new blog, same dog

A few months ago, we started the barrietriathlonclub.blogspot.com blog so that when people researched our club, they would be able to find it easier. Also, it made sense to have the blog url match the club name. But have no fear! All those posts on the old blog are still there! (it is the internet afterall...nothing gets completely erased). You can find all the entries dating back to the inaugural Kempenfelt Triathlon Club at http://kempenfelttriathlonclub.blogspot.ca/ 

Racine 70.3

Jamie Nielsen competed in the Racine 70.3 in July. The following is his entry from his blog: http://trikinggator.blogspot.ca/ 

My best swim to date, a great bike split, but my run time something i've already forgotten about. The beaches of Lake Michigan are beautiful. Clean and very much spectator friendly is the entire event. I'd rate Racine right at the top of one of the best 70.3 events I've attended. The only down fall were road conditions were mediocre to poor. Many racers were troubled by the continual roughness unlike Mont Tremblant where the road conditions were practically flawless. Racine 80,000 people is located right on Lake Michigan between Milwaukee and Chicago. A pretty friendly community. The downtown has many unique artistic boutique shops along with the Racine Art Museum. For followers of Frank Lloyd Wright there are buildings to be explored. In addition, Racine is about 3 hours from Green Bay and about 2.5 hrs from Madison which is also home to Trek. My bike of choice. One thing about being in the 45 -49 age category is you usually get to start the race in one of the later waves. At 70.3 Racine we started in the 18th Wave of 23. That means the Pros go off at 7 am and my age category starts about 7:53 AM just that much later in the day when the sun will be that much warmer. Most athletes were struggling with the heat and perhaps the bumpiness of the bike course, when it came to run. I remember going into T2 already feeling zapped. I knew my legs were gone (a first for me). Regardless, push on finish strong. I began walking a lot. I thought to myself give it a little time and the leg strength will return. The end result was a 2 hr 16 min half marathon run. Ouch! On the bright side I did run a negative split. 70.3 Racine is a race I will do again. In summary, to the State of Wisconsin, invest in repaving the bike course and 70.3 Racine will be one of the most beautiful events Ironman has.

Ironman Lake Placid - A volunteer's perspective

In July, Ken Scott travelled to Lake Placid to volunteer for the annual Ironman. Here is his story:

Double Duty at IMLP

In a moment of weakness, I signed up for a morning shift at bike aid station 6 and an evening of “catching” at the IMLP finish line.  Bike aid station 6 was well chosen, perhaps 5 miles down the road from the KOA campground.  The finish chute, not so much.  More on that later.

Lake Placid is 7 or 8 hours from Alliston, depending on how heavy your right foot is.  Mine’s lost weight as I’ve “matured”, so, leaving at 9:00 I arrived at the KOA around 4:30.  The return trip took a full 8 hours, the additional time chewed up by a senseless traffic snarl on the 401 between Shannonville and Belleville and the ludicrous mess of an interchange from 401W to 400N.  Missed the exit and had to take the scenic tour of Weston.  I crossed at Ogdensburg (bridge toll $2.75, either currency) and used routes 68, 56, 3 and 86.  With two short bridge construction projects on 56, this route was excellent.  I’d love to do it in a fast car with enough money to pay the speeding tickets.

The KOA is a KOA.  What can you say.  The RVs were tightly packed, while the most basic tent sites had a decent amount of room on the fringes, where it was quiet, with enough trees that the rain on Saturday night barely got through.  Just outside the campground, cliffs and a tightrope across a deep pool in a whitewater section of the Ausable river provided adventure for those bold enough to drop the roughly 25 feet into the river and entertainment for chicken like me to watch.  It is a good place to stay if you’re at bike station 6.  Nearby Wilmington features an A&W that is a throwback to the 1950s.  The layout is the same as the first A&W I ever encountered, at Lake Pepin, Wisconsin, in 1956.  The girls on skates were no longer there, nor were the trays that hung from the car window (refer American Graffitti).  Nothing else much was changed.  Hours of business:  11:00am to 7:00 pm!

