7/27/2019

Ohio State Canoe and Kayak Championships.

Fairport Harbor, Ohio

Scott Orlando

5 Mile Kayak Race

Long Boat Class

Finish Time:  51:55

Overall Place:  4th Solo Kayak

Division Place:  3rd Place

Race Recap By Scott Orlando

For the second weekend in a row I found myself competing in a kayak in Fairport Harbor.  Last week on Lake Erie in the Pirate Triathlon and this weekend on the Grand River competing for a state title.   I was struggling all week trying to decide what size kayak and class I would race in this year.  The Stellar S16 Multisport that I won the state title last year for touring / rec class was now considered a racing boat with a new classification system. This year anything composite was considered a racing boat in the 5 mile race.  I brought the Stellar S16 Multisport and a Stellar S14S Multisport with me to the race leaving my fastest and longest Stellar SR Multisport kayak at home.  I can only carry two on my car.  As race time approached no one was yet entered in the medium boat class that I considered racing the Stellar S14 S in so I went with the long boat class and the Stellar S16.  Ten minutes before the race I realized the two fastest paddlers who I expected to be in the unlimited class had registered for the long boat class.  At this point two people did register for the medium boat class.  I heavily considered changing boats and classes to chase glory of a state championship but seeing that the competition in the medium boat class was not very strong I chose to challenge myself and stay in the long boat class.  The race conditions were very good with deep water and very little current.  Right away I found myself chasing a friend who was in a 19′ Stellar SR.  I knew I couldn’t compete with the two fastest paddlers in 18′ racing kayaks so I set my eyes on challenging my friend in his Stellar SR.  I stayed right on his tail never falling more then 10 yards behind him.  The last two miles I was able to close the gap and position a foot behind his rudder in perfect drafting position.  I stayed there until I could see the finish line about a quarter mile down river.  I made my move and started sprinting.  I got about even with his hip and paddled harder and faster.  In the end my 16′ touring kayak just didn’t have the speed to pass the 19′ surfski and he beat me by 10 seconds.  Even though I knew I wouldn’t win the state title this was still by far my most intense kayak race.  I put everything I had into it and won 3rd place in my class and was the 4th fastest solo kayak in the 5 mile race.  I am very proud that I earned 3rd place competing against Ohio’s best rather then dropping down in class and easily winning that division.  I am not sure I would have the same satisfaction.  I knocked 8 minutes off of last year’s time using the same boat.

7/27/2019

Kevin Peck Memorial 5K

Canal Fulton, Ohio

Michael Homula

Finish Time:  20:19

Overall Place:  10th Place

Division Place: 2nd Place

Race Recap By Michael Homula:

The The Kevin Peck Memorial 5k is a fun course that has a long grinding hill at the start and a steeper quarter mile or so hill in the middle but finishes flat on the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail.

I put in some serious work leading up to this race with a goal to break 20:30 today and then break 20:00 by October.

I finished in 20:19 (6:33 pace)
10th Overall
8th among all Men
2nd in the Male 45-49 age group

I can’t say it enough, the Boom Nutrition Carb Boom Energy Gel, taken 20-30 minutes before a race of this distance, kicks in right at the start gun and gives me a great jolt to start, maintain, and finish a 5k strong.

The Cocoa Elite Plant Based Cocoa Peanut Banana Complete Body Protein is AMAZING for recovery. It also fits in well to my new plant based diet I have been on since early June.

I can’t recommend these products highly enough because, just being honest, THEY ACTUALLY WORK. I know! I log tons of miles and compete regularly and I know my performance is enhanced by these great products.

7/21/2019

Jim Klett Memorial 10K

Munroe Falls, Ohio

Josh Ritchie

Finish Time:  45:07

Overall Place:  4th Place

Division Place:  1st Place

Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  57:35

Overall Place:  25th Place

Division Place:  3rd Place

Race Recap By Josh Ritchie:

Josh Ritchie ran the SARC 10K in honor of Jim Klett, founding member of the Summit Athletic Running Club, est 1968. Jim Klett’s daughter Linda Travorrow and Jim’s granddaughter where at the finish to greet runners back home. Josh finished forth overall with a time of 25:07, which is a 7:16 per mile pace. The course ran around Munroe Falls Metro pack: round the lake on the road and grass, up the sledding hill, thru the woods (great trail to run on), then connected to the trail @ Tallmadge Meadows. Overall a great course to run on, offering mud, shade, sun, hills ect. The weather was hot mid 80’s and very humid.  Thank you Summit Athletic Running Club for another great event.

