hills

The weather outlook was perfect- low 80’s, Friday I pre rode mountain bike loop with Kurt- it helped to know the trail, passing would be a challenge

Race morning was a perfect day.

My swim was decent. I got behind the main pack, and was able to draft at times, and felt comfortable. I was 43rd out of 103 coming out of the swim, and passed 2 people in transition. I hit the bike hard, most people were good about moving when you caught them and so I passed close to 20 people. As I hit the run, I felt really strong and passed 7 people to finish first in my class and 16th overall

This was my last race before National Championships in Utah in mid-September- so feeling like everything is coming together.

Ken