I felt strong on the run and even held back a little averaging around a 7:20 pace trying to conserve energy for the nasty hills waiting for me on the bike course.

The hills on the bike course definitely showed in my average speed, but I felt a little better than I thought I would. I passed several bikes ahead of me and was passed by just one biker as I made my way to Camp Hi for the bike to kayak transition.

The kayak leg was really tough this year with the water being very low and slow. There was lots of debris (rocks, branches, and trees) to navigate around. With the water level being so low polarized sunglasses were essential for spotting obstacles hiding under the surface. Once in the kayak. I quickly caught up to and passed several kayaks and tandem canoes. I think most were relay teams. I was sandwiched by a kayak and aluminum tandem canoe that rammed the side of my kayak while it struggled to make a sharp turn. Once I got through the traffic I was alone on the river.

Even with the help of the polarized glasses I still hit my share of logs and caught a few paddle edges that almost flipped me. There were just so many obstacles and tight turns it was nearly impossible not to hit a few things paddling a 19’ surfski.

I saw some spectators on the bank that informed me I was in 5th place. I kept pushing and at mile 3 caught up to a young man. He saw me gaining on him and started paddling harder. His rental kayak was no match for my Stellar SR Multisport and I passed him. Soon after I passed the racer that passed me on the bike. I was once again alone on the river and didn’t see another racer.

I saw the last bridge before the takeout point and picked up the pace to the cheers of the spectators above. There was a shelf of rocks just in front of the bridge with extremely shallow water and no safe line. I hated hearing the sound of my kayak scrape the rocks but the multisport hull did its job and staid intact. I made my way to the bank of the river, volunteers steadied my kayak while I got out, and sprinted through the finish chute to claim 3rd place overall.  My finish time of 1:49:58 was slower than the previous 2 years.  I believe my run and bike splits were similar to if not faster than the previous last 2 years but my kayak leg was much slower do to the lower river conditions.

It’s a great day of racing when you make the big podium for overall awards.

Congratulations to Veronica Neubert who placed 2nd overall for the women in a photo finish that was really too close to call. She could have easily been declared the winner. Both women deserved to win.

Congratulations to Russ Neubert who competed in his first triathlon in over 2 years after undergoing hip replacement surgery.

All participants received nice t-shirts and finisher medals.  There were plenty of post race snacks.  This year the race date was moved up to June to coincide with a festival at the same park making for a busy, energetic, and fun finisher celebration.

Thank you to Portage Park District Foundation and all of the volunteers for putting on an amazing race. The race was so well organized and everything ran so smoothly.