Wooster Half (Buhler’s Heart and Sole Run) on 8/20. 5th overall at 1:27:36, 1st in 50-59 age group. Next up AKRON marathon relay.

MONT-TREMBLANT, IRONMAN CANADA……August 21 2016
Swim: 1:11:55
Bike 7:18:10
Run 4:40:35
Overall 13:25:26

20th age group

Ironman 70.3 Ohio
Delaware, OH
08/21/16

Time: 05:14:52
Place: 26 AG, 197 OA

Our bikes stayed intact in T1 despite tornados the night before the race with the weather breaking nicely on race day-temps in the mid to high 70’s, dry with some wind. I started the triangle shaped swim course in Delaware Lake (water temp 79 degrees) 48min after the sound of the cannon in wave 13 with expected congestion throughout. The bike course was flat and fast despite many turns with some rollers in the last 10-15 miles on country roads, single lane at times, with the last 1 mile being on a paved bike trail into T2. T2 was on the field in Selby Stadium at Ohio Wesleyan University with the run taking us out on rural streets outside of town, a 2 loop course with rolling hills and some shade along the Olentangy River. A stadium finish on the track back in the stadium made for a great end to my 2nd 70.3 race! As expected for an Ironman event, this was a large race (selling out in the first 48hrs last fall) that was well organized, participant friendly with great support throughout.

There was a strong showing of many in and out of state triathlon teams at this race. Chris Schmauder and I represented Team ER at this inaugural Ironman 70.3 event.

Ran the 5th leg of Burning River. 3:31:42 overall 13:19/M
16.78 miles. Team Crazy Eights finished 26 in coed division

Pittsburgh Triathlon and Adventure Triathlon

Adventure Triathlon 2 mile kayak, 20K bike and 5K run

Finish Time 1:07:33

16th overall

4th in age division

Race Review

This was my first time competing in the Pittsburgh Triathlon. I have stayed away from this race in the past because of the price. The race course is centered around Pittsburgh’s beautiful Point Park. The water leg of the race was cancelled due to unsafe sewage levels in the river. This year’s race was turned into a duathlon. The bike leg was mostly on the HOV lanes of the highway around the city on an out and back course. The first 6 miles of the bike course are a low grade steady incline. Once you hit the turnaround point it quickly becomes much faster as it’s all downhill back to the transition area. The out and back run course is flat and scenic as it follows a paved trail along Point Park and the river front. The entire race course provides nice scenic views of the rivers and downtown attractions and stadiums. The greatest challenge in completing this year’s race was the high temperature and extremely high humidity. Race time temperatures where in the mid 80’s with high humidity making it feel like the mid 90’s. Even though this race was expensive there was a lot of added value. The race organizers offered a free reception with drinks and outstanding food the night before the race. Every participant received a very nice high quality tech shirt, finisher medal, and draw string bag filled with samples from vendors and sponsors. Free live participant tracking was available. There was a nice vendor expo during registration, before, and after the race. Most vendors provided additional product samples and prize raffles. They even offered free medal engraving at participating local Dick’s Sporting Goods stores. If you plan to participate in this race next year register early for the best pricing and take advantage of all that is offered.

South Bend Indiana Xterra, off road Triathlon – 8-6-2016

Race is held at Potato State Park- about 20 miles south of South Bend Indiana.

The swim is in a decent sized lake, but they had a outbreak of blue/ green algae that made water conditions less than ideal. The swim was listed as ½ mile, but believe it was closer to ¾ of a mile. Bike loop was 2 loops on a tight 8-mile single track trail. The run was a 4.2 mile off road loop, with a few small hills

The weather outlook was perfect- low 80’s, Friday I pre rode mountain bike loop with Kurt- it helped to know the trail, passing would be a challenge

Race morning was a perfect day.

My swim was decent. I got behind the main pack, and was able to draft at times, and felt comfortable. I was 43rd out of 103 coming out of the swim, and passed 2 people in transition. I hit the bike hard, most people were good about moving when you caught them and so I passed close to 20 people. As I hit the run, I felt really strong and passed 7 people to finish first in my class and 16th overall

This was my last race before National Championships in Utah in mid-September- so feeling like everything is coming together.

Ken

Fairport Harbor Lighthouse Triathlon July 17th 2016

Fairport Harbor, Ohio

2K kayak, 20K bike, 5K run.

1st place overall kayak relay team.

Finish time: 1:22:16

Review.

The Fairport Harbor Lighthouse Triathlon is one of my favorites. Fairport Harbor Beach is a beautiful setting for a race and the course is fast and flat. I usually compete as an individual in the kayak division of this race but because I raced solo the day before I enlisted the help of a few Team ER teammates to compete in the relay. I started the race in the 2K kayak. There were clearly a lot less competitors in kayaks this year probably due to the 2 other adventure triathlons being held the same weekend. The water was calm with little wind. From the turn to the first buoy 4 boats separated from the pack. We left the rest of the field well behind. I was 4th out of the water behind the overall winner, the 3rd place overall winner, and another relay team kayak. I beat my kayak split time from last year by a few seconds. Stacy Rhea took over in the bike leg. Other than a small hill at the start, the course is fairly flat. Stacy rocked the 20K bike course in 36:30 making up a lot of ground on the relay team in front of us. Gretchen Schnee Snyder anchored the running leg. Gretchen battled the rising humidity and intense sun to pass the leading relay team runner and bring home the victory for Team ER. Lake Metro Parks always puts on a great event. They did however manage to miscalculate the number of awards needed for the race. We will be receiving our 1st play kayak relay team awards in the mail.

Headwaters Adventure Triathlon July 16th 2016

Mantua, Ohio

2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 5 mile kayak.

8th overall and 2nd in age division.

Finish time: 1:53:54

Review.

The Portage Park District resurrected one of the area’s best adventure triathlons. The race was not held last year due to lack of volunteers to organize the race. The race starts with an out and back 2 mile flat trail run. Unfortunately the turnaround point was not marked or monitored. At 2.2 miles or so down the trail the leading group of runners realized this and created their own turnaround point. In a show of good sportsmanship the majority of the runners went to the same spot established by the lead runners before turning. The run ended up being 2.4 – 2.5 miles. The bike leg of this race is through the rolling hills of Hiram and Mantua. The bike course ends at Camp Hi in Hiram for the kayak leg of the race. The water was low and slow in the Cuyahoga River. I spent the first 2 miles really paddling hard with little efficiency. It wasn’t until a few boats passed me that I realized my rudder was hitting a lot of seaweed creating enormous drag. I pulled my rudder out of the water and it felt like an anchor was removed! I quickly got by the few boats that had previously passed me and gained on the boats in front of me. I believe had I not used my rudder in the first 2 miles I would have finished 5th overall. The race was well organized. Nice tech shirts were provided to all participants. This race has a few things to tweak for next year but for the first year back it was well organized and had great participation.