7/29/2023

Burning River 100

Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

50 Mile Race

Laura Fairfax

Finish Time:  14:07:55

Overall Place:  138th Place / 200

Division Place:  10th Place / 10

100 Mile 8 Person Coed Relay

Gu-Tang Clan

Team ER Members:

Christine Churpek

Peter Heroux

Finish Time:  17:46:07

Overall Place:  7th Place / 31

Run Like A Mother

Team ER Member

Asad Khan

Finish Time:  19:13:19

Overall Place:  16th Place / 31

100 Mile 8 Person All Female Relay

Hot Mess Express 1

Team ER Member

Kristi Gunyula

Finish Time:  21:05:39

Overall Place:  2nd Place / 12

Race Recap By Laura Fairfax:

Burning River 50miles 2023 was an adventure! Started off in the pouring rain with tons of lightening and thunder. It made the course extra muddy and challenging. This only made the experience a greater accomplishment! The aid stations were welcoming, fully stocked with everything you could need. The volunteers at each station were encouraging and motivating. It was an incredible experience to connect all the trails I run so often together in one race. We have a beautiful back yard here in Ohio! Overall, I wish that the weather was dryer, but I loved this race and the experience I gained by finishing. Western Reserve Racing did an excellent job!

7/28/2023

Night Nation 5K

Cleveland, Ohio

Nancy Wardell

Finisher (Non timed running event)

Run Recap By Nancy Wardell:

I ran in the Night Nation Run 5k, Stand Up to Cancer event in Cleveland, Ohio last night! This was a very interesting run to say the least!! The music, lights, and energy were really quite spectacular to be honest, and I love how the money goes to a great cause while you’re out there running and partying! The race had us all running two laps through the inside of the Cleveland Browns Stadium where there were DJs positioned in various spots along the way! Tons of fun giveaway’s too, and some beautiful scenery with the sun setting on Lake Erie during the run!

7/22/2023

Blazing Paddles Paddlefest

Cleveland, Ohio.

6.8 Mile Race

Fast Sea Kayak Class

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  55:28

Overall Place:  6th Place (Overall Solo Kayak)

Division Place:  3rd Place (Fast Sea Kayak Class)

Recreational Paddle Event

Nancy Wardell (Kayak)

Russ Neubert (Paddle Board)

Veronica Neubert (Paddle Board)

Paddlefest Review By Nancy Wardell:

Great morning in Cleveland at the Blazing Paddles Paddlefest 2023 event! I even had my better half with me doing the recreational portion and hit about 6 miles in our kayaks! Thank you Mickey Rzymek and Scott Orlando for the added details and information to get me there today! I was an amazing experience and loved seeing everything in action with the kayaks!

Race Recap By Scott Orlando

This was the 5th year of the Blazing Paddles Festival in Cleveland, Ohio.  What started as a paddle board only event has grown into one of the largest paddling events in Ohio for paddle borders, kayakers, and canoes.  This year was the largest field to date with over 700 paddlers.  It was announced after the event that this year’s race field set a record for the most ever paddlers on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland at the same time and place.

The event start was delayed due to log jams and heavy debris in the river from heavy storms the two previous nights before the race.  For many race organizers this probably would have postponed the event to another day or even cancelled it, but not for Mickey Rzymek!  Mickey had a fleet of barges ready on hand that were deployed to break up the log jams and debris.  When the fleet returned and was unable to break up the larger log jams Mickey went to Plan B.  With one phone call Mickey sent the 639 foot super freighter Mark W. Barker down the river to smash through the logs like they were toothpicks!  When I often speak of Mickey Rzymek working his magic at races this is exactly what I am talking about!  The Mark W. Barker cleared the river and after about a 80 minute delay we were ready to race.

