Congrats to August finishers

Congrats to everyone who finished Augusta today. It seemed like the weather was going to be a repeat of last year, but when the sun came out and the humidity spiked, lots of racers felt it. Great job on a challenging day!

I did a quick upload of some of the photos I took:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10805610@N00/sets/72157627628863743/

I also shot some video, so I'll try to put it together with the photos into a short review and post it in the next couple of days.

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Triathletes Outnumber Golfers in Augusta at World’s Largest Half Ironman

From Bloomberg

Deke Copenhaver was running for re- election as mayor of Augusta, Georgia, last year, when he decided to swim and bike along the campaign trail, too. 

Copenhaver, who became the first U.S. mayor to complete all three legs of an Ironman-sponsored triathlon in his own city, will be back at it again this year. After finishing the Augusta 70.3 half Ironman race near the back of the pack in 2010, the mayor has a loftier time goal this year. 

Copenhaver, 43, will be one of about 3,200 triathletes on the course Sept. 25 in Augusta, a city becoming as well-known among endurance athletes as it is among the thousands of golf fans who attend the Masters Tournament in town every April. The event is sold out, and is expected to be one of only two of the 25 half Ironman races held in the U.S. this year to achieve that, according to Ironman spokeswoman Jessica Weidensall.

“My time wasn’t great, but on the run portion I had to go from athlete to ambassador,” Copenhaver, who completed the race in 6 hours, 56 minutes and 38 seconds, said in a telephone interview. “That’s my excuse. People were yelling ‘mayor, mayor.’ I was shaking hands with everybody. I’m going to wear a visor this year, I think.”

Full article

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Triathlon time: Chattahoochee Challenge attracted 263 competitors

From the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

The Chattahoochee Challenge 2011 Sprint Triathlon attracted 263 competitors to Columbus on Saturday, July 30 for a course that featured a 400-meter swim in the Chattahoochee River, a bike course along parts of the RiverWalk and a run through downtown.

The event, presented by Tri Columbus GA, drew competitors from Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Oregon, New York, Canada and Taiwan.

“Tri Columbus GA” is a sports firm specializing in event production, management and corporate sports marketing development. It creates, develops and manages endurance sports including running, swimming and cycling.

The group will be hosting an Olympic triathlon on Aug. 20 in Columbus.

It will feature an 800-meter swim, 25-mile bike ride, and a 6.2 mile run.

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Lovel ready for N.Y. Triathlon and beyond

From the Rome News-Tribune

With exactly one month before 58-year-old Roman and first-time triathloner Nina Lovel tackles the New York City Triathlon as part of the CNN FitNation Challenge, all is as it should be.

Lovel said Sunday she feels fit, confident and had just spent the morning bragging to a cycling partner about the scenery she gets to enjoy at Berry College and around Floyd County.

Not that it’s been too easy.

“It is going very well. It’s been intensive for, how long has it been, five months. It’s been intense, but it’s been fun,” said Lovel.

Sunday marked the beginning of her final month of training before the big event and already she’s pedaled well past the 25 miles of the cycling portion, ran the 6.2 miles of the running portion and is preparing to knock out a full mile of swimming in one of Rome’s three rivers soon.

Not too bad for a research and information coordinator at Georgia Northwestern Technical College who was until a year ago a self-described “chubby little book worm.”


Read more: RN-T.com - Lovel ready for N Y Triathlon and beyond

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Rent to ride?

Traveling cross-country to race this year? A company in New Jersey, Tri-Cycle Rental, is offering rentals of Orbea bikes, delivered to the race venue. The idea is that the triathlete would save on transportation costs, but the math just doesn’t make much sense to me.

They base the financial benefit on an airline fee of $300-$450 for round-trip transportation of your bike, plus the reduced hassle of dis-assembly/re-assembly. I’m not sure how comfortable I would feel, after training for hundreds of hours on my bike, to get to an Iron-distance race and saddle up on a rental. If you’ve already invested big $ to enter the race, train, and travel, what’s a little more to transport your bike?

Here’s the story that made the PR rounds:

Rent to ride enters the triathlon race-day market

By TOM HELD

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A start-up company in New Jersey has an idea to eliminate the bike transportation hassles for triathletes.

Tri-Cycle Rentals offers a race-day ready fleet of Orbea bikes for rent that athletes pick up at the race venue. Riders reserve the bike online, show up at the event to check out the bike, get fitted on it, then return the bike afterward at the race expo or transition area.

The story in the Bicycle Retailer and Industry News puts the price at $399, or $475 with Zipp 404 wheels.

According to Tri-Cycle Rentals, traveling via commercial airlines will cost you between $300 and $450 round-trip, depending on the carrier. Shipping your bike via a triathlon-specific service or FedEx/UPS will cost between $300-$400.

With all of the above options, racers have to take their bike apart and put it back together (or pay a bike shop to do it). They also have to own or rent a bike travel case ($50 to rent and $300-$400 to buy). They will also be without their bikes for 7-10 days prior to the race - critical training days leading up to the race.

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Warner Robbins couple to compete in National Senior Games

From the Sun News

By ANGELA WOOLEN

WARNER ROBINS -- Even on a 100-degree day, with track temperatures rising above that, a couple, both senior citizens, are out training at Houston County High School.

Warner Robins residents Mary Ealer, 69, and George Ealer, 71, will compete in the National Senior Games in Houston, Texas, Thursday through June 30. They join about a half dozen other people from Houston and Peach counties who have qualified for the games.

The husband and wife were chosen to be flag bearers for Georgia in the Parade of Champions.

They qualified for the games during the Georgia Golden Olympics, held in September, by finishing in the top three in their age groups.

“To represent the state of Georgia and the city of Warner Robins means so much,” Mary Ealer said.

Mary Ealer will compete in the triathlon, while George Ealer will race in the 100-meter dash.

Of the two, Mary Ealer is the competitive one.

Full story

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Men preparing for first triathlons in Columbus area

From the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

By ALLISON KENNEDY

Charlie Lindsey, owner of the local Gold’s Gyms, just completed his first Ironman in The Woodlands, near Houston, with roughly 2,200 of his closest friends.“It took a lot of help and a lot of swimming lessons,” said Lindsey, now an enthusiast for the upcoming Chattahoochee Challenge Sprint and Olympic Triathlon.

The sprint triathlon is scheduled for 7 a.m. July 30, and the Olympic triathlon is 7 a.m. Aug. 20. Both will utilize the Chattahoochee River, the Columbus RiverWalk and parts of Fort Benning.

Organizers are planning to make this an annual event.

“This first year we’re hoping for 500 and to grow to more than 2,000,” Lindsey said.

The Olympic distance is a 1000-1500 meter swim, a 25-mile bike ride and 6.2-mile run. The mini or sprint triathlon is a 400 meter swim, a 12-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile run.

The swim portion will be downstream.

Full article

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