Submitted by Dave Miceli:
Name: NEO Triathlon Kickoff / June 13th, 2010
Time: 1hr 4min 38sec
Place: 1st overall
The North East Ohio Triathlon Kickoff at Clay’s park is a great place to begin your triathlon season. The race is put on by champracing.org and they really do a fantastic job. Also, the venue is Clay’s park which just happens to be a great camping area complete with many activities for one to do with family and friends.
The race begins in a lake about 50meters from the transition area. The swim course is a rectangle and this year there was 3 waves separated by 10minutes. The swim is 500meters long and the separation of the starting groups really allowed for a relatively non-combative swim. The water temperature was nice and cool and the water was very flat with no waves – this really is a great place to swim for athletes of all abilities and experience levels.
The bike course at this venue is not easy. The athlete must be extremely careful upon exiting/entering the park area as the road is full of big potholes. Once onto the rode you ride 6.5miles out and then 6.5miles back for a total of 13miles on the bike portion of the race. The out portion of the bike has many climbs that will definitely make for some rapid breathing patterns. The great thing about this is that once you get to the halfway point, you turn around and fly back home. The bike course is very well marked and there were police vehicles at every major intersection which really made the athlete feel safe.
Once you return from the bike you get to start your 5K run (3.1miles). The run course is two laps within the campgrounds on roads with some short areas of dirt paths. The run course is fair with some small up/down grades throughout. The course is extremely well marked which is really the biggest aid that can be given to the athlete at this portion of the race.
Everything about the NEO Kickoff is great. The course is very fair and the setup done by champracing is fantastic. After the race there is plenty of goodies and even hot pancakes which I personally loved. The best part of this race is the many local athletes that you can reconnect with and discuss the winter/training/race etc. This was my second time racing the NEO Kickoff and I can guarantee that it will not be the last.