7/13/2019

Headwaters Adventure Triathlon

Mantua, Ohio

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  141:48

Overall Place:  8th Place

Division Place:  1st Place

Race Recap By Scott Orlando

The Headwaters Adventure Triathlon is one of my favorite races.  After a 2 year hiatus I was happy that my schedule allowed me to once again take on the 2 mile run, 10 mile bike, and 5 mile kayak course.  The run is an out and back route on the road and trail.  I had a good solid run time averaging a 7:07 mile pace.  My transition to the bike was fairly fast and clean.  Next up was the grueling hills of Mantua and Hiram!   Some hills had me moving at 5 mph up and topping out at 42 mph on the back sides.  I was passed by a few stronger bikers but that was ok because I knew I would catch them on the kayak leg.   I was happy to see the gates of Camp Hi that marked the finish of the bike leg.  Another smooth transition and it was into the water!  I choose to paddle my Stellar SR Multisport which is a 19′ surfski.  Knowing the river in the section of the race is mostly flat with little current I felt the SR would be fast and efficient which is exactly what I needed after the challenging 10 mile bike leg.  I quickly found my stability and paddle cadence and started picking off less experienced kayakers one by one.  The river itself was very winding with lots of stringers from a season of heavy rains.  A few times I found myself waiting in tight technical areas for novice kayaks to navigate which slowed down my overall time.  I was able to pass them as soon as the river opened up and allowed.  Coming down the final stretch there was one last kayak within site I knew I could pass.  I put my head down and paddled hard and fast passing the kayak under the final bridge before the takeout where I had a quick exit and sprint to the finish.   There was a solid group of highly competitive experienced racers with fast kayaks so finishing 8th overall was a good finish for me.  I just received the official results and was surprised to see my finish time which was a race PR for me by over 12 minutes and that they corrected the results moving me into 1st place for my division.  Portage Park District and the army of volunteers did an outstanding job putting on the race.  My only recommendation would be to offer age group awards 3 deep (1st, 2nd, and 3rd) instead of just 1st place especially with the age groups being every 10 years.  It was an outstanding race and I look forward to next year!