On Mother’s Day there always seems to be an increased vibe of happiness among us. This was clear at the 2nd annual Prospect Park Mother’s Day Duathlon where athletes, Citytri staff, volunteers, and onlookers seemed to all have something to be happy about. What was clear at the end of the race was that the 100+ athletes were not only celebrating mother’s day in a unique way but that they had experienced some of mother nature’s best by racing in one of the best urban parks around, Prospect Park, Brooklyn.
Among the athletes there were several transplanted Australians, a Canadian, an Italian (here on his honeymoon), several Caribbean’s and Central and South Americans, New Yorkers in general including a surprisingly larger number of multi-sport athletes from Brooklyn. Even more surprising was that initially 50% of the registered participants were female, far more than the usual 30% that we get at our races. Last, but certainly not least, there were a group of sponsored youth from the Coney Island area who were participating in a multisport event for their very first time.
The start took had the athletes run the first two miles on the main loop of the park and then turn in on a cross road, Well House Drive, after descending the largest hill in the park. The race director took pride in having timed the countdown for the start with the crescendo of a song in the background. It is the small things that count, right? Anyway, the last mile of the 3.1 mile run took the athletes under a bridge, alongside a river/creek, past a 100 year old Audubon center, over a wooden bridge, past a waterfall, and finally under a tunnel and into the transition area.
First in for the men was the Spring event’s overall winner, 27 year old Ben Leese, in 16:48, 30 seconds faster than the last time he ran it so he was on pace to win it again. Still, eighteen seconds behind him were 38-year-old Neil Brenner and the Spring event’s third place winner, 25-year-old David Gardiner, who was a minute faster than the last time he was on the course. Perhaps the warmer weather and increased training had everyone on a quicker pace.
The women were just as impressive. First into transition and the overall winner in the Spring event was 48-year-old Stacy Creamer, in 20:30:33, ten seconds faster than the last time she ran the course. 29-year-old Rebecca Center entered transition just as Stacy was exiting with her bike, 30 seconds behind. Then over the next couple of minutes, five women entered all within seconds of each other and still with a chance to place in any of the top three positions. Most impressive among the five women was 46-year-old Vicky Donohue with the third fastest split at 22:25. Wow!
The bike course required athletes to ride a loop four times. Although it may sound boring, the Prospect Park loop has a way of giving all the athletes an opportunity to excel where they are strongest. The one large hill is enough to give hill specialists an advantage while the flats are long enough to give athletes who excel in that area an advantage thus adding a relatively strategic element to the course.
The course and the biking skills were evident when the first athletes exited transition after the bike segment because the order had changed substantially. First, David Gardiner took the lead by building on his fast run and posting the third fastest split, exiting the transition area at 53:33.8, one minute ahead of his competition and a minute and a half ahead of Ben Leese who had completed the first run ahead of everyone. So, it was a surprise to not see him still in the lead. The fastest split of the bike segment among the men was 41-year-old Steven Busiello who exited transition in a time of 34:15, two minutes faster than anyone else did. Michael Perlberg nearly matched David Gardiner in the bike segment, as did 27-year-old Yaron Spitzer putting them along with Steven Busiello in a position to place overall. A small example to highlight the difference between athletes with strong cycling skills and the general multisport athletes was in Steven Busiello’s and the presenting sponsor, Slope Sports’ Haig Marino’s bike times that was among the top five. This allowed 38 year old Haig to place 22nd overall in the race when his run times were in the bottom third and for Steven to place 5th overall when his runs were 3 ½ to 4 minutes slower than the top competitors. If they get they improve their run times, watch out!
There was very little change among the women. Stacy Creamer continued to build on her lead by exiting the transition area after the bike segment in 43:13. More than a minute behind was Rebecca Center who had already given up 30 seconds in the first run making first place less of possibility unless she turned in a surprisingly faster second run. Still, Rebecca established her hold on second because the third and fourth fastest women after the run fell behind 30-year-old Nicole Mia Navratil who exited the bike transition third in a time of 45:43, thirty seconds faster than Vicky Donahue and 27-year-old Cassidy Martindale. The race was now on for third place.
