Yellow Creek SP Monthly Mountain Bike Race, March 2013

The first mountain bike race of our season WOOHOO!

(For all the pics GO HERE - sorry, my batteries died so I only managed the flag-off pics!)

The Yellow Creek race series returned this year with some key upgrades:

1. The addition of a sweet 18 mile Expert loop, while retaining the usual 10 mile out-and-back Sport course. 
2. MONEY prizes for the Expert riders in top 6 (starting at $60 for the Champ), while the top Sport rider gets the usual delish Pie.

After flagging off the 30 plus riders - most of whom opted for Expert - I had a chance to run a little of the course and oh my oh wow what a delightful job the YC trail maintenance crew have done with an already awesome route. 

Pulling all stops in pre-race trail prep, generous application of leaf-blowing apparatus-es ensured nary a leaf in sight. One result was a drier, faster ride with only a few slick mud spots. Another result - the cleanest post-race riders and bikes I've seen in a while. 

First Expert was Kevin Campbell while First Sport was Michelle Bietko, who narrowly beat out Brad Transue on a single speed (dude what were you thinking :p) by a mere nine seconds. For the rest of the results GO HERE. 

For next month's (April 21st) race, I think the warmer weather might be conducive to me providing some free sports massages (just in case riders weren't hurting enough after the race). And should I bring along some post-race nutrition (fried rice, watermelon, etc) also? :)

See y'all soon!

Kittanning YMCA Triathlon & Youth Tri 2013

The inaugural Kittanning YMCA triathlon and kids tri was held at the Richard G. Snyder YMCA Campus on 16-17 March, kick-starting the 2013 triathlon race calendar in our area.

(To skip right to the Photos CLICK HERE).

And oh what a kick-start it was, with the steeliest of souls - including three Ironmen finishers - toeing the start line in sub-freezing sleet-y conditions at 9 am on the 16th. The adult triathlon, for ages 15 and up, entailed a 5 km run loop on the Rails-to-Trails, followed by a 300 yard indoor-pool swim, and ending with a 10 km out-and-back bike on the Rails-to Trails.

The run-swim-bike race format differed from the traditional triathlon race format of swim-bike-run. Keeping the run and bike legs separate was the intention of the organizers, to avoid possible collisions between runners and cyclists on the somewhat narrow Rails-to-Trails. Transition times were excluded from the total race time so racers could take their time in transition to towel off and change after the swim, before heading out for the bike leg. Sweet!

Congratulations David Keith, overall champ!

First across the finish line and overall champ was 41 year-old David Keith of Pittsburgh with a time of 52:29. Following four minutes later was Edna Spang, 44, of Gibsonia, who wrested first place in the Women's overall category. Spencer Clark, 39, of Natrona Heights finished mere seconds behind to take second in the Men's overall category. (A heroic feat, I say, as this dude was severely weakened by fever, flu and jetlag, having returned to US soil from Malaysia just the day prior.) Half the participants were first timers, and I think this sprint triathlon was a good distance for them. Everyone went home with a prize!

The Youth Triathlon held on the 17th, had a turnout of 15 young triathletes - decent considering the sub-freezing temperature that day.

Brothers Mattithia and Malachi Burtt of Kittanning warming up and stretching before the run start

All the kids, from ages 6-14, blasted off the run start in an all-out sprint that lasted about 100 yards into the 1 mile run. (The kids were then to swim 100 yards and bike 5 km.) I grinned hugely as I snapped away - kids' events are my favorite to cover: cuteness factor through the roof, enthusiasm and energy at Mach 10 levels - what's not to love?

As the first runner, Jacob Lorigan, 14, crossed the timing mat at 6:45, I snapped a pic, and quickly realized that the timing mat set up by Run High was not working. As the Run High person tried to figure out what was wrong, more runners started coming in, and I made it a point to capture everyone's run finish (with time) just in case my photo record was needed later. As it turned out, photographs from Spencer and my iPhones were used to calculate the run and bike times for most of the racers because the Run High equipment refused to work properly. We couldn't imagine what chaos would have ensued or how the kids race results would have been determined if it hadn't been for the super-awesome photos that we took. Yay us hehe.

Rachel Birth, at 6 years of age was the youngest triathlete in the race. Well done Rachel!