I competed in the 6.8 mile race using my Stellar S18S Multi Sport which put me in the fast sea kayak class.  Both the high performance sea kayak class and the fast sea kayak class were loaded with national and state champions.  I knew that getting on the podium would be no easy task.  The race started and we headed up river about a half mile to the first turnaround buoy.  The faster paddlers quickly all fell in line behind the leaders all trying to get an early draft off of each other.  I quickly found myself in the lead pack.  Four of us all in the same class and all paddling the same boat where in a line just inches apart drafting off of each other.  I was in fourth place and was content to stay there for the moment drafting off of the kayak in the third position.  Heading past the start area is one of the best parts of this race.  There is lots of energy and excitement from the spectators and 586 paddlers ready to start the recreational paddle event.  For the first 1.5 miles of the race or so all four of us battled hard for position staying on each others sterns drafting and looking for opportunities to make a move, but then danger struck.  The safety patrol jet ski made a rapid turn creating wake and taking out the top paddler in the high performance division.  Hansel Lucas, owner of Performance Kayak immediately yielded his first place position to assist the down kayaker.  It wasn’t long before the kayaker was back in his boat and out of harms way.  Both the down kayaker and Hansel rejoined the chase and it wasn’t long before both were back in contention.  I give a tremendous amount of credit and respect to Hansel Lucas for sacrificing his own race to help a teammate in distress,  I would have assisted as well but they were ahead of me and by the time I approached the danger was over and they were back in the race.  As this was unfolding I had been battling hard to get and maintain the third position.  I secured the third position and moved into second.  Soon Hansel was back in the hunt with the fourth place boat drafting behind him.  Hansel was pushing hard to regain lost time and he along with the kayak drafting behind him shotgunned past me putting me back into the fourth position.   I started to have a little mental laps thinking my chances for a podium finish were gone, but I kept paddling hard.  Soon Hansel was back into the second position and had separated enough from the third place kayak that he could no longer draft.  The third place kayaker slowed down and I saw my chance.  I paddled hard and fast catching and passing once again moving into the third position.  From there I paddled as hard and fast as I ever had slowly increasing my lead and gap between the kayaker behind me.  Knowing he is a strong kayaker who usually beats me I knew I couldn’t let up.  Making one of the final turns towards the finish area I took an aggressive line around the corner and suddenly found myself in a massive debris field.  Barely anywhere to even place a paddle in the water without risking breaking it off on a log.  I got nervous thinking that the slow down might open the door for the kayaker behind me to pass.  I got passed the debris and went back to work paddling with all my might through the finish to secure third place in my division and 6th place overall in solo kayaks.  As for Hansel he finished second just 40 seconds behind the winner.  I was only 1:09 behind the winner and 29 seconds behind Hansel.  My finish time was 55:28 which was much faster than last year.  The high performance kayaker that was dumped by the jet ski wake, well don’t feel sorry for him.  He recovered and went on to be the overall winner of the race.

It was fun spending time with all of my Performance Kayak friends, Team ER members Russ and Veronica Neubert and Nancy Wardell who participated in the recreational paddle, as well as all of my other paddling friends from other teams.

All participants received a nice shirt, tote bag, Carb Boom Energy Gel and a few other sponsor items.  Winners received their choice of either a logoed bucket hat or trucker cap and a mounted print of the race.  I can’t say what a great job Jim Ridge, Mickey Rzymek, Share The River, North Coast Multisports, and all of the volunteers did to put on this massive event.  If you like to paddle you need to put this event on your calendar for next year!

7/16/2023

Lake Metro Parks Pirate Triathlon

Fairport Harbor, Ohio

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  1:20:35

Overall Place 3rd Place / 50

Division Place:  2nd Place / 7

Race Recap By Scott Orlando:

The Lake Metro Parks Pirate Triathlon is a personal favorite race that I look forward to every year.  Fairport Harbor Beach makes for a great scenic location for a race.  The race offers a standard swim triathlon as well as a kayak triathlon.  The bike and run courses are shared between swimmers and kayakers making for a larger field of participants on the course.  The biggest wild card factor of this race is always the conditions of Lake Erie.  Some years there are 3-4 foot swells while other years the water is nice and calm.  I have learned over the years of competing in this race to bring two kayaks to this race and use the one best suited to the lake conditions.  This year Lake Erie was nice and calm which meant faster less table kayaks could be used.  I chose to go with my Stellar S18S Multi Sport Kayak.  The weather conditions were humid with heavy cloud cover and temperatures in the low 70’s.

