5/20/2018

Matt Addessi

Ohio Eastern Time Trials Race #2

Deerfield, OH

Finish Time:  28:41

Overall Place:  3rd place

Division Place:  2nd place.

Race Recap By Matt Addessi

5/20/2018

Cleveland Half Marathon

Chris Brown

Finish Time:  3:25:22

Division Place:  43rd

Gender Place:  2135

Overall Place:  4010

5/19/2018

Scott Orlando

Akron Paddle and Portage Race

Akron, Ohio

Finish Time:  NA

Finish Place:  4th overall

Race Review By Scott Orlando

The Akron Paddle and Portage Race is an interesting kayak and canoe race held in the lakes and canals of Akron Ohio.  The concept of the race is to honor the tradition of the Native Americans who paddled and carried their boats through Summit County.  The course is diverse crossing two lakes and winding its way through the historic Ohio Erie Canals.  Participants paddle around 5 miles and than can choose a short portage of half a mile or a long portage of 1.5 miles along the towpath trail to the finish.   I had planned on using a light 16′ kayak for the race but that boat go stuck in PA so I used a shorter but much heavier molded kayak.  The kayak was no mach in the water for several much lighter racing boats in the field and I struggled to portage the 55 pound boat the half mile to the finish.  I really enjoyed the paddle, but the portage not so much.  This was just the second year for the race.  I plan to work with the organizers to help improve the race for next year.  The race was a nice value as participants received custom shirts, wooden hand made finisher medals, a box lunch and locally brewed craft sodas.

5/12/2018

Sweat Now Wine Later Race

2 mile kayak and 2 mile run race

Gervasi Winery Canton, OH

Tori Hargett

Finish Time:  45:03

Finish Place:  68th overall

Scott Orlando

Finish Time 35:50

Finish Place:  2nd overall

Race Review by Scott Orlando

Sweat Now Wine Later is another sold out race organized by the fine people at Run Canton.  This year almost 400 people competed in the 2 mile kayak 2 mile run event held at the beautiful Gervasi Winery.  A quick school bus ride to the starting area and then the race begins by sprinting to the creek and hopping into the waiting kayaks.  Everyone uses the same kayaks that are supplied making this a beginner friendly multi sport race everyone can enjoy.  Racers are set off one at a time time trial style.  I quickly ran into trouble on the kayak when I realized I was handed a paddle with a blade on backwards.  I was already away from shore so switching paddles was not an option.  I wasted a solid minute trying to correct the paddle but the 2 pieces were jammed together so I had to kayak the entire race with the blade facing the wrong way.  The water level was very low and kayaks were stuck on rocks around every bend of the creek.  I managed to keep a fairly clean line scraping rocks and the bottom a lot but never really getting that hung up.  The run is on the crushed limestone trails that head back to Gervasi for the finish.  I missed winning the race by just 61 seconds and I know I spent more time than that trying to fix the backward paddle blade.  Had I been provided functional paddle I think I would have had a great shot at winning, but that’s racing.  No complaints or excuses.  In every race their are obstacle you have to overcome and adapt.  I am actually pretty proud that my kayak experience helped me beat everyone but one person with just half a paddle.  Congratulations to Team ER member Tori Hargett who completed her first multi sport race and finished 68th overall.  As always Run Canton put on a great event.  Participants received  great race swag including tech shirts, wine stopper finisher medals, and vouchers for food or wine at Gervasi.  This is a short race but one of my favorites.

4/29/2018

Hall Of Fame Marathon and Half Marathon

Canton, OH

Mike Williams

Full Marathon

Finish Time: 4:39:24

Overall Finish:  398 / 617

Male Finish Place:  294 / 400

Age Division:  44 / 62

Masters Division:  97 / 139

Loretta Harland

Half Marathon

Finish Time: 159:17

Overall Finish:  532 / 2205

Female Finish Place:  201 / 1297

Age Division:  11 / 111

4/28/2018

Scott Orlando

Grand River Kayak Race

Geneva Ohio

Finish Time: 1:26;37

Age Division 2nd place

Overall Place 7th overall

Race Review By Scott Orlando

This year’s Grand River Canoe and Kayak Race was not for the faint of heart.  The air temperature was 38 degrees and the pouring rains and windy conditions made it feel more like 29 degrees.  The race was postponed a week due to unsafe river conditions from heavy rains the week before the original race date.  Water conditions for the race were better than in past years but still a little low with a depth of just over 2′ 6″ and a flow rate of 800-900 cubic feet per second.  Ideally a depth of 3 feet and a flow rate between 1000 -2000 cubic feet per second is more desirable.  The depth was a little low but not horrible if you stayed on your line.  There were two spots in the river on the 8.5 mile course that were very shallow and boats got hung up on the rocks.  I scraped over my share of rocks but managed to keep a clean line avoiding any major hang ups or eddies.  I had a horrifically slow start deciding to take the extra time to race with a spay skirt and thermal paddle gloves.  I lost valuable time trying to get the gloves off and then back on as my GPS failed to start.  Once I got moving I was able to catch and pass the other kayaks in my start heat.  I knew I would start slow but My plan was that by staying warm and dry I would be more efficient down the home stretch in the last few miles of the race.  The spray skirt along with some new Lava Flow paddle pants from Xterra Wetsuits and a new splash jacket I won at a race last year did a great job keeping me warm and comfortable in the cold conditions.  I ran a pretty clean race and was able to for the 4th year in a row place 2nd in my age division.  Last year I was 10th overall in small kayak class so I did improve on last year’s time and moved up 3 spots in the overall results so I am pleased with my performance.  Lake Metro Parks once again did a great job orchestrating a safe and excellent event.

Matt Addessi

4/22/2018

Eastern Ohio Time Trials Bike Race

Deerfield, OH

Finish Time:  29:32

Overall Finish:  5th place overall

Division Place:  1st place age division

Race Recap:

4/14/2018

Gretchen Snyder

Black Squirrel 5K

Kent, OH

Finish Time:  24:14

Age Division:  2nd place

Gender Division:  12th place

Overall Finish:  40/466

Race review by Gretchen Snyder.

The rain held out for my third black squirrel 5K race! 24:14 was a course record
for me.  There were a lot of hills and I definitely felt the burn!  The race was
well organized ,as always.  At packet pick up, runners were given a single tech T-shirt.
However, the breakfast buffet following the race made up the difference.  Food
provided included chili, juice, bananas, apples, oranges, yogurt and bagels.
Over 500 runners signed up and just under 500 actually ran.  I placed 12th in
overall females, 2nd in my age group, and 40th overall.  My GPS showed I
actually ran 3.2 miles.

Cody Stockert

4/7/2018

Funny Bunny 4 Mile Run Race

Canton, OH

Finish Time:  31:50

Age Division:  1st place

Gender Division: 7th place

Overall Finish:  24/386

Jobadiah Christiansen

3/31/2018

Run to The Beach 5K

Portage Lakes, Ohio

Finish Time:  18:00

Finish Place:  2nd Overall

Age Division: 1st Place