8/13/2022 Akron Marathon Race Series Goodyear Half Marathon and 10K Akron, Ohio

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8/13/2022

Akron Marathon Race Series Goodyear Half Marathon and 10K

Akron, Ohio

Half Marathon

Jobadiah Christiansen

Finish Time:  1:10:37

Overall Place:  4th Place / 772

Division Place:  3rd Place / 62

Roy Miller

Finish Time:  1:35:34

Overall Place:  80th Place / 772

Division Place:  5th Place / 38

Kristi Gunyula

Finish Time:  1:42:04

Overall Place:  123rd Place / 772

Division Place:  1st Place / 49

Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  1:50:44

Overall Place:  213th Place / 772

Division Place:  4th Place / 49

10K

Asad Khan

Finish Time:  51:26

Overall Place:  180th Place / 1012

Division Place:  11th Place / 42

Veronica Neubert

Finish Time:  52:36

Overall Place:  205th Place / 1012

Division Place:  10th Place / 111

Kevin Christensen

Finish Time:  57:31

Overall Place:  336th Place / 1012

Division Place:  12th Place / 33

Thank you to Cleopatra Sirnic Clifford for volunteering to help at the race.

 

7/28/2022 Ken Frankenbery Windsor 100 Mile Gravel Ride Windsor, Canada

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7/28/2022

Windsor 100 Mile Gravel Ride

Windsor, Canada

Ride Recap By Ken Frankenbery:

This 100 mile/160 km route touches the shores of Lake Erie, Lake St Clair and the Detroit River. Between the lakes, the route passes through broad expanses of farmland and small towns. The route is a mix of gravel roads, rail trails, county roads with paved shoulders, residential streets, paved township roads and multiuse trails.

It was unbelievable that we left directly from our Hampton inn motel in downtown Windsor and within minutes our group of 5 were funneled into a city park with a wide paved bike path that wound its way south through the city.  The route jumped off the paved bike path several times incorporating dirt trails into the loop that eventually funneled back to bike path.  After heading south, the route went on some small local roads before turning East as we paralleled Lake Erie with great views, bathrooms and water fountains to refill bottles.  The route jumped from bike paths along the shore to local access roads before turning North on gravel roads. We made a fast stop at local gas station to refuel. We then passed hundreds of acres of giant greenhouses.   A local rider we road with told us they grew tomatoes, lettuce and cannabis. It was obvious which one’s held cannabis as they had barbed wire fencing and security cameras were everywhere.  We then passed hundreds of giant windmills which should have been a warning to what was to happen when we turned West.  A killer 40 mph head wind!  Luckily gravel roads went West then shifted North, and then back and forth.  This broke up stretches of head wind. Hitting Lake St Clair the route traveled on lake front roads passing giant lake front homes before cutting into a area known as “ The Hillbilly Riviera “.  All I will say is it’s a series of old cottages that looked like you were in rural West Virginia. From there more lake front bike paths funneling into a river front path that followed the Detroit River.  Views were awesome, and more bathrooms with water fountains before turning South into Windsor.  Jumping off the bike path into a industrial parkway had us back at the Motel in just over 7 hours ride time.

A great day and fantastic route!

8/6/2022 Nancy Wardell Millersburg Food Run 5K Millersburg, Ohio

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8/6/2022

Millersburg Food Run 5K

Millersburg, Ohio

Nancy Wardell

Finish Time:  28:42

Overall Place:  8th Place

Division Place 2nd Place

Race Recap By Nancy Wardell:

I completed the Millersburg Food Run 5k this morning and it felt great!  Legs are feeling stronger and I finished the race at 28 minutes 42 seconds with an average pace of 9 minutes and 15 seconds!  Not many people were running this morning, but I finished 2nd in my age group and was thankful for the awesome peaches and giveaways at the race!