After staging my bike in the transition area and my kayak on the beach it was time to race.  The horn went off and we hit the water for the kayak leg.  I got into my kayak and started to paddle.  I immediately noticed a problem with my paddle.  I had set the angle of my paddle incorrectly.  I usually set it to a 45-50 degree angle to the right but instead set it to the left.  I had to stop and reset my paddle to the proper angle.  This led to an extremely slow start.  I pushed extra hard and before long I was up to the front of the pack.  At the turnaround buoy I cut inside of a kayak in front of me that made a wider turn and made a clean pass.  I was now in 3rd place just behind the two leading kayaks.  I continued to push hard and made up a little more ground.  I hit the beach about 20 seconds behind the two leaders who were also paddling Stellar S18S surf skis.  A short run off the beach to the transition area and then it was ready for the 20 kilometer bike leg.  The bike leg starts with a short hill out of the beach area and then most of the course is pretty flat as it loops around Fairport Harbor providing scenic views of Lake Erie.  My bike leg was going fairly well.   Light drizzle was falling from the sky but wasn’t much of an issue.   I was passed by a few extremely fast participants in the swim triathlon which didn’t bother me in the least.  The final miles heading back towards the transition area the winds really picked up forcing us all to work much harder.  Mile 10 I was passed by one of the top kayak triathlon competitors.  I expected this to happen.  Traditionally he is slower in the kayak but puts up the fastest bike split in the field.  He wasn’t that far ahead of me finishing the bike leg so I thought I might have a chance to catch him in the run.  Another stop in transition and it was of to finish the race on the run course.  I was 4th overall heading out of transition.  The run course starts with the same nasty short hill out of the beach area.  In the past I have pushed hard up the hill only to spend the next half mile trying to recover from the effort.  This year I took a slower more conservative approach going slow and steady.  This helped me recover much faster and get into my pace much easier.  I was off to a good start on the run.  I moved into 3rd place passing a competitor in the first mile.  I could see the 2nd place competitor ahead of me so kept pushing hard to see if I could catch him.  Unfortunately he had too much of a lead on me and I wasn’t able to catch him.  I ended up finishing 3rd overall with a time of 1:20:35.  I was pleased with the outcome as I improved on last year’s time by 2:20. My bike and run times were both better than last year.   Overall awards were only given to the 1st place winner in the kayak triathlon.  The 2nd place overall winner was in my age division so he was awarded 1st place in the division and I was awarded 2nd place in the division.

The race is always well organized by Lake Metro Parks.  Results were made immediately available online and on a kiosk. Participants received well designed pirate themed tech shirts and finisher medals.  The back of the shirts featured the words “Oh… You Ran A Marathon?  That’s Cute!”  along with icons for a swimmer, biker, and runner.  I think they forgot about us kayak triathletes when designing the shirts because they left the kayak icon off of the back.  I am sure I will have some fun conversations with my marathon running friends when I wear the shirt around them.  You would think the distance runners and triathletes travel in the same circles and some do but most seem to be very segregated from each other with a bit of a fun rivalry.

My only bit of constructive criticism about this race is I think the awards need to be rethought.  I would prefer to see them award the top 3 overall winners of the kayak triathlon plus the top 3 in each age division which are every 10 years.  Typically the overall winners are not included in age group awards but in this case the overall winners also received an additional trophy for winning their age group.  All awards were old school trophies.  For a while the awards presented at the race were logoed pint glasses.  I see the need to mix it up but maybe go with something different than traditional trophies.

If you are looking for a great triathlon to swim or kayak with a fast bike and run course than this race is for you!

7/15/2023

Women’s 6K Festival

Canton, Ohio

Kristi Gunyula

Finish Time:  26:24

Overall Place:  47th Place / 332

Division Place:  2nd Place / 40

Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  28:39

Overall Place:  74th Place / 332

Division Place:  4th Place / 40

Cleopatra Sirnic Clifford

Finish Time:  36:46

Overall Place:  180th Place / 332

Division Place:  14th / 40

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  55:39

Overall Place:  281st Place / 332

Division Place:  26th Place / 29

7/11/2023

Asian Lantern Festival 5K

Cleveland, Ohio

Lisa Keane

Finish Time:  46:45

Overall Place:  223rd Place / 273

Division Place:  12th Place / 21

Race Review By Lisa Keane:

Awesome race course through the Cleveland Zoo highlighting the Asian Lantern exhibit! One to definitely check out if you are local to Cleveland

7/9/2023

Muddy Princess

Mud / Obstacle 5K

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  N/A

Overall Place:  N/A

Division Place:  N/A

7/8/2023

Headwaters Adventure Triathlon

2 Mile Run, 10 Mile Bike, 5 Mile Kayak

Mantua, Ohio

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  1:46:09

Overall Place 4th Place / 100

Division Place:  1st Place / 13

Race Recap By Scott Orlando

The Headwaters Adventure Race is one of the races I look forward to every year.  I have competed in this race about 10 times since 2010.  This year I was extra motivated because last year in the final stretch of the kayak leg I got caught on a log under the water, I was passed by 3 competitors, dropped to 9th place, and lost my age group by just seconds.  I was waiting an entire year for redemption.

