Howdy all! The title pretty much gives it away, but in case there was any doubt, this post will go over my recent race experience in the Muskoka region as I tackled the inaugural Ironman Muskoka. As some of you may be aware, this wasn’t my first time racing in an “iron-distance” triathlon, but it was my first taking part in the big corporate machinery known as World Triathlon Corporation, the group that puts on all the Ironman races globally. Ironically, in the week before the race, the entire corporation was actually bought out by a Chinese company. So I […]
Huntsville
7 posts
Greetings race fans. Fancy title, isn’t it? I’m sure some of you are wondering just what the heck I’m talking about. Well, it’s pretty simple really. On the periodic table, Iron (Fe) has an atomic number of 26. Aluminum (Al) has an atomic number of 13, or in other words, half that of iron. Have you put it together yet? Yup, this race report will be about my recent experience in Huntsville taking part in the Ironman 70.3 event there (a half-Ironman). Of course, this isn’t my first 1/2, or even full Iron-distance tri, but it was my first crack […]
The vision in my mind was clear. The start is called, and off I go, paddling hard and efficiently at the front of the race pack. I nail all my navigation challenges, bag all the CPs, and have quick transitions, to cross the finish line first, with no one even near me. Well, as you know, vision is often different from reality, particularly in the adventure racing world. So goes the backdrop for my start to the 2013 ‘Summer’ race season. I found myself once again in Huntsville, at Deerhurst Resort, for what may ultimately be the final Frontier Adventure Challenge. This was slated to be a 5-8 hour adventure race featuring all the fun of a classic adventure race in a manageable format. I was covering the event for Get Out There Magazine, and the lovely Deanna also joined me as a volunteer / race photographer. Good thing she had a brand new camera to try out! As a result, I’ve got both a video to share, as well as a whole folder of pictures that Deanna took. Now read on!
They say everyone has a doppelganger somewhere in the world. Well, apparently, I may have inadvertently crossed paths with my ‘sporting’ doppelganger at the recent inaugural Muskoka Grind Off-Road Tri. You see, I finished this race in 4th place in my category, a mere 1m14s off the podium. Okay, 1:14 isn’t that close in a 2.5hr race, right? Well, it get’s interesting event by event. For the swim, this fellow was a mere 3 seconds faster. The bike? He was only 16 seconds faster. And the run? Well, I took that one by 16 seconds! So in reality, our moving time was only 3 seconds different!! However, where I lost time was in transition, and with good reason. I had to get cameras mounted and ready for the bike and run, since I was on-site covering the event for Get Out There Magazine. As a result, I once again have a nice race video and some pictures to share with you all. Read on for the whole story about this well-run race at the Limberlost Forest and Wildlife Reserve.
Do you see what I just did there with the title? Pretty clever, hunh? I can guarantee you all that this blog post will be unlike most of the ones that I write out for you all. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’ll be the only time you ever read about such an occasion from me 🙂 The genesis of the plans for this momentous occasion happened some time ago. In fact, the moment was over three months in the making! It’s a story that makes me very happy, and I’d like to take a few paragraphs to write about how it all happened. Obviously, you know the outcome of it all, but it’s still fun to go back in time and see how it all came about. Please read on if you’re a romantic and want to hear the tale.