7/21/2019

Fairport Harbor Triathlon and Paddle Triathlon

Fairport Harbor, Ohio

Scott Orlando

Paddle Triathlon

Finish time 1:24:08

Overall Place:  4th Place

Division Place:  2nd Place

Race Recap By Scott Orlando:

The formerly named Fairport Harbor Lighthouse Triathlon was re branded this year as the Pirate Triathlon.   This is always a fun race for me because of the option of competing as a traditional swimming  triathlon or as a paddle triathlon in a kayak, canoe, or even with a paddle board.  The added race options increases the participation which creates more energy and excitement on the course.  This year the race was hot and humid with thunderstorms lurking early during pre race.  Luckily the storms moved on but were quickly replaced with hot sunshine, escalating temperatures, and high humidity.  The longer the race went on the worse the conditions got.  I chose to use my Stellar S16 sea kayak for the paddle leg which was the right decision.  From shore Lake Erie looked calm but that was far from the case.  About half way to the turn around buoy conditions got tough with heavy side swell and waves.  I got tossed around a lot but managed to make it through the tough spots.  Conditions improved after the turn around as you got closer to the finish.  I was able to make up ground on the top boats improving on my slow start.  One of the top participants didn’t fair as well in the tough conditions electing to use a faster but less stable kayak and ended up in the water.  He did recovery and went on to finish 7th overall.  I was the 4th or 5th boat out of the water headed to the bike transition.  The transition area was muddy with standing water from the storms.  I must say it really started to smell ripe once the sun started beating down.  The race officials did adjust the transition area and finish area to deal with the mud the best they could.  My bike leg was better then expected.  I was able to catch and pass a few people on the fast and flat course.  Another muddy and smelly transition and it was back out for the run.  The run was toughest part of the race.  The sun was out, temperatures where getting higher by the minute, and there was no shade anywhere on the course.  It took me about 3/4 of a mile to settle into my running legs before I was able to get into a good rhythm.  The heat slowed everyone down.  I managed one of the faster run splits and was able to pass several runners including one final runner about 2.5 miles into the race that I thought might be in the paddle triathlon.  I thought I was somewhere between 3rd and 5th overall at this point and the thought of finishing 3rd overall inspired me to push hard to pass the final runner.  I quickly learned that my efforts earned me 4th place overall which is my highest overall finish place at this race.  My finish time also may have been a PR at this race for me.  I thought that would secure 1st place in my division but surprisingly to everyone only 1st place overall was awarded in the paddle triathlon no 2nd place or 3rd place overall awards.  This pushed me back to 2nd in my age division behind the 2nd place overall winner who took 1st place in my age division.  Lake County Metro Parks did another outstanding job with the race.  The new pirate them was a big hit.  They even had a pirate ship float that made for some great post race pictures.  Race swag included pirate themed tech shirts and beer barrel inspired pirate drinking glasses for awards.

7/21/2019

Cleveland Triathlon

Cleveland, Ohio

Loretta Harland

Olympic Distance

Finish Time:  3:08:01

Overall Place:  54th Place

Division Place:  1st Place

7/13/2019

Andrea Rose Teodosia 5K

Akron, Ohio

Ken Frankenbery

Finish Time: 21:24

Overall Place:  46th Place

Division Place:  1st Place

Race Recap By Ken Frankenbery:

This race is a favorite of mine. A great cause, its well run, lots of top runners, and a flat fast course make for a cool event. Because of construction in downtown Akron, they had to modify course, making it a little harder (couple tight turns-small grades) but not bad at all.

This year I finished in 21:24, 46th overall, 1st in my age group- a great day!!

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!

7/4/2019

Rain Tree 5K

Green, Ohio

Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  25:25

Overall Place:  19th

Division Place:  1st Place

Mike Williams

Finish Time:  26:34

Overall Place:  26th

Division Place:  2nd Place

7/4/2019

Wapakoneta Firecracker 5K

Wapakoneta, Ohio

Steve Zenar

Finish Time:  23:15

Overall Place:  37 / 388

Division Place:  4 / 11

Race Recap By Steve Zenar

I Finally completed my first race for 2019!

I Participated in the Wapakoneta, Ohio Firecracker 5K.   It was a hot but fast race course with 388 people out on the course this morning. I finished in 37th Place overall and 4th in my age group with a time of 23:15 or a 7:30/mile pace. For me this year this was my fastest 5K.  I started with a 1st mile PR time for 2019 of 6:54, but unfortunately this came back to get me in mile 3.

Feeling good after the race I got to enjoy some boating and fireworks on Grand Lake St Marys.
I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July and I am looking forward to finding some races in the Cleveland / Akron area in the near future.

7/4/2019

Twin Sizzler

Medina, Ohio

5K  Run , 10K Run , and 27 Mile Bike Race

Loretta Harland

5K Run

Finish Time 25:43

Overall Place:  235 / 653

Division Place:  3 / 28

27 Mile Bike Race

Finish Time:  1:42:14

Overall Place: 125 / 177

Division Place:  1 / 8