Saturday morning broke in what I call a watercolor sunrise. Muted shades of pink, purple, and blue with just enough clouds on the horizon to light up the sky. However, as we know, you can't really paint race morning. You can’t capture the nervous excitement that fills the air as everyone goes about their routines, and then slowly marches towards the start on the beach. The water was smooth. Smooth enough to fool you into thinking it was going to be an easy swim. It was the quintessential calm before the storm. Even the warm up swim gave no indication of the fact that the glassy gulf concealed thousands of jellyfish ready to light fire to our limbs. The first two swim waves went off without a hitch. The start to the third wave was the same. The course swims out into the Gulf for about 100 yards before turning east and running parallel to shore. We soon found out that the first buoy was where the chaos began. Every stroke seemed to ignite pain somewhere on the body as jellyfish were everywhere. Joey was apparently immune to all of this as he was first out of the water AND still had energy to show off his dance skills at the awards ceremony (video evidence is somewhere). According to some spectators on the beach it looked like a sinking ship as people scrambled to hang onto paddle boards and signaled life guards. Nonetheless, those who made it through the swim were still rewarded with a great race. In contrast to the swim the bike was smooth with a forgivingly calm wind. The course is deceptively rolling but one that is still capable of producing fast times, as demonstrated on this day by Allen and Matt. The run, as expected in August, was hot and humid. Fortunately a large part of the run course is shaded giving everyone at least some respite. The only hill on this lightning fast and flat course is coming out of the tunnel after crossing under highway 98, which really only counts as a hill in Florida. Gulf Coast Tri Team members tore up the course leading to some great overall finishing times. In the end GCTT took home first and second place overall, 5 of the top 10 spots, master’s champion, and 5 different age group awards. It was a great race and one that reminded me that I participate in triathlons not to feel fast, or because they are easy, but because each is a challenge in a different way. - Aaron Great racing today at the Sandestin Triathlon! One of the most beautiful race venues in the world. Here are the guys' results: Allen Stanfield -- 1st OVERALL Male Eric Larson -- 2nd OVERALL Male Andrew Rothfeder -- 4th overall, 1st Masters Male Joey Pocreva -- 5th overall, 1st 15-19M AG Aaron Runyon -- 6th overall, 1st 35-39M AG Matt Storr -- 11th overall, 2nd 35-39M AG Randy Walton -- 13th overall, 1st 50-54M AG Lance Steed -- 2nd 45-49M AG Scott Roberts -- 17th AG Full results: http://www.altavistasports.com/results/2015results/Sandestin08222015.htm Sunfish Triathlon – Meridian, MS – 7/11/15
This weekend the GCTT made its debut at the Sunfish Triathlon in Meridian, MS. This mid-July race typically brings HOT temperatures and this year’s race was no exception. Even the water temperature was a balmy 92 degrees. This also marked the 29th running of the very popular Sunfish Triathlon, attracting a fast field of participants from all over the Southeast. The race started with a 1/3 mile swim in beautiful Lake Bonita followed by a 17 mile bike through some very deceiving hills. The event finished with a steamy 5k run around the lake. A great feature of this race was the $100 cash prize awarded for the fastest participant in each of the three disciplines so even before the starting gun went off the competition was heating up. Rob, Allen, and Sam would all be chasing the swim split since Joey would not be competing (according to Joey it was Rob’s for the taking). Matt was planning to crush the field on the bike. In the absence of Eric the run split would also be up for grabs by the runner who could survive the heat with a swift run. When all the dust settled Sam would take home the cash for the fastest swim edging out Rob by only 21 seconds. Matt narrowly missed the top bike split by the tiniest of margins (8 seconds). The run split was taken with a blazing fast time (albeit questionable, story for another time) of 16:44 by an unknown from Louisiana. Even with a stacked field the team placed 7 members in the top 22, and 4 in the top 11! Allen would yet again cross the finish line first and take the overall win with a smoking fast time of 1:10:52. This race along with Heatwave marked Allen’s second top podium finish of the year. Johnny grabbed the Grand Masters Title to keep his hot streak going. Doug rebounded from his Texas injury by taking home the Senior Masters trophy. Several others also took home hardware. Full team results are as follows: 1st – Allen Stanfield, Overall Champion 6th – Sam Hudson, 1st AG 8th – Caleb Earhart, 1st AG 11th – Johnny Harrison, Grand Masters 16th – Rob Felty, 1st AG 21st – Matt Storr, 5th AG 22nd – Kevin Self, 5th AG 30th – Doug Jones, Senior Masters 64th – Terry Bailey, 3rd AG Awesome job of racing in what proved to be a very fast field!!! Complete results along with video of each participant crossing the finish line can be found here. Post-race activities included frosty beverages and pizza as well as the always “healthy” Popeye’s fried chicken. A good time was had by all! Next team race will be the all popular Sandestin Tri on August 22nd. -Kevin Sunday, June 28, 2015 Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon (Chattanooga, TN) USAT Southeast Region Age-Group Championship 2015 being the third year in existence for the Gulf Coast Triathlon Team (GCTT) and following a great, inaugural team road trip to Central Florida in 2014, GCTT set forth in making plans for crafting such an undertaking into an annual event for the team. The result of sifting through various race databases, exchanging numerous e-mails, and coordinating a listing of seventeen (of the twenty-two) team members and two team sponsors would not disappoint — a fun-filled trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee for Team Magic’s annual Chattanooga Waterfront Intermediate Distance Triathlon! Per usual, the organization of the Team Magic events is second to none. Packet pickup, transition layout, bus service to the swim start, and athlete village traffic flow are all very easy to navigate thanks to race directorship’s fine attention to detail combined with an energetic volunteer force. These would actually prove to be the simpler aspects of the entire weekend. Seemingly more effort was expended on planning out how to conveniently transport, entertain, and lodge (in no particular order) seventeen bikes, nineteen men residing across the entirety of the Gulf Coast and a complement amount of transition bags and race gear, a portable chiropractic table, a rental U-Haul trailer, and a fifteen-passenger rental van. So, with an eclectic spread of digital music and a healthy mix of tales to pass the time the team set out for the Scenic City on Saturday for this Sunday event. Beyond the routine of packet pickup Saturday afternoon would include half the team enjoying the city’s bike rental program while the other half scoping out portions of the 10k run course; all followed by a feast at Mellow Mushroom and bookended by some scheming around the local Sunday beverage sales restrictions. Sunday morning would bring near-perfect racing conditions: a down-current swim in the 80-82F Tennessee River, 65F air temps, negligible wind, clear skies, fantastic road conditions featuring U.S. Highway 27, and a generous amount of shade along the TN Riverwalk run course. The swim course is a unique point-to-point swim which has somewhat become a hallmark of the Chattanooga events (70.3, Ironman). Athletes were arranged in order of estimated swim time, submitted upon entry to the event. GCTT landed around the same grouping of bib numbers (115 - 150 range) which also made for a familiar set of bikes, gear, and athletes in the same vicinity of transition. As above, the swim was comparatively fast given the down-river direction and a favorable water flow. Athlete traffic in the water was ideal and easy to navigate. Just as soon as the entire team was in the water GCTT athletes were slinging themselves out of the water and up the steps into T1. The bike course is a challenging ride along Highway 27 as it courses North followed by a quick button-hook turnaround and back Southward toward the city. The back half of this ride made for some fantastic views of the city coupled with some exhilarating speeds (40+ mph) on the bike. A quick exit ramp jaunt and it was screaming into T2 in preparation for the 10k run. The run course is a deceptive event for this race. Apart from the 10k distance being too long to “fake it and hope to make it” like many sprint events (5k runs), this course features some uphill running during the meat of miles one and five. Beyond that, there is the set of stairs at the 0.5 and 5.5 mile markers. These hills and stairs made for an challenging run, but a run which really is/was fun especially considering the great aide station support (cold towels, water hose showers, supportive volunteers), the abundant amount of shade, the elevated wood plank path through the heavily-wooded areas, and the counterflow athlete traffic which allowed for scoping out competition and cheering other athletes along. The post-event festivities were great. A well-coordinated results display (paper posting and computer screen scrolling), a great selection of food and drink, and a scenic venue which allowed the entire team to enjoy the beautiful weather. When the final tallies were in, this event would prove that it deserved to be the Southeast Region Age-Group Championship — this was a competitive field. The GCTT athletes made some proud podium appearances with seven awards for the haul: Pocreva — 1st AG, Southeast Region AG Champion Larson — 3rd AG, 10th overall, fastest run of the day Stanfield — 3rd AG Hudson — 2nd Masters Rothfeder — 2nd AG Walton — 1st AG, Southeast Region AG Champion Harrison — 1st AG, Southeast Region AG Champion Full results can be found here: http://www.amatteroftiming.com/images/results/2015/cwt.html Rounding out a fun weekend trip, GCTT enjoyed the remainder of Sunday: relaxing at the outdoor sundeck of the hotel, checking out the various eateries in downtown Chattanooga, using the 24-hour bike rental passes until the last possible moment, some competitive games of ping-pong at Clyde’s On Main, entertaining sing-alongs of some of GCTT’s favorite songs, helping some young co-eds with the portage of their watercraft to their cars, and much, much more… Thanks again to the fine team sponsors who make these sort of events possible for GCTT and to the folks at Team Magic for hosting such a fantastic race. Special thanks to Joseph Bolton of Pro Cycle & Tri and Ryan Nobles of Coastal Chiropractic for making the trip with the team, their insight and company made for a great event!
