Jeff Kramer had hoped to sign up 200 for Saturday’s third annual Astronaut Family Challenge Triathlon at the Titusville YMCA. By Thursday, he had to cut registration off at 300 to ensure the safety of all those who wanted to compete in the 100-yard pool swim, four-mile bike and two-mile run. (At left, Danny Barrett surrounds himself with a harem of race hotties. From left: Robin Hernandez, Jenn Monda (first-timer), Kathy Ojeda, Kim Badgett, Veronica Sim and Tracie Donnelly (first-timer).

The numbers were really no surprise as Kramer’s race caters specifically to families, (At left: The Buonanni family celebrates post-race. From left, father, Bill, took second in the 45-49 ag, while mom, Nancy, and son, Marc competed with daughter, Katie, to take second in the family team relay challenge. Team Name?  Killer B's, of course.) first-timers, fitness and fun and this year’s race was no exception.  The camaraderie, excitement and inclusive spirit of the event sent most of the participants home with big smiles and a feeling of satisfaction as well as goodie bags of treats, t-shirts, medals for the younger set, roses for the ladies and special towels for the award winners.

There were so many moving stories from a team whose members were all stage four cancer survivors to the lady who competed while undergoing chemo while fighting cancer to the obese woman who is trying to change her family’s lifestyle before the unhealthy habits damaged her son. Add to that the scores of individuals who crossed a multi-sport finish line for the first time and the families who have spent time together to train for this event and you’ve got a truly life-changing event in the community.

Even overall winners Sarah Guttery, of Titusville, and Gainesville’s Tom Lowery had their families in tow. Lowery started in a back wave to encourage his wife, who was doing her first tri as well as his 7 and 9-year-old boys who already had some experience under their race belts.As soon as Guttery crossed the line, she made her way back to the pool to do the course again with her youngest son, Jason,7, as he did his first triathlon. (At left, Jason makes the final push for the finish line as dad, John Garret, tries to keep up.)

With an atmosphere that helps remove much of the intimidation factor, it is no wonder this race has exploded in popularity. For complete results: visit http://mahoney4.home.netcom.com/scr/races/07ahstri.txt and to see Rick Andrew's photo gallery log on to http://www.actionshot.smugmug.com/

Two years ago, Tricia Rydson, completed her first triathlon – Pineapple Man – on a borrowed mountain bike. Two weeks ago, the Melbourne Beach mother-of-two made a strong showing at the ITU Long Course World Championships in L’Orient, France.The former collegiate swimmer qualified for the USA Triathlon national team last November at the Miami Man Half Ironman, finishing her first race of that distance in 5:27 and fourth in the 30-34 age group.  

 
 

The World Championship L’Orient race consisted of a two-loop 3K (1.86 miles) swim; a two-loop 80k (49.6 miles) bike and a 20K (12.4 mile) run. Swimmers began their wave in the water, shoulder to shoulder, with one hand touching a long pier-like dock. After the first swim loop, they then ran up the pier again before diving in for a second loop.



Once out of the water, athletes were treated to hilly yet stunning scenery with much of the bike course rolling along the French coast. Tricia finished the race in 5:02:17, 13^th in her age group and 63^rd OA out of 168 female competitors.  Congrats on a very solid race in such a competitive field in your second year of racing!

Rory Rowan devoured the 20-24 age group at the July 21 Bridge of Lions 5K in St. Augustine.  Finishing in 20:26, Rory won the age group by more than 30 seconds and finished 16^th out of close to 400 runners. Mom, Nancy Rowen, (photo at left shows Nancy waving during the 2007 Retro River Run. Photo Marty Winkel) also ran the race, finishing in 27:51

Much further south, several locals were completing the Miami Beach International Distance Classic (.93-mile swim, 24.8-mile bike, 10K run).  The race is the third in the inaugural five-race series that Exclusive Sports Marketing (ESM) is offering Florida's Olympic-distance athletes. ESM is the company behind the well established Family Fitness Weekend series of races which include sprint triathlons, open water swims, 5Ks, duathlons and kids’ sprint races.
 

Sage and Brian LaJoie ruled their age groups with Sage winning the 25-29 division in 2:26:28. Results show a bike split of 1:00:08, which means she averaged just under 24.8 mph.
 

Hubby, Brian, bested her bike split with his 59:33 and won the men’s 30-34 in 2:23:02. Others who also finished included Phillip Mazzella in 3:06:02 and Thomas Turek in 3:06:06.

Sometimes ya gotta wonder about people marking a course.  Ai, ay, ay.  The fifth race of the Publix Family Fitness Weekend on July 14 in Fort Lauderdale, left some of the stronger runners out in the cold. The race was billed as a quarter-mile swim; 10-mile bike and 2.4-mile run.  Ooops! Athletes who participated thought the run might have been chopped in half or more. Guess land really is over-developed down there.