The kid's tri was also high on the scare quotient, with one child overheating and almost passing out at the finish, and another losing her breakfast (a Hershey bar) midway during the bike leg. Possibly due to my bright yellow jacket, or perhaps my reassuring air of competence (ahem!), I was called upon to check on the overheated/faint girl. Fortunately, my First Aid and CPR capabilities were not required as she had quickly recovered.

The Biggest Smile Award goes to... Olivia Kovalosky, 10 of Kittanning PA!

Michelle Bauer, 13, took first place overall in the Girls Category with a total time of 22:18. Jacob Lorigan finished at 24:43 to grab first overall in the Boys Category, while Carver Clark (11 years) was second with a time of 25:10. The last to cross the finish at 49:38 was possibly - in my opinion, and probably in her family's eyes also - the spunkiest kid in the entire race. Andrea Krizmanich, 9, of Adrian PA, whose race was rudely derailed by an uncooperative tummy, was coaxed and cheered across the finish line by her family. Well done everyone!

Andrea Krizmanich surrounded by her most ardent supporters and biggest fans. You go girl!

Kudos to Bryce Kuhn and the race organizing committee, Richard G. Synder YMCA Campus for organizing this two-day event and to all the volunteers also. Look forward to seeing all of you again at the summer/fall Kittanning YMCA triathlon!

Grace


Some post-race thoughts (just my two cents :))

• Having seen the Rails-to-Trails here, I do think it would be wide enough to accommodate both cyclists and runners if held in the traditional swim-bike-run format. 
• Having the swim as the middle leg helped stagger the swimmers so the lanes in the lap pool remained sufficient.
• Excluding the transition times was a good move as this removed the tendency for racers to rush between transition areas within the YMCA campus.
• The timing chip system would be very good to have if this were a larger race and if following the swim-bike-run format as we could stagger the swim starts. I figure half the registration fees went to Run High. Further, the technical snafu in the time recording system was potentially a game spoiler.
• The medics I spotted during the adults triathlon on the 16th were absent at the kid's triathlon on the 17th, which was when medical assistance would have been reassuring to anxious parents. 
• The promotional flyers for the triathlon indicated 'post race refreshments'. Bottled water and breakfast bars were provided at registration, and continued to be available after the race, but at $50 and $30 (adults and kids race, respectively), should I have hoped for more, e.g., bananas, muffins, isotonic drinks, etc? 
• Spencer and I love supporting YMCA events, particularly triathlons, and see great potential for growth in this area. The staff at this YMCA seem extremely motivated and dedicated to putting on good events and we look forward to attending/volunteering!

Bike Stop, Swap and Save 2013, Maryland

This is not your ordinary bike swap.

This Stop, Swap and Save at Westminster, Maryland, is a one day event that is the largest indoor bicycle swap meet on the East Coast.

It has grown every year over the 16 years it has been held, and this year it covered the size of a football field (50,000 square feet). That's pretty big.

Yet, every inch of that space is jam packed with goodies laid out by more than 200 vendors. And crawling with bargain hunters from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and beyond.

"Buy, sell, browse, shop, trade or just hang out with industry reps, individual vendors, bike shops, manufacturers and like-minded cyclists... everything cycling has to offer. Road bikes, mountain bikes, triathlon bikes, BMX bikes, clothing, bike parts, cycling accessories, vintage, new or used at Ridiculously Low Prices." (blurb from stopswapsave website).

Mark Dempster has made the annual pilgrimage to this event for 10 years. In his words "Every cyclist's Wet Dream"

This year Spencer and I tagged along to see what all the fuss was about.

Getting there. It was a 3 hour drive the day before - we stopped at a local bike shop, White's Bicycles, and Johannson's Dining House & Restaurant where many a pint of beer was consumed before retiring to Day's Inn.

White's Bicycles

The boys at Johannson's Dining House and Restaurant. 

Anyway, back to the Bike Swap.

We split the cost of a vendor's table ($50) five ways. Vendors are allowed in at 6 am while non-vendors are let in 9 am. Everyone pays a $5 admission fee. The guys were in at 6 am to set up their vendor's table, and - more importantly - to get first dibs on the goodies.

By 9 am, the line of people queuing to get in snaked all the way around the Ag Center building.

I scored six pairs of socks (Shimano, Zoot, DeFeet coolmax) for $20. And a Quintana Roo wetsuit for $10. And four SkirtSports running skirts and cycling tops for $30 (that retail for more than $160).

Everyone else bought a bunch of bike stuff, gear, and a few bikes. The van was loaded up pretty good!

This is what I have to say about the Bike Swap: It was WOW. Just WOW.

