Author Archives: Scott Orlando

7/16/2022 Scott Orlando Lake Metro Parks Pirate Triathlon Fairport Harbor, Ohio

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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 Kristi Gunyula Christine Churpek, Cleopatra Sirnic Clifford, And Nancy Wardell Women’s 6K Festival Canton, Ohio

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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

 

7/8/2023 Scott Orlando Headwaters Adventure Race Mantua, Ohio

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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!

7/4/2023 Scott Orlando, Christine Churpek, Kris Engstrom, Peter Heroux, Gretchen Snyder, And Nancy Wardell Raintree 5K Uniontown, Ohio

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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.