Rob Downey, chasing the series win in the 55-59 age group, was unable to make up the time on his brother, Tom, (photo at left) when the real estate came up short. Tom, who is still recovering from a knee injury, managed to ward off his elder brother by nine seconds, taking second in the division in 50:41. Rob pulled in at 50:50 for third.  Both Downey boyz were bested by Bill Troy, a formidable athlete and friend of theirs.

Other locals who clocked race times included Max Bosso, 2^nd Clydesdale (200-225 lbs.) 39 and under, 52:54; Ed Donner, 3^rd 30-34, 47:08 and Christy Zieres, 1^st Athena 40+, 57:42. Deb Johansen and Loran Serwin also finished the race but chip issues prevented proper scoring.

Farther north on the same morning, several locals completed the third of the three-race Beaches Fine Arts Sprint Triathlon (BFAST) series at Mickler’s Landing in Ponte Vedra. Randy Hierbaum’s 1:01:44 was the fastest local time on the course which included a quarter-mile swim, 10.5-mile bike and 5K run. One of the advantages of this particular series is that you race on the same course throughout the season and are able to measure your progress.
 

Other BFAST finishers from Brevard included Nancy Buonanni, 3^rd 45-49, 1:09:25; Joseph Joseph, 1:15:58 and Anna Werner, 1:35:59.

Astronaut Challenge Triathlon Race Director Jeff Kramer picked up another sponsor, one that is sure to please the ladies.

"Every woman who competes in the Tri is going to get a rose and a coupon for a facial/makeover at Merle Norman," Jeff said.

He also advised those who are waivering to sign up now as only a few spots remain.  A course map has also been posted. Click on the Astronaut Challenge tab on this site.

Zachary Project 5K, October 13, 2007; Fall Into Winter 5K, October 20, 2007; Space Coast Classic 15K, November 10, 2007; Space Coast Marathon and Half, November 25, 2007; Reindeer Run 5K,December 8, 2007; Run for the Light 5K, January 26, 2008; Tiger Dash 5K and 10K, February 9, 2008 Eye of the Dragon 10K and Tail of Lizard 2-Miler, March 15, 2008 Downtown Melbourne 5K, April 5, 2008; Space Walk of Fame 8K,April 12, 2008. Full details forthcoming at www.spacecoastrunners.org

Yup, Melbourne Beach's Tricia Rydson flew the coop today.  Destination: L'orient, France to compete in the ITU Long Course World Championships this weekend.  Trish qualified for the 3K swim; 80K bike and 20K run (exactly double the Olympic distance per Sept. 06 ITU decree) at the Miamiman half last November.

In addition to four others in her 30-34 age group from the good old U.S. of A, Trish will be competing against ladies from Australia, Brazil, Great Britan, France, Ireland, Holland Brazil, Canada and Spain.

We wish her all the best of ooh la la!  GO TRISH!!!

Sort of ironic that the Kenyan who won Wednesday's 38th annual Peachtree 10K in Atlanta was named Martin Irungu. Get it?  I-Run-GU.  Maybe the GU helped, cause Irungu bested the field of 55,000 with his time of 28:01. On the ladies side, Ethiopian Wude Ayalew took the win in 31:44. Each of the top open winners received $15,000 each out of a purse totaling $111,300.

Locals who were fast enough to get seeded and therefore receive an official finish time included Danny Benitez, 43:11 (photo at left); Daryl Gilbert, 1:00:51; Tom Gillespie, 46:00; Leeann Nawrocki, the fastest local finisher, 37:06 and James Ralph, 52:10.

For complete information about the race, log on to www.atlantatrackclub.org/at02000.htm 

Rob Downey and his helmet cam caught a lot of action Wed. at the Space Coast Velo Sport club (some 2007 club members at this year's Bike Across Florida)  ride and authorities in Indian River County want to see the footage. On their way back from the 7-11 turn-around in Vero, Gary Stern, state time-trail champ,  leaned forward to adjust the pick-up on his front wheel.  Sadly, his wheel turned into a meat slicer and came close to leaving Gary with nine digits.  While the group stopped to help, Rob's cam continued to roll and caught the boyz flagging down a local sheriff. Interestingly, the sheriff had no first aid kit nor did he do much of anything and that is why the authorities want to see the video.  Did the sheriff act appropriately?   http://spacecoastvelosport.com/video/7040730MB.wmv  Gary's thumb got the attention it needed and he is well on his way to healing.  Maybe one day, Rob's cam will also catch bad guys being mean to cyclists (or runners).

Coconut Creek played host to the 17th anual July 4th duathlon and several locals zipped through the 2-mile run, 10-mile bike, 2-mile run course. Melbourne's Sean Black (left) turned the fastest Brevard time in 52:23. Other finishers included Donna Davis, 3rd 25-29, 1:03:56; Kevin Murtha, 1:09:52 and Roger Travis, 54:30. Congrats!

And that is what participants in yesterday's 32nd Annual Firecracker 5K and 10K did in Daytona Beach. In fact, some lit two fuses by running first the 10K and then following up with the 5K.

