Kona Recap

Ok - back from vacation and I have managed to put some photos of the "big" race together. It was a fantastic day out there with plenty of fun and excitement to keep things going. As promised - tons of race photos here

It was great to see Jeremy Sartain dig deep and make it through the race despite his condition - totally amazing...


This place is magic for sure with crowds going strong until midnight cheering in the last of the racers making the cut.


The strong prevailed on the day...





CY had some fun after the race - all I could do was point and click...

Kona "K"overage

Levels of excitement are of course very high. The Cameras are charged up and ready to go.


The "Navy" is one of the sponsors out here this year and they are here in force :) It's going to be a fun fun day tomorrow. I'll try and make a few updates during the day on facebook so check there for iPhone Photos and comments.

Nick (TriJuice.com) is here covering the race so be sure to checkout his site as well.


The big guns are ready to give it their best and I'm rooting for Mr Potts. Lots of Pro Spectators here to watch - we saw Greg and Laura B plus Matty R and others today.

Lava Java has been jammed all week - it has achieved icon status and seems to be the place to hang...


The Germans (Mr S) were camped out here all morning.

Last minutes warm ups in the scenic venue...


Kiersten (16) & Karin (14) are here and excited to cheer on CY number 1614 - must be some kind of good Karma!


Pre-race slideshow here and I'll put up a ton of photos after the race.

USAT Nationals

It was a bit of a gloomy overcast day at Hagg Lake near Portland but with light winds and cooler temps the athletes were pretty happy about the conditions. As for the photogs some better light would have been great but like the athletes we make due with what the day brings.

I had a chance to run the 10K course and swim the 1500m loop the day before the race. The run which is on the 2 loop bike course had 4 meaningful hills in each direction of the out and back route. The water temp was low 70s and they used the mega sized buoys which was awesome for sighting. The water level was significantly lower this year so there was a pretty steep and long run up from the lake to T1.

With everyone racing in their respective age group waves it was hard to track all the athletes I knew but I managed to grab a few shots of some of them and have a 100+ image slide show posted here.

Local athletes Curt, Cathy and Brian had excellent performances, Curt with a 2nd AG finish and capturing the fastest bike split for a second year in a row. Brian was 2nd Master and in the top 10 overall. CY won her AG and posted the 2nd fastest women's time! Also Madison's Mark H and Cindy B had a podium AG finishes plus Cindy had this really huge bag of chocolate trail mix that kept us fueled during the pro races.

I captured a few of the sights and sounds on video below for your viewing pleasure. Off to Dallas this weekend for the Toyota US Open then Kona next weekend to watch the "Big One".

Train safe.

Black Dog TT - it's a wrap

Well another season at the "Dog" has come to an end. Consider this a quick tribute post to all those who have toiled out there this year on this 7+ mile "speed workout" every other Wednesday. The race is named for the Black Dog coal and gas fired power station that looms in the background on the Minnesota river. The name Black Dog came originally from the Black Dog band of Souix Indians and their Chief Black Dog who settled the area around 1750.
The event is put on by Silver Cycling and the title sponsor is Hollywood Cycles (Details at the link).

Each event attracts around 100 riders and they are sent out in Time Trial format with 30 second intervals. I've enjoyed watching the action and snapping a few photos - once in a while I even give it a whirl myself :). This event has been around for quite a while and is very well run. There's a good mix of participants including both roadies and triathletes. There are even some fun categories like Tandem and Recumbent.
Click the play button and get a feel for what the action is like.
We'll see you out there next year right???
(For a hi-res version of the video click here)

Run'in Down A Dream

I recently had a chance to spend a little time with Scott Penticoff and Patrick O'Shaughnessy who are training to compete in the upcoming Himalayan 100 stage race.

This will be more than a race for these guys as they have an honorable goal of raising money to help underprivileged kids get into College.

Their 5 day run through some of the most beautiful vistas in the world will be grueling yet rewarding for both the athletes and the charities they're supporting.

For a full description of the race and to donate to their effort just give this Admission Possible link a click.

A brief video interview with the athletes gives you an idea of how things are going and the passion these guys have to do something special. (click the play button and enjoy the video)