Ben Leese was not about to give up. Although he exited the transition area fifth and had that tough feeling you get when being passed on the bike he took off on his run with plans to retake the lead. The second run had him and everyone who followed run through four tunnels, Brooklyn’s only forest, past what many consider NYC’s largest waterfall, across the great lawn, and around the lake. His final run was completed in 18:29 thirty seconds faster than the next two fastest splits. His plans, however, did not add up this time as he had given up too much on the bike and the third fastest run split was David Gardiner’s at 19:08 bringing him through the finish line first in 1:12:43 a full minute ahead of Ben. David had won the race last fall and Ben’s win this spring had set a challenge that he met head on. For now, we know that David’s win made everything right again in Brooklyn and for his club the Brooklyn Tri Club.
We will see what happens if they are on the course together for the Fall even scheduled for November 11th. Michael Perlberg posted a time fast enough to take third overall in 1:14:42. Yaron Spitzer, unfortunately, was awarded a two-minute penalty bringing his time 1 minute and 42 seconds behind Michael’s thus placing him in fourth.
Rebecca must have known where she stood in this race by the time she took off for the second run. She allowed Stacy to build on her lead but was fast enough to keep anyone in the fight for third from gaining on her. Her overall time, 1:29:10. Stacy is now the Queen of Prospect Park with two wins finishing this race 9 seconds faster in 126:18. Whether or not she takes the Fall race she is as impressive as it gets and extremely motivational for all the folks out there wondering about the limitations of age. An interesting point to make that we only discovered when handing out the awards is that both are clients of Leslie Denunzio a massage service provider who sponsored the race by adding substantially to the awards.
The race for third for the women was on as Nicole Mia Navratil took off on the run with a 19-second lead ahead of Cassidy Martindale. Cassidy, however, lost a step in the second run and was passed by Vicky Donahue who was trying to make up for her slower bike time by posting the third fastest run split again in 24:23. She must have caught a glimpse of Nicole as she took one of the final turns but it just wasn’t enough. Nicole was fast enough on foot to capture third place 13 seconds ahead of Vicki in a final time of 1:33:45.9. What a race!
So many other great races were had in the age group divisions. Most exciting to see were the first time youth participants. Their energy really showed why so many of us find multisporting event addictive. We can’t wait to see what will come of Helene Roth’s (the youth’s high school teacher/multisport addict who organized them) initiative. On the west coast, youth are far more involved in multisport events but big things can come from actions like Helene’s and where better to make it happen than here in NYC.
As usual, everyone took in the great weather, good tunes, positive vibe, and thanked mom for being able to do what they do. They also dove into the Rice with Chicken, salad, cupcakes, and brownies made by the director’s mother and sister (also a mother). What a great way to celebrate Mother’s Day!
Among the athletes there were several transplanted Australians, a Canadian, an Italian (here on his honeymoon), several Caribbean’s and Central and South Americans, New Yorkers in general including a surprisingly larger number of multi-sport athletes from Brooklyn. Even more surprising was that initially 50% of the registered participants were female, far more than the usual 30% that we get at our races. Last, but certainly not least, there were a group of sponsored youth from the Coney Island area who were participating in a multisport event for their very first time.
The start took had the athletes run the first two miles on the main loop of the park and then turn in on a cross road, Well House Drive, after descending the largest hill in the park. The race director took pride in having timed the countdown for the start with the crescendo of a song in the background. It is the small things that count, right? Anyway, the last mile of the 3.1 mile run took the athletes under a bridge, alongside a river/creek, past a 100 year old Audubon center, over a wooden bridge, past a waterfall, and finally under a tunnel and into the transition area.
First in for the men was the Spring event’s overall winner, 27 year old Ben Leese, in 16:48, 30 seconds faster than the last time he ran it so he was on pace to win it again. Still, eighteen seconds behind him were 38-year-old Neil Brenner and the Spring event’s third place winner, 25-year-old David Gardiner, who was a minute faster than the last time he was on the course. Perhaps the warmer weather and increased training had everyone on a quicker pace.
The women were just as impressive. First into transition and the overall winner in the Spring event was 48-year-old Stacy Creamer, in 20:30:33, ten seconds faster than the last time she ran the course. 29-year-old Rebecca Center entered transition just as Stacy was exiting with her bike, 30 seconds behind. Then over the next couple of minutes, five women entered all within seconds of each other and still with a chance to place in any of the top three positions. Most impressive among the five women was 46-year-old Vicky Donohue with the third fastest split at 22:25. Wow!
The bike course required athletes to ride a loop four times. Although it may sound boring, the Prospect Park loop has a way of giving all the athletes an opportunity to excel where they are strongest. The one large hill is enough to give hill specialists an advantage while the flats are long enough to give athletes who excel in that area an advantage thus adding a relatively strategic element to the course.