Locals who ran both included Kersten Dea whose 5K of 23:13 and 10K of 45:07 gave her the top women's combined spot. Her husband Jonathan's combined time of 1:09:34 gave him fourth and Warren Caputo took fifth with his 1:10:15 combo. (On left during August 2006 Moss Park 10K) 

Roger Roullier cleaned up the 65-69 age group with his first place 10K time of 42:53-he was also 15th overall!

CONGRATS!

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

If you get a chance today, read the first part and rest of the short document that changed the course of history. http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm

We have a lot of reason(s) to celebrate!  HAPPY FOURTH!

Results are up now for the individuals and teams who competed in the Corporate Division of the Orlando Triathlon (see blog post below this one).  No surprise that Steve Hedgespeth had the fastest run split of 15:20 out of the corp folks but what really caught our eye was that Steve, one of Brevard's best runners, also had the fastest corp swim time-9:23.  Who knew that he sports a pair of gills under his Running Zone race team singlet? :)

The fastest local corp finisher was Kristian Damkjer who placed second in the division in 1:07:58. Top local corp female was Anne O'Connor-Smith (in photo on left, posing with Robin Hernandez after winning Runner of the Year awards at the 2007 Space Coast Runners year-end picnic. Cedric Ching photo) whose 1:19:27 also tacked her at 14th overall in yesterday's corp ranks.

Other corp finishers incude Brian Alderson, 1:42:37; Diane Caruso, 1:35:15; John Cavanaugh, 1:15:20; Joy Drawdy, 1:39:42; Steve Hedgespeth, 1:11:22; Amy Kobosko, 1:44:04; Ben Park, 1:10:10; Mike Smith, 1:10:25; Trevor Widick, 1:08:06; Joshua Williams, 1:14:17.

We doubt their stock will rise on the news, but Harris Corporation fielded the winning Corp. team today at the Third Orlando Triathlon Corp. Challenge.   Although individual times weren't listed, Harris employees who were registered to compete in the 750-meter swim, 13.4-mile bike and 2.5-mile run  included Brian Alderson, John Cavahaugh, Kristin Damkjer, Joy Drawdy, Steve Hedgespeth, Amy Kobosko, Eric McKinley, Anne O'Connor-Smith, Ben Park, Michael Smith, Laura Taylor, Trevor Widrick & Joshua Williams.

Today's race also hosted the same distances for individuals who chose not to race under a corporate banner and  almost 20 locals competed including Ian Dawley, 1:19:41; Jospeh Dawley, 3rd, 14 and Under, 1:37:54; Stuart Dawley, 1:15:54; Betsy French, 1st military, 1:42:38; Robert French, 1st Military, 1:20:14; Gary Ganiban, 1:37:43; Daryl Gilbert, 1:33:49; Robert Goldschmidt, 1:35:32; Randy Hierbaum, 1st, 50-54; 1:02:21; Jason Jones,  Hywel Jones, 1:07:52; 1st, 14 & Under, 1:08:26; Jeff Kramer, 1:16:48; Rich Marino, 1:22:45; Philip Mazzella, 1:13:31; Mark Miller, 1:26:59; Susie O'Connell, 1st, 55-59, 1:42:42; Kaitlin Shiver, 1st, 15-19, 1:10:10; Christina Slayman, 2nd, 20-24, 1:17:32.

Finally, the day also offered a 5K/13.4/2.5 dualthon and Jim Schaeffer took first in the 35-39 division in 1:19:56 while Greg Cross grabbed third in the 50-54 age group in 1:37:20.

Congrats to all on a great day!

Maybe it comes every 20 years.  Maybe it comes more often but today's Freedom Run 5K course was short. Instead of 3.1 miles, it measured off at 2. 8 miles-exactly the same as another Fourth of July 5K that started on Kiwanis Island 20 years ago.  Coincidence? Doo doo doo doo.....

Either way, the missing 3/10 took nothing away from the fine efforts put forth by the 167 who finished (some of whom are shown at left in photo submitted by Robin Hernandez) in this morning's early heat and humidity.

Leading the way with a  long margin was Rockledge's Christian Minor.  The 20-year-old FSU student smoked through the course on a 4:56 pace, hitting the finish in 13:51.  Melbourne's Christopher Rego, 18, was second in 15:08 followed by James Stern, 15,  in 15:38.

On the ladies side, 21-year-old Jessica Crate also bested the rest of the field by more than a minute, finishing in 16:10.  Florida Tech team runner, Carolyn Salois, was second in 17:23 with 16-year-old Ashley Shiver grabbing third in 18:15.

Master's winners included Melbourne's Art Anderson, 47, in 16:34 and Palm Bay's Robin Hernandez, 41, in 18:31.

Congrats to all who raced and volunteered today!

Complete results, along with actual finish times as well as projected 5K times, can be found at http://www.runningzone.com/results.html?id=353