Nice day in Ann Arbor for the Bikesport Ann Arbor Triathlon with fine weather, comfortable temperatures and 686 fine athletes registered.
Cool water made wetsuits legal and preferred and good conditions on the bike and the run. Big fun.
Joe Deighan and Cheryl Klotkowski were our overall winners with Eric Fernando right up there and many, many other notable performances such as Jeff Morrow (killer race Jeff!), Lisa Pinkelman, Michelle Villeneuve, Marcie the Mermaid, Tom Markley, Amber Boyless, Rich and Bonnie Hall, Dan Clapp, John Sotir, Todd Briggs, Jeff Mallett and many many others.
Overall it was a fun race- Thanks to Joyce and Jim Donaldson, the Gaults, Mark Trzeciak, Mike Aderhold, Gary West, Seth Kirkendall, Mike O’Donnell, blimp pilot Mario Bonnano and many others- great job guys, thank you for a very fun race.
-Great turnout by local and not-so-local triathlon clubs. Many clubs were well represented and a lot of new tri club uniforms were in attendance such as the Tri Kats, F.A.S.T., Great Lakes Triathlon, Toledo Triathlon Club and many more. Even saw a Chicago club out there!
-Trail conditions were superb follwing a number of days of rain. We were concerned about that.
-The much bally-hooed (by me) Bikesport Blimp produced mixed results. When I was swimming back in toward the swim finish I couldn;t see the darn thing most of the time. Gary west mentioned that we should have flown it higher. We’ll try that at Waterloo.
-I rescued an enormous snapping turtle from the road on the way home. Very impressive specimen.
I thought that the blimp was generally helpful as I ended up where I should have been although my opinion probably should not be given much weight since it was my first open water race ever.
-It seemed like Orange would have been a better color. If we had it out on the first turnaround boat I think it may have been more useful. I see a day when the skies over our races look like London during the blitz- a sky full of balloons for sighting.
You are right about the color, but would you then have to change the entire Bikesport color theme? Normally, a guy would not worry about things, but there must be marketing involved.
If the blimp had been on that boat, I might have really swum past the last buoy thinking that I had to reach it instead of just a little past it. Maybe not if I had been paying enough attention to the issue.
Excellent day for a race. I knocked 3 minutes off the bike and a minute off the run (with NO training) over last year’s results. And please don’t tell me the course was shorter, even if true. This MOPer is very happy.
If the blimp were orange it would have felt like we were swimming up hill.
This was my first tri of the modern era. I vaguely remember seeing “trail run” in the signup info but until I read the thread yesterday I did not have any idea what the trial was like. I didn’t sleep too well last night. At least we did not have to ride it. I’m a pretty slow runner and I passed the bike EMS guys while they were riding up one the big uphills.
Any suggestions on how to explain the Clydesdale class without it sounding like “fat old guy group?” I got a trophy and so far everyone one who has seen it has ended up laughing.
Look at Dan Clapp who was out there today. He is the U.S. National Clysdedale Long Distance Champion (I think that is the name of his title). This guy is buff anf big and fast. He kicked my ass today and wound up about 23rd overall of 683 registered athletes.
Dan is a Clysdedale, but he can hold his own in the overalls and age groups very nicely, as can many clydesdales.
Tell people Clysdales is the same thing as winning the “Heavyweight Title” in Boxing: oNly the baddest, strongest, toughest, meanist guys guys can do it. Tell them you could have kicked Kobe Bryant’s ass out ther today (which you could have) and then they will give you the respect you deserve.
Way to go Boss. Good to have you back in the sport.
Thanks Tom for the kudos on the race, I just put together a great race, thanks in part to you and all the guys at Bikesport for getting me on a new bike so quick. While I appreciate the title you gave me as the U.S. National Clysdeale LD Champion, I have yet to win any titles, maybe some where down the road but until then I’ll just keep raceing hard. Jim Joyce and yourself but on a great race, nice job! By the way the blimp was very helpful for me coming back to shore.
Was today the Un-official Michigan state Championships? This was the strongest field I can ever remember… Times were a bit slower than last year, but I think it was due to the swim course. My buddies and I were guessing we swam 950 meters(ish). I am sure glad Tom’s Blimp was at the beach, because I took the tangent and swam right for it. Overall, a perfect race… A+ Elitee Endeavors!
The run course was about 30 yards longer than last year, measuring 5 miles and 17 yards. The bike course (at 14.25 miles) is exactly the same as it has been for the last 15 years.
A truly Great Race in a beautiful recreation area. The bike course was realy scenic while the famous POTO trail surpassed my expactations.
I had a slow swim (might have been a bit longer than 1/2 mile), a good bike leg and I put together my best trail run for a PB (compared to SEAHORSE - .3mph-faster bike, 44s/mile-swifter run)
Kudos to the organizers and CONGRATS to TOM for his sprint to a photo-finish w. John Sotir!
To my big surprise, I got a 1 minute penalty. My first - and knowing that I always try to follow the rules, I’m pretty upset. It’s even more frustrating when these penalties get posted after the race! I would have liked to talk to the official as I have no idea why did I get the penalty.
This is again a matter of being considered a cheater while following the rules as much as possible. I did pass quite a few competitors on the bike-leg and got passed back by a few. My old road bike limits me on the flats (this where I get passed by the AERO tri-bikes) and I usually get to pass back on the climbs (incl. top&over). At one point I had a pack of 5 riders ahead massed in less than 20yards which I started taking over, got 2, than after I dialed into myself (<15 sec) as the other 3 were speeding up I put in a non-planned long push to take over the other 3. Less than a minute little later I see the marshall passing me, looking at my race no. and taking notes…
Although I’ve been fortunate enough not to receive a penalty so far, I don’t necessarily consider it a sign of cheating. To me, it’s more like a basketball foul. It just happens sometimes and sometimes you can’t avoid it.
The blimp helped me on the swim. It’s all I sighted on on the way back.
It was a good and well run race. I think the swim was definitely longer this year. Maybe they just made it an honest 1/2 mile this time.
Shony - yes the head official was the same one (wont mention his name) that was at Nankin Mills. He nailed me at Nankin on a questionable call but it is still nice to see officials out on the course unlike the weekend before at Seahorse - where you had 450 people on a 12 mile loop. There was deifinite drafting going on there.
That was my first time participating at Ann Arbor and what a great race. Jim & Joyce do a great job. Am I wrong but is that run leg about the toughest of any tri’s at least in the state of MI? The swim did seem a tad long.
Man there seemed to be alot of Kalamazoo Trikats on the course yesterday. They must have a large club.
Dave is right I believe, that sometimes you can’t avoid it, and if the official is there, you’re it. And unfortunately, officials can’t be with every rider on the course, so some do get away with the draft.
Announcements were made several times however that penalties were being posted and the official would be there to answer questions, and he was there until awards at least.
Overall a great day in Michigan, great racing and the weather was on our side.
Kestrey Guy, your’e right that is the toughest trail in the state. Also want to say every race that elite endeavors does comes off without a hitch, they always do an excellent job,
Thanks Jim & Joyce. Though I think the swim was a tad long…
Tom, thanks for the kind words. I think this whole race was a PB for me. I hope that I can build on this for Lake Placid. I thank You should be thanked for supplying some very fine looking uniforms to some of your customers. Every time I came up on someone wearing one it seemed to give me some energy. Not only do they look good but they are extremely comfortable! I’m really looking forward to Waterloo.