The course and the biking skills were evident when the first athletes exited transition after the bike segment because the order had changed substantially. First, David Gardiner took the lead by building on his fast run and posting the third fastest split, exiting the transition area at 53:33.8, one minute ahead of his competition and a minute and a half ahead of Ben Leese who had completed the first run ahead of everyone. So, it was a surprise to not see him still in the lead. The fastest split of the bike segment among the men was 41-year-old Steven Busiello who exited transition in a time of 34:15, two minutes faster than anyone else did. Michael Perlberg nearly matched David Gardiner in the bike segment, as did 27-year-old Yaron Spitzer putting them along with Steven Busiello in a position to place overall. A small example to highlight the difference between athletes with strong cycling skills and the general multisport athletes was in Steven Busiello’s and the presenting sponsor, Slope Sports’ Haig Marino’s bike times that was among the top five. This allowed 38 year old Haig to place 22nd overall in the race when his run times were in the bottom third and for Steven to place 5th overall when his runs were 3 ½ to 4 minutes slower than the top competitors. If they get they improve their run times, watch out!
There was very little change among the women. Stacy Creamer continued to build on her lead by exiting the transition area after the bike segment in 43:13. More than a minute behind was Rebecca Center who had already given up 30 seconds in the first run making first place less of possibility unless she turned in a surprisingly faster second run. Still, Rebecca established her hold on second because the third and fourth fastest women after the run fell behind 30-year-old Nicole Mia Navratil who exited the bike transition third in a time of 45:43, thirty seconds faster than Vicky Donahue and 27-year-old Cassidy Martindale. The race was now on for third place.
Ben Leese was not about to give up. Although he exited the transition area fifth and had that tough feeling you get when being passed on the bike he took off on his run with plans to retake the lead. The second run had him and everyone who followed run through four tunnels, Brooklyn’s only forest, past what many consider NYC’s largest waterfall, across the great lawn, and around the lake. His final run was completed in 18:29 thirty seconds faster than the next two fastest splits. His plans, however, did not add up this time as he had given up too much on the bike and the third fastest run split was David Gardiner’s at 19:08 bringing him through the finish line first in 1:12:43 a full minute ahead of Ben. David had won the race last fall and Ben’s win this spring had set a challenge that he met head on. For now, we know that David’s win made everything right again in Brooklyn and for his club the Brooklyn Tri Club.
We will see what happens if they are on the course together for the Fall even scheduled for November 11th. Michael Perlberg posted a time fast enough to take third overall in 1:14:42. Yaron Spitzer, unfortunately, was awarded a two-minute penalty bringing his time 1 minute and 42 seconds behind Michael’s thus placing him in fourth.
Rebecca must have known where she stood in this race by the time she took off for the second run. She allowed Stacy to build on her lead but was fast enough to keep anyone in the fight for third from gaining on her. Her overall time, 1:29:10. Stacy is now the Queen of Prospect Park with two wins finishing this race 9 seconds faster in 126:18. Whether or not she takes the Fall race she is as impressive as it gets and extremely motivational for all the folks out there wondering about the limitations of age. An interesting point to make that we only discovered when handing out the awards is that both are clients of Leslie Denunzio a massage service provider who sponsored the race by adding substantially to the awards.
The race for third for the women was on as Nicole Mia Navratil took off on the run with a 19-second lead ahead of Cassidy Martindale. Cassidy, however, lost a step in the second run and was passed by Vicky Donahue who was trying to make up for her slower bike time by posting the third fastest run split again in 24:23. She must have caught a glimpse of Nicole as she took one of the final turns but it just wasn’t enough. Nicole was fast enough on foot to capture third place 13 seconds ahead of Vicki in a final time of 1:33:45.9. What a race!
So many other great races were had in the age group divisions. Most exciting to see were the first time youth participants. Their energy really showed why so many of us find multisporting event addictive. We can’t wait to see what will come of Helene Roth’s (the youth’s high school teacher/multisport addict who organized them) initiative. On the west coast, youth are far more involved in multisport events but big things can come from actions like Helene’s and where better to make it happen than here in NYC.
As usual, everyone took in the great weather, good tunes, positive vibe, and thanked mom for being able to do what they do. They also dove into the Rice with Chicken, salad, cupcakes, and brownies made by the director’s mother and sister (also a mother). What a great way to celebrate Mother’s Day!