Announcing the Seneca EPIC

Triathlon Forum
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Dear multisport minstrels far and wide,

It is my great pleasure to announce a new event on the Northeast race calendar, created by the organizers of the annual Musselman Triathlon. The Seneca EPIC, a swim-bike-run competition covering the breadth and circumference of the largest of New York’s Finger Lakes, will debut September 26, 2009.

You’ve enjoyed the Musselman over the past six years - now it’s time to unleash your body and mind upon a new challenge.

The EPIC will be unlike traditional triathlon. The race begins with an epic 2.6-mile swim crossing Seneca Lake, the deepest of the 11 Finger Lakes at 110 fathoms (660 feet), at its widest point. Do not think about the depths passing beneath you - pass from your mind what may lurk in waters so deep, so dark and cold, the bottom was not detected until 1978.

Each participant will be required to provide a kayak escort for the crossing, and most will clamber ashore, dripping and delirious, at Sampson State Park on the lake’s eastern shore. Longer than an Ironman swim, the EPIC’s initial test is but an appetizer for the day’s gluttonous feast.

From within Sampson’s safe and civilized confines, participants will set off aboard bicycles for an epic 63-mile circumnavigation of Seneca Lake. Though cyclists will follow the Seneca Lake Wine Trail, passing over 40 wineries dotting the shores of the lake, not a single drop of the vine’s sweetness will meet your lips until the finish line, so far in the distance.

At the southern tip of the lake, in the midst of your “three-hour tour,” you will pass through the historic town of Watkins Glen, home to legendary Watkins Glen International raceway and the notorious Fly by Night Duathlon. Oh, if only you could stop - but press on you must, for this discipline does not end until you have journeyed the full and unfettered length of Seneca’s mighty shoreline.

Finally arriving in Geneva at the terminus of the epic bike course, weary participants will don sneakers and gather wits for the final test: an epic 13.1-mile run completing the circuit around Seneca Lake. Though the mind may be dulled from the rigors of competition, the lungs deflated and the legs obliterated, athletes face a choice in Seneca Lake State Park: follow the path out of the park or swim across the canal. Those opting to get wet will eliminate 0.6 miles of running.

A triumphant return to Sampson State Park, this time through the fortified northern gates, marks the completion of the EPIC. Here exalted finishers receive a hero’s welcome befitting of their quest: toothsome steak and lobster from the grill, a bonfire raging high into the night, spirited live music, and a classic hoody sweatshirt made of Nepalese bamboo and swallow’s feathers to be worn as the vest of the victor.

Registration for the EPIC, as well as course maps and a heady dose of adrenaline, are now available at the race website (SenecaEPIC.com). Due to the epic nature of the event, its ability to raise fear in children, and the ever-present spectre of imminent catastrophe, capacity is limited to the first 300 entries. Registrants must have previously completed a half-iron distance triathlon in under 6 hours to qualify.

May you have courage in your heart and strength in your sinews.

solemnly,
Jeff Henderson
Emir of the EPIC

http://SenecaEPIC.com

PS The hoody will not be made of swallow’s feathers.

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Any chance you will provide/have kayakers there for “hire”
.

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Any chance you will provide/have kayakers there for “hire”

Yes, we will. There are a number of kayak rental shops, as well as kayak-owning volunteers, supporting this race.

4

…so Jeff…this is the real deal? No April fool’s?

5

I am extremely excited to be announcing with Jeff yet again and can’t wait to try it from the hot air balloon. My ability to surveil the race site will be unmatched and the GPS chips are going to make athlete recognition a piece of cake.

6

Do you have any extra fixed gear bikes from the Portland Tri that we can rent?

7

It’s nearly midnight, so I must confess… GOTCHA!

I enjoyed this one. Some observations on a very fun day at the office:

  1. USAT wrote and told me it could be sanctioned if I did away with drafting in the relay
  2. I received some very lengthy letters detailing past athletic accomplishments and please, please let me enter despite not having completed a half in 6 hours
  3. There are a LOT of people willing to do volunteer kayak support in the Finger Lakes
  4. Approximately two people (out of a lot) had a problem with the $300 entry fee for a race with no on-course support, bring-your-own-kayak, and no goody bag. Thank you, WTC!
  5. Not a single person had a qualm with putting a foot down at the stop signs.

After all is said and done, maybe I’ll put this on someday. It sure looks fun, don’t it?

-Jeff

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Yeah, why wouldn’t you put this on? There’s clearly a ton of interest. Just eliminate the GPS requirement for the kayak, and reduce the entry fee by a bit. Oh, and maybe put it on Cayuga - cause we all know that Cayuga is the superior Finger Lake ;). Swim across Cayuga, then bike around Cayuga, and then run up east hill to the Monkey Run (just east of Cornell campus, near Varna).