See you all again next year!

StrongLand Off-Road Roaring Run Mountain Bike Race Report 2012

The 24th Annual Tour de Strongland kick-started its two-day festivities with an off-road mountain bike race on the Roaring Run Trail , Kiski Township yesterday.

The Warriors
The forecast of 80% chance of thunderstorms may have kept some people away. However 36 wheeled warriors - including three kids - showed up with undeterred to battle the elements. Experts (15 mile course) were flagged off at 9.15 am, Intermediate racers (11 miles) at 9.30 am and the Novice riders (3 miles, 9 -11 years of age) about 15 minutes later.

The Course
The first one mile was double track next to the Rails Trails, then cut out on to the Rails Trails and banked sharply right before the Bridge, to a tight hill-acious single track Loop. Then back to Rails Trails for a nice downhill finish. The Loop was planned to include an exciting splash across a shallow creek, but due to the rain and burgeoning creek, Novices were diverted around that section.

Crossing the Creek

The forecasted 9 am thunderstorm arrived prematurely and had depleted itself by race time. It was a gentle drizzle for the rest of the race. This made for a refreshing jog to the creek where I lay in wait to shoot passing riders with my waterproof lifeproof cased Iphone.

I also captured a photo of volunteer race marshalls helping make sure riders stay on course.

Helpful volunteer marshalls make sure riders stay on c-

Okay, sorry, wrong pic... Here's a better one.

"I think it's this way". :p

Race Strong
It was a good race. Excellent signage, plenty of race marshalls and volunteers, grill hot dogs (with donation) and a wet but very rideable course at the riders' chosen level. The $35 race reg fees come with a quality cotton t-shirt and a chance at winning a bike from sponsor Pro-Bike. Maybe a bit steep for the novice 3 mile race, which was basically a kids race.

Race PICs!
View the rest of the pics HERE. (Most of the creek stake-out pics turned out blur. Sigh! I couldn't risk getting my Panasonic Lumix wet so had to make do with the iPhone)

Three kids, three proud winners!

xo Gracie 

P.S. It would be AWESOME if you could click on any ad here - my sponsors give me a few cents per click. Thanks for supporting my blog!

Xterra Appalachia 2012 Video and Report Part 2

People! As promised here is the second part of my Xterra Appalachia 2012 race report, with VIDEO! (Part 1 HERE with links to 500 pics)

Thanks to all of you who left comments or messages (I love hearing from you!) and who helped tag some of the pics I posted on Facebook. That was certainly an encouragement for me to hunker down and get the video edited! This will be my first video produced on my brand spanking new Mac, so I am definitely learning as I go. It has been laborious, but I think you'll like the end result. If you don't, you can still appreciate the effort I put into it! :p

Just some thoughts about the Xterra Appalachia. Looking at the results, about 17% of the 65 racers who toed the start line, did not finish the race. This DNF rate is higher than some of the Ironman races I've followed. The Xterra Appalachia covers somewhere between a Sprint (short) and Olympic (long) distance course, with its 800 m swim, 13 mile mountain bike, and 4 mile trail run. The distances are 'sprint', but the exertion level feels 'olympic' - thanks to the mountain bike portion. Adding rain as a factor, ramped up the difficulty level for mountain bike course to 9.5 out of 10 for non-mountainbikers. Fellow-non-mountain-biker, Briana Dawson found the mountain-biking 'super-challenging'. Briana is a runner who regularly runs 5 and 10 K distances and has completed a few half marathons, but she had 'no idea it would be so intense/extreme!' She and her friend Jaci, who signed up for the race as a fun way to celebrate their birthdays, successfully finished the swim and bike course after three gruelling hours, and will be back to tame the run course next time. Hats off to these indomitable girls!

Hats off, and Happy Birthday girls!

And also, a shout out to the Fans and Supporters of the Xterra Appalachia 2012 racers:

The entire family turned out to cheer on #53 Jesse Matheson

This multiple Hawaii Ironman returns after a 4 year hiatus, to attempt this Xterra

Loyal fans give encouragement to racers Briana and Jaci in the swim-bike transition

Lara Cilo (and Rich Riley, not pictured) kept runners
hydrated

And the award for most hardcore fans of the Xterra 2012 goes to: Katie and Julianne!

