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Grand Rapids Olympic Tri

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Scott Mazon

I participated in the 3rd annual Grand Rapids Triathlon on June 9. The event offered athletes a half Ironman, Olympic and sprint triathlons with over 1500 participants.  Each division had a large number of athletes competing with all different skill levels.

This race was to be my first HIM of the season but with continuing knee issues I decided to compete in the Olympic distance.

The swim took place in the river but resembled more of a reservoir; nonetheless, the water slightly chilly (71 degrees) and calm.  The swim course was perfectly marked and easy to sight. When the announcer started us, the furious wave of arms, elbows and feet was overwhelming. It is one of the few times I got punched, kicked and participated in the full contact sport of swimming. It WAS AWESOME! It took about 100 yards to settle out in front of the mayhem. The rest of the swim was uneventful and I was able to exit the water near the front. P.S. They had wet suit strippers!!

The transition area of this race was HUGE. It climbed up a street and was nearly a .35 long (per my GPS).  So after I got to my steed, I quickly took off to the bike course.

The bike course was an “out and back” consisting of mostly flat terrain with a few rollers. I experienced some headwind going out with a nice tailwind on the return (doesn’t always seem that way).  While on the course there was a group of three teammates that were not adhering to the “no drafting” rule and hopefully they got penalized by one of the four USAT officials. It so noticeable a few of the fellow riders were commenting on it while we passed one another.

A quick transition and it was out onto the run course. The tree-lined streets offered much needed shade as the sun and heat began to rise. There were a ton of aid stations offering gels, Gatorade, water and ice (sorry Mark – no Heed). As for my run, I took off conservatively with the hopes of increasing the pace – to monitor my issues. Good news – never experienced pain within the knee area. Bad news – the run was much slower than I would have liked. I pushed the last mile in; however, too little too late.

I guess I just left room for improvement.

MILTONMAN JULY 7TH

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Scott at Miltonman

Scott at Miltonman

SPRINT
MEGAN……2ND OVERALL FEMALE, TIME OF 1:20:54
SCOTT…….2ND OVERALL MALE, TIME OF 1:16:15
MIKE W. ….2ND AGE GROUP, TIME OF 1:29

OLYMPIC
HENRY…1ST AGE GROUP, TIME 2:44:28

Orrville Firecracker 5K

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Ray Fryan

It was a medium-tough rolling course, and I ran a not-so-smart race strategy.  Sub-6:00 n the first two miles, which were hillier, which set me up to bonk a little bit on the flatter last mile at 6:10.  Overall, I ran a 18:16, placed 5th overall, and won my age group.  The funny part of the race was me catching a 14 yr old at about 2.5 miles in, and expecting I could out-kick him.  Youth was served big time.  About 1/4 mile from the finish he showed me that he is 14, and I am not!

North Canton July 4th 5 Mile

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Jeannie Ritchie

I ran the North Canton’s 5 mile race on the 4th.  I was 9th women overall and 1st in my age group with a time of 33:43.

The race had nearly 3000 participants- their best turnout ever.  The race course was nicely marked.  There were a good amount of people standing or sitting in front of their houses cheering the runners on.  There were plenty of water stations.  The course had a good amount of hills and turns.   Josh was able to see me at least 4 or 5 times (Of course he had to run to different spots so he got a good run in too!) They did change the course this year in which the last half mile was run on S. Main St..  It was a pretty decent size finish with arch and clock with the street lined with spectators!  Pretty cool!  It was a tough course but worth it!

Jim Dehner – 1/2 Marathon

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I did the 1/2 marathon in Columbia Station on Sunday – it’s a small, local event with a unique twist – you can either run or in-line skate – and the skaters were out – I guess there just not that many events for skaters.  The course is west of Cleveland and goes through some farm land with rolling hills – The last 3 miles have some significant climbs up to the finish at the local high school – We were fortunate on the course and only had a little light rain – I guess at the finish line there was a period of steady rain –

Since the race was small I was the only guy in my age groups – ran a 2:09 – which is OK for me right now.