Bike station 6 was run the way bike station should be run.  Pairs of widely separated tables for Gatorade Perform, water, food, water, Gatorade Perform.  A cryer up the road calling the order, and a bank of porta-potties and the exit end.  There was a pair of canopies sheltering refreshments for the crew.  Most of the time there was an ambulance on site.  When one was called away, another replaced it.  We had a full time ham radio volunteer, so communication was constant.  All in all, well done.

With #86 closed for the tri, getting to LP for the finish line gig was not so easy.  North to Wilmington, west to St. Armand, south to Saranac Lake and east to LP.  57 km of twisty back roads, the sort that gets clogged by drivers who have nowhere to go and all day to get there.  It took well over an hour.

Parking was not the problem I expected, as 4 lots had been set up, with shuttle busses every 15 min to within 5 min walk of the finish line.  The finish line was on the back stretch of the Olympic speed skating oval, which in turn enclosed the transition and the M.A.S.H. tent.  Good security kept it clear of anyone who did not have business there.  Compared to IMC, the only deficiency I could see was that with the space constraints the oval presented, refreshments for staff and volunteers were outside the secured area at the top of a set of stairs.  It worked, but took longer than the on-site pizza at IMC.  Transition being a couple of 100 metres from the lake meant that finishers couldn’t go for a cool-down soaking either, as they can at IMC.  On the other hand, no kids got into the finish chute as always happens at IMC, often to the detriment of other competitors.

Leaving at 11:30 was easy.  I crashed a couple of barricades before finding one that was in the process of being taken down.  The barricades blocked Main Street which was already well populated with athletes and spectators returning to cars and hotels.  Back at the KOA, it was so dark that I had to leave the car lights on to find my flashlight in my tent.

Huronia Triathlon - Club Championships

This year's Club Championships were moved our own backyard: the Huronia Triathlon. This race became a Multisport Canada event (having been independent for years), and became the Triathlon Ontario Club Championships. There were a variety of races held: Kids of Steel, Olympic Distance, Sprint Distance, and Try-a-Tri. The Baydogs did extremely well, showing a lot of spirit and many accomplished their first longer triathlon.

Special mention goes to Kellie McNabb for completing her very first Sprint Triathlon! Way to go Kellie! Kellie made the jump from Try-a-Tri to Sprint, and did extremely well by overcoming her fear of the clipless pedal!

Muskoka 5150 and Toronto Triathlon Festival

July saw two new/re-invented races join the summer circuit. Muskoka replaced their popular long course with a new 5150 event, which is the same distance as a traditional Olympic distance triathlon, while also offering a Sprint distance race. Toronto introduced the inaugural Toronto Triathlon Festival (TTF). Promoted by the great Simon Whitfield, the TTF offered an Olympic distance and a Sprint distance race.

5150: Brad Momberg, Mark Deslaurier, Kevin O'Neill, Taylor Pieprzak, and Keith Hodgson tackled the heat and the hills of Muskoka and threw down some great performances!

Toronto Triathlon Festival: Jeff Moyle rode up and down the Don Valley Parkway in the Olympic race. Being the first year for this event, glitches were expected, but many did enjoy the ability to race in downtown Toronto on what could potentially be the course used for the 2015 Pan-Am Games triathlon. Also, Marc Rodaro competed in the Sprint race against Canadian Olympians Simon Whitfield and Paula Findlay!! He gave them a run for their money as they got ready for London 2012.

Mont Tremblant 70.3

In June, a pack of dogs invaded the quiet resort of Mont Tremblant for the inaugural Mont Tremblant 70.3. These dogs swam, biked, and ran through the Laurentians, putting everything on the line, and showing what Baydogs from Barrie are made of! Bradley Momberg, Jamie Nielsen, Kevin O'Neill, Greg Cormack, and Genevieve Blais brought their experience and speed to this rookie race and did not disappoint!

Special High Paw to Bradley Momberg for his amazing results. Brad finished 5th in his Age Group with a time of 4:46:30.

July 31st TT Results