Race morning conditions were fairly favorable with temperatures in the high 60’s, moderate humidity, and just a slight breeze.  River conditions were not ideal with low water depths and low flow.  I got to the kayak staging area early knowing that the best spots to place your kayak for the river put in fill up fast.  Kayak staging was a little frustrating as everywhere I attempted to place my kayak I was told by a volunteer it was not allowed.  The volunteer was a little confrontational.  I finally found a spot that I was approved to stage my kayak.  Next it was off to the bike staging area and registration which were located near the start line.  Again I know to get to the bike staging area early as the best spots fill up quickly.  Everything was set and I was ready to race.

The race starts with a 2 mile run which is on an out and back course that begins on the road before heading to the Headwaters Trail.  This year they changed the last part of course and instead of heading back to the road the course stayed on the trail which looped behind the park leading to the bike transition area.  I think this change made for a better course.  My run went as expected and put me in somewhere between 10th -12th place.  My transition to the bike was pretty good and I was quickly on my way.   The bike course features a lot of hills.   I was able to pass a few of the faster runners that weren’t as skilled on the bike and was passed myself by a couple of competitors that were faster on the bike than myself who I had beaten on the run leg.  It wasn’t my fastest time completing the bike course but I survived the hills and made my way to Camp Hi for the kayak leg.  I dropped off my bike in the designated area, changed from my bike shoes to my kayak shoes and was off to the river.  As I arrived at my kayak I was slightly frustrated to see that kayaks had been staged in every single location I was told pre race that I could not stage my kayak.  Non the less I picked up my kayak, carried it to the boat ramp, hopped in, and took off paddling.  I went with my Stellar SR Multi Sport for this race which is the fastest kayak I own.  The water was low and slow with seaweed everywhere.   To avoid a repeat of last year getting caught twice on river debris I was extra cautious with my paddling lines constantly surveying the water ahead looking for anything that would slow me down.  I was pleased to see that many of the fallen trees had been cut back creating lines of safe passage through the winding river.  There were some shallow spots but I managed to keep the hull of my kayak from hitting the river bottom.  I passed several competitors early in the first mile that were in recreational kayaks and who were less experienced paddlers.  After that I never saw another kayaker on the course in front or behind me.  I did hit a few logs under the water that I could not see but luckily I did not get hung up on them.  I knew there were some fast kayakers behind me.  As I hit the 4th and 5th miles I kept waiting and expecting for them to come up from behind me and pressure me which often happens at this race.  But this year was different.  The closer I got to the finish the harder I pushed and the pressure never came.  I saw the bridge above me and knowing the finish was just around the corner I kicked it into gear for the final stretch.  I exited my kayak and ran through the finish.  I was surprised to find out that I was the 4th overall finisher.  This was my best overall result at this race which I typically finish somewhere between 6th place – 9th place.  I also redeemed myself from last year and won my division with a time of 1:46:09 seconds.  I beat my time from last year by over 7 minutes.  It is amazing how much faster your kayak time can be when you don’t have to get out of it to get yourself off of a logs!

The race was very well organized by the Portage Park District which is made up of mostly volunteers.  Every participant received a swag box loaded with sponsor goodies, a tri blend shirt, and finisher medal.  Awards went to the top 3 overall finishers.  Age group awards went to only the winner of each age group.  Age groups were every 10 years.  I have suggested in the past to the race directors that they provide age group award for the top 3 in each division, but they continue to limit the awards.  I think when people win awards they have a greater tendency to return the following year plus they post their award pictures all over social media which promotes the race and organization holding the race.  Overall this is a great race and I will be back next year!

7/8/2023

Tappan Trail 5K Trail Race

Lisa Keane

Finish Time:  40:16

Overall Place:  15th Place / 22

Division Place:  1st Place

Race Review By Lisa Keane:

A perfect day for a short trail race in beautiful Tappan Lake Park. 1200’ of elevation change and light technical trails makes this ideal for all ages and abilities. Looking forward to this one again next year!