Triathlon needs some variety, and a race like this is would be very appealing because its different than regular tris, and it would be really fun. Supplying your own support crew adds a real element of fun, and it’d be a great way for racers to involve their friends/family in the race.

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I marvelled at the innovation Jeff, especially the optional swim across the channel to shortcut the run!! Brought new meaning to ‘race strategy’.
Keep 'em coming!!

10

It’s nearly midnight, so I must confess… GOTCHA!

I enjoyed this one. Some observations on a very fun day at the office:

  1. USAT wrote and told me it could be sanctioned if I did away with drafting in the relay
  2. I received some very lengthy letters detailing past athletic accomplishments and please, please let me enter despite not having completed a half in 6 hours
  3. There are a LOT of people willing to do volunteer kayak support in the Finger Lakes
  4. Approximately two people (out of a lot) had a problem with the $300 entry fee for a race with no on-course support, bring-your-own-kayak, and no goody bag. Thank you, WTC!
  5. Not a single person had a qualm with putting a foot down at the stop signs.

After all is said and done, maybe I’ll put this on someday. It sure looks fun, don’t it?

-Jeff
That was AWESOME!

I have to say, I just had to look at the price and nothing else and knew it was a hoax. Musselman was way to awesome of a deal and quality race for the price. I knew you couldn’t put on a $300 near-half distance race.

:slight_smile:

Jodi

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It’s nearly midnight, so I must confess… 5. Not a single person had a qualm with putting a foot down at the stop signs.

-Jeff

I did. :slight_smile:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=2269734#2269734

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Too bad it was a joke. I’d like to think I would have figured it out if I’d seen the website but it wasn’t working when I checked. The race described in this thread is one I would do.

13

Too bad it’s a hoax. However, let me join the multitudes very interested in this race. Haven’t been back to upstate (1996 Syracuse grad) in more than 10 years and this looks as good a reason as any.

I’m down.

14

That sounds like one hell of a great race, but I must agree with Jodi that one look at the $300 entry certified it in my mind as a hoax.

If you were to cut that entry fee (by a lot) and eliminate the need for personal watercraft, you’d have a awesome event!

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I am starting to seriously consider holding this event.

Thank you, all of you, for your kind words and encouragement. I put the “hoax” together as an event that I would love to do, or organize, but with enough weirdness (high entry fee, etc) to cause people to wonder about it.

The entry fee would not be $300 - that’s ridiculous. But the requirement to bring a kayak might remain, and here’s why - you can’t stand on one side of Seneca Lake and point to a dock on the far side, 2.6 miles away. It’s just too far. And with the lake 600 feet deep, dropping buoys in the middle is not feasible either.

A few years ago I competed in the Trans-Tahoe relay, a swim across Lake Tahoe. Each team was required to have a support boat, and the team that won was using “new-fangled” GPS to guide them in a straight line. Maybe we don’t require GPS, but when 300 swimmers try to go 300 different directions, no matter how many support craft I provide, it becomes unsafe. The first priority, for me as race director, is safety.

But take heart - quite a few individuals came forward yesterday volunteering their services as kayak guides. And there are a number of kayak rental outfits on the lake.

So… let’s do this. I love the idea, the simplicity, the pursuit of pure triathlon following the local geography. We can’t do it on Sep. 26, as originally proposed, because Sampson State Park has a dog show that day. But give me some dates that you’d like and I’ll get to work.

-Jeff

16

The $300 isn’t bad if you keep the steak and lobster dinner I read about on one of the posts, allow a guest and provide the kayaker.

This fall is full for me, West Point, Skinnyman, Westchester Toughman, Darien and possibly Nutmegman, but next year mid/late August would be good. Growing up in upstate, those lakes are COLD, so late September would not be fun.

Labor day weekend is the Skinnyman in Skaneateles, 2 weeks before would be great. Weekend of August 22-23 for 2010. Its the best time of year in the Finger Lakes.

17

I say put this race on sometime in August 09 or 10.

Only major problem I see is dealing with transition is so many different areas. Good option would be to bike all the way around the lake then do a run loop somewhere?

who cares about standard distance races anyway, it is all about fun.

18

I’m out of action for 2009, but think an early July date would be ideal.

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I would suggest early September. It seems like the right time of year for a race like that although you may find yourself in competition with SOS. SOS probably attracts a lot of the same same people, me for example.

20

You had me Jeff until I read about the $10k purse and the steak and lobster BBQ!