I really think more people should sign up for this top-notch event. For starters, this is the only off-road triathlon this side of PA. Yellow Creek State Park is only 1.5 hours from Pittsburgh where 1000 triathletes recently competed in the Pittsburgh Triathlon 2012. The organization and execution of the event (by Doug Crytzer and team at American Adventure Sports) is, as always, stellar. The course is gorgeous. The difficulty, although high, is manageable for most anyone with a decent level of fitness. You don't need to be superman to complete the course. You do however, need to be able to maintain a moderate level of physical exertion for up to 4 or 5 hours. If you have completed an olympic distance triathlon before, you are definitely in good shape to finish the Xterra Appalachia.

Check out the Xterra Appalachia 2012 Video HERE!

How did the Xterra go for you? Would love to hear your experience!

xo Gracie 

P.S. It would be AWESOME if you could click on any ad here - my sponsors give me a few cents per click. Thanks for supporting my blog!

Xterra Appalachia Race Report 2012: Part 1

One word describes the Xterra Appalachia - TOUGH. This year it was ToughER.

(You can skip the report and go directly to the 500 race pics on GOOGLE PLUS or on Facebook)

The 2012 edition of Xterra Appalachia was one of the wettest ever for the 65 participants (and hordes of fans ) who came from as far as New York and Georgia to pit themselves against the race course at Yellow Creek State Park. Racers comprised a mix of seasoned off-road triathletes, triathletes new to the terrors of mountain biking, and totally unsuspecting first-timers.

Transition area with racked bikes

The swim started out pleasant enough with warm sunshine, blue skies, and dead calm water. Swimmers assembled on the beach for the running start, different from the water start of previous years.

I'd mooted the run start to Doug Crytzer, Race Director earlier, the conversation going something like this:

Shannock Valley Mountain Bike Race Report 2012

The Shannock Valley 15th Annual Mountain Bike Race certainly had a lot in store for the 82 riders lined up at the Start this morning. The forecast '30% chance of rain' turned out to be a 100% heavens-wide-open deluge that turned the trails into a mud fest, albeit surprisingly rideable one.

(Note: you can skip the entire report and get right to the 300 Race Pics HERE)

Mark Liti, a satisfied survivor of the mud fest

Except maybe, for the hills.

Butler YMCA Triathlon 7 July 2012 Report

I think I have just found myself a new favorite sprint distance triathlon. It's the Butler YMCA Triathlon. It calls for a 400 m swim, 7 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. Not that I took part or anything crazy like that. I merely spectated and snapped about 2000 photos of triathletes as they passed me. Still, I was pretty bushed at the end of the entire thing! (Note: If you raced, there is a high likelihood that there will be a pic of you in my uploaded album, and that pic may even be flattering! If you only want to check yourself out, skip down to the end - the link to the photo album is at the bottom of the post).

Ok, why is the Butler Tri my current fav? Well, it is the most, and I mean MOST laidback triathlon ever. Ever. They don't mark up bodies like in most other triathlons. The transition area isn't barricaded or regulated even, and nobody seems too concerned either. This totally laidback atmosphere, I totally dig!

Le Tour de Brockway Bike Race 4 July 2012

Question: What's the best way to kick off your Independence Day festivities?
Answer (for about 80 plus riders and supporters): Le Tour de Brockway Bike Race. :)

The race featured 24 miles of scenic, rolling country roads, including four decent sized hills, and a peloton 'parade' on Main St cheered on by a gazillion empty camp chairs lining the street. Road bikers, mountain and hybrid bikers, and even a couple on a tandem bike lined up at the start. It was a gorgeous sunny day, but the downpour the night before left the stretch in the tunnel slick, which potentially made the sharp right at the exit extremely tricky to execute.

Fair Winds Manor 5K Quality Life Series #2

We look forward to the Fair Winds Manor 5K every year, partly because it's just down the road from where we live, the very reasonable race fees ($12 pre-reg, $15 race-day reg) include a delicious pulled pork bbq sandwich dinner and some years (sponsors withstanding) a shot at some prize money. It also feels pretty good to know that our participation goes towards helping fulfill the wishes of some nursing home residents via the 'Dream a Little Dream' program.

A steady bone-chilling drizzle was in progress as we pulled in to the parking lot. Aside from two people we spotted running down the road as we arrived, there wasn't a soul in sight and there were only two other vehicles parked there. That did not portend well for the race, I thought. 

Just a few minutes before 7 pm, when the race was supposed to start, the rain miraculously stopped. Spencer got out and started his warm up routine. Would this race be a wash? I didn't see anyone!