7/4/2023

Raintree 5K

Uniontown, Ohio

Scott Orlando

Finish Time: 23:30

Overall Place:  17th Place / 99

Division Place:  1st Place / 5

Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  24:32

Overall Place:  20th Place / 99

Division Place:  3rd Place Overall Female

Kris Engstrom

Finish Time:  24:55

Overall Place:  24th Place / 99

Division Place:  3rd Place / 5

Peter Heroux

Finish Time:  26:14

Overall Place:  29th Place / 99

Division Place:  4th Place / 10

Gretchen Snyder

Finish Time:  28:41

Overall Place:  37th Place / 99

Division Place:  2nd Place / 10

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  34:38

Overall Place:  56th Place

Division Place:  3rd Place / 6

Race Recap By Nancy Wardell:

I ran the Raintree 5k this morning in Uniontown with a whole “troop” of Team-ER teammates! It was a beautiful morning for a race and I definitely enjoyed hanging out with everyone for a bit to start this 4th of July off right! I placed third in my age group and appreciated the swag and bonus prizes including a $10 gift certificate to Ritchie’s Sporting Goods and a pie from our super awesome sponsor Mickey Rzymek from North Coast Multisports that organizes so many great runs in our area! Thanks for organizing our crew Scott Orlando and making sure we all matched for the team photo.  Happy 4th of July everyone and happy running!

Race Recap By Scott Orlando

This was my 4th time running the Raintree 5K in Uniontown, Ohio.  I enjoy running this race because of the unique course.  It isn’t every day you get to run down the fairways of a golf course.  This race is a true cross country running style event.  The course features golf course fairways and cart paths as well as a short road  loop through a housing development.  Weather for this year’s race was less than ideal.  Temperatures weren’t that bad but did continue to increase with every minute of the race.  The biggest factor was the humidity soaring at over 95% making for steamy hot running conditions.  To make things even more challenging rains from the days leading up to the race made for some soggy soft fairways to run on.  They weren’t muddy and there was no standing water, but the soft fairways made for slower running conditions for sure.

The race started on the 10th Fairway.  I got off to a little slower start than I would have liked.  I think the combination of high humidity, soft ground, and incline had me working hard than I would have liked to in the early stages of the race.  There were a lot of young high school aged runners who quickly made their way to the start of the race pack setting the early pace.  This course is a little sneaky with what feels like a lot more up hill sections than flat and down hill sections.  I wouldn’t describe the course as rolling hills as the elevation changes aren’t all that visible to the eyes at times but you certainly feel them.  After the first mile I finally settled into my pace.  Again it was a little slower than what I would have liked but under the conditions I was content to not push harder to keep some energy in reserve for a strong finish.  By the second mile the race field was spreading out.  I was able to increase my pace on the road section of the course and passed a few runners that were slowing down in front of me.  I was surprised to see how many runners ahead of me were stopping for a quick breather.  The humidity was really sucking the energy and pace out of even the fastest runners on the course.  We made the turn back onto the golf course from the road.  The course here was downhill which made for some faster running.  A quick right turn up a small steep hill slowed the pace again.  I was ready for the hill and went with a slow but consistent pace to tackle it know that I could push hard through the next two fairways to the finish.  After the hill my pace increased on the flatter fairways.  There wasn’t really anyone in front of me other than one younger runner and no one was behind me.  I let the younger runner pace me as we headed down the 18th fairway with both of us opening up and striding it out through the finish.  I finished with a time of 23:30.  This certainly wasn’t my best 5K time, but it was good enough to win my age group and finish 17th overall.  I was about 15 seconds slower that last year.  I am sure the high humidity and soft running conditions accounted for the lost time.

It was a great day of racing with so many of our Team ER members.  Christine Churpek was the 3rd overall female, Gretchen Snyder was 2nd in her division, Kris Engstrom and Nancy Wardell were 3rd in their divisions, and Peter Heroux was 4th in his division missing the podium by just one second.

The race was once again well organized by Ritchie Sporting Goods and North Coast Multisports.  Mickey Rzymek made the day special for Team ER members by announcing the Team ER affiliation and all of their names as each member crossed the finish line as well as when each Team ER member stepped onto the podium for awards.  Race swag included tri blend soft style t-shirts, custom race bibs, protein bars, and fruit.  Winners received pies and Ritchie’s Sporting Goods gift certificates.