8/3/2022 Scott Orlando Turtle Trot 5K Hilton Head, SC

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8/3/2022

Turtle Trot 5K

Hilton Head, South Carolina

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  23:31

Overall Place:  20th Place / 213

Division Place 2nd Place

Race Recap By Scott Orlando

This was the third time I have competed in the Turtle Trot 5K which has become an annual tradition for my niece and I to run together while on vacation.  The Turtle Trot 5K is offered every Wednesday during the summer on the island of Hilton Head with proceeds being donated to the local turtle preservation organization.   The race typically draws 250 – 600 participants weekly.  This is a unique race course that is entirely on the beach of Hilton Head.  Being this race was in the middle of my vacation I wanted to run fast enough to post a decent time but slow enough to enjoy the experience of running on the beach.  The start and finish area of the race is actually in the middle of the the course.  Runners head west about 3/4 of a mile to a turnaround point then back east past the start area and continue another 3/4 before turning again to head west to the finish line.  It is actually a smart course design placing a mandatory water stop in the middle of the course.   The firmly packed sand makes for a nice running surface.  The temperature and humidity were both high at the start of the race nearing 80 degrees.   The running conditions changed drastically depending on which direction and part of the course runners were on.   Heading West there was a nice breeze and the sun on your back.  Heading East the sun was bright in your face and there was no breeze so you really felt the humidity and 80 degree temperature.   My average mile pace stayed pretty consistent throughout the race slowing some during the Eastern segments of the course and speeding up on the Western segments.   I wanted to stay around a 7:30 pace and finished averaging just under that pace with a finish time of 23:31.  Now awards are offered at the race but looking at the results I was 20th overall and 2nd in my age division.   All race participants received nice turtle themed t-shirts.

7/30/2022 Maria Stadelman Bossard, Jobadiah Christiansen, Kristi Gunyula, Christine Churpek, Cleopatra Sirnic Clifford, And Renee Buckus Burning River 100 Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

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7/30/2022

Burning River 100 Mile,  50 Mile, and 100 Mile Relay Race

50 Mile Race

Maria Stadelaman Bossard

Finish Time:   11:56:24

Overall Place:  88th Place / 249

Division Place:  3rd Place Overall Female Finisher.

100 Mile Relay

Coed 8 Person Relay Team

North Water Brewing Trail Zombies

Jobadiah Christiansen and Christine Churpek

Finish Time:  16:39:33

Overall Place:  5th Place / 39

Run Like A Mother

Cleopatra Sirnic Clifford

Renee Buckus

Finish Time:  20:16:15

Overall Place:  16th Place / 39

All Female Relay Team

Chicks That Kick

Kristi Gunyula

Finish Time:  22:43:34

Overall Place:  2nd Place / 8

7/23/2022 Scott Orlando Blazing Paddles Kayak Race Cleveland, Ohio

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7/23/2022

Blazing Paddles Paddlefest

Cleveland, Ohio

6.8 Mile Kayak Race

Fast Sea Kayak Class

Scott Orlando

Finish Time:  1:08:49

Overall Place:  9th Place

Division Place:  3rd Place In The Fast Sea Kayak Class

Race Recap By Scott Orlando

This was my second time participating in the Blazing Paddles Paddlefest.   The Paddlefest featured a 14.2 mile race, 6.8 mile race, 3.2 mile race, plus 3 and 5 mile races for paddleboards.   A recreational float was also offered for non competitive paddlers.   This year’s event sold out with 100 paddlers in the competitive races and over 500 in the recreational float.   I competed in the fast sea kayak class of the 6.8 mile race.   The new course configuration added a section heading North a half mile rounding a buoy then heading south back past the start line.  I was a little skeptical of the new course knowing that 500 recreational paddlers would be released on the river after the start of the competitive races.  Thy smartly held back the start of the recreational paddlers until the competitive racers rounded the buoy and passed the start point heading South.  This made for a huge crowd and a lot of energy as we crossed back past the start area.   The river was calm with few waves and there wasn’t much current.  It did rain off and on during the race but it was light and not a factor.   I wasn’t sure where I was in the in the positioning until we hit the South 4 mile turnaround buoy.  From there I could count the kayaks ahead of me that made the turn.  Several kayaks ahead of me continued on the 14.2 mile course which did not turn.   I realized I was in 3rd place in my class an in contention of getting on the podium.  This gave me some motivation and energy to push hard through the up river section to the finish.  I could see the 2nd place kayak in my division just ahead of me.   I was able to make up some ground but not enough to catch him and finished just 30 seconds behind with a finish time of 1:08:49 which put me 9th overall and 3rd in my class.   The event was well organized by Share The River and North Coast Multisports.   This was the largest paddle event I have ever attended.  I have never seen so many paddlers in the water at one time which was an amazing site.   The course was really fun passing so many downtown Cleveland Iconic landmarks including the Terminal Tower, the casino, Progressive Field, The Guardians on the bridge,  the historic fire fighting barge that helped put out the historic river fire that the race is named after, and of course the spot of the river fire.  The fire fighting barge had all of its water cannons blasting creating an arch that we paddled under which was pretty awesome.   All participants received nice t-shirts and a sticker.  Winners received race themed hats and a print of the downtown river area.   It was great to see so many of my kayak friends from Performance Kayak and other teams that I often race against.   This was no doubt one of the largest paddling events in Ohio and I expect it to only get bigger next year.   If you are a competitive or recreational paddler put this event on your calendar for next year!