The team had their strongest performance of the year yesterday at the 2015 Grandman Triathlon in beautiful Fairhope, AL. The weather was perfect making for a great day to race. Sam Hudson had the fastest overall swim and bike split on the day leaving the field in the dust he secured his 1st place overall finish. Great job Sam! Allen Stanfield had a great and finished 2nd overall. Eric Larson had the fastest overall run split on the day which helped place him 3rd overall on the day. The team placed 9 in the top 10 and 14 in the top 20 spots. Here is a link to the complete results and below in the gallery is a summarized team result. Looking forward to our next team race - The Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon on June 28! Saturday, May 30, 2015 - Grandman Triathlon
Fairhope, Alabama - 7am race start By Lance Steed Let’s go back a ways to see just how far the Grandman Triathlon has come. The Grandman Triathlon started out as the Pelican Point Triathlon back on June 1, 2001. There were around 200 participants. The race was the brainchild of Jeff Pollock, an M.D. who had recently graduated from University of South Alabama and was doing his internship in Radiology. His wife, Erika Pollock, was an outstanding female triathlete who was winning every race in sight - not just by a little but in a lot of cases finishing in the top 5 overall. She had me frequently looking over my shoulder. Together, Jeff and Erika tirelessly labored to organize and promote the Pelican Point race. I remember seeing Jeff after the inaugural race, bullhorn in hand with a large straw hat, and he told me he was utterly exhausted from the effort. He hadn’t slept a wink the night before. They did not have all the resources and the large volunteer staff that the Grandman has today. They largely pulled this off themselves. The Pelican Point location was a nice venue but it also served as a popular local boat launch. After a few years and many complaints from local fisherman (and others) – failure to launch. Jeff managed to change the race site to the Fairhope Pier and the name to The Grandman Triathlon. Jeff and Erika moved away around 2006 and turned over the management of the event to Mobile Bay Keepers/Bay Watch and Casi Calloway. The race has steadily grown over the years and now is much more than just a good local race – it’s a regional event and this year had over 700 participants. Wow! I am not sure if Jeff and Erika had envisioned their race becoming the event it is today. And of course, Casi Calloway has taken what Jeff and Erika started and truly made it a signature event for our area. Kudos to Jeff, Erika, Casi and the countless volunteers (like the Hartley’s) who have made this event what it is today. Now about this 2015 race… Perfect conditions. Mild temps (warm but not hot), light winds, calm water, and just a healthy touch of humidity yielded fast times for many. GCTT dominated in almost every Age Category. We have a fast team indeed: Overall Awards: Sam Hudson: 1:11:19 Overall Winner Smoked swim and blistered bike (41:07) Allen Stanfield:1:11:42 2nd Overall Balanced splits with impressive run Eric Larson:1:13:06 3rd Overall Fastest run split of the day 17:37 on a long 5k course (it’s like 3.25 miles) Master Awards: Chad Hon:Male Master win Solid time of 1:15:39 Johnny Harrison:Male Grandmasters Winner Incredible 1:15:00 time. AARP cardholders can’t go this fast – except for Johnny. Male Age Group 1-19: Joey Pocreva:2nd in Male 1-19 with a great time of 1:16:26. Joey’s run has really come around. Male Age Group 20-24: Caleb Earhart:1st Male 20-24. His time of 1:16:39 is impressive and no one was close. Male Age Group 25-29: Logan Roberts:1st Male 25-29. 1:14:16 with a bike time of near 42:00 flat. He may make a run for being the team’s strongest cyclist in years to come. Male Age Group 30-34: Rob Felty:1st Male 30-34. 1:14:09. Strong swim and run for Rob. Chris Knerl:2nd Male 30-34. 1:14:49 Nice race by Chris. Strong bike. Male Age Group 35-39: Aaron Runyon:1st Male 35-39 Solid time of 1:17:15 Male Age Group 40-44: Since Sam was OA, we had no one claim a spot for this category. We need a little more depth here. Male Age Group 45-49: Jeff Conrad:1st Male 45-49 1:18:18 Lance Steed - 2nd Male 45-49 1:18:52 Male Age Group 50-54: Randy Walton:2nd Male 50-54 Balanced Race – 1:17:55 Male Age Group 55-59:Since Johnny won Grandmaster, we had no one claim a spot here. Depth is needed in this age group. Randy will be there before long to help out! Male Age Group 60-64: Terry Bailey:2nd Male 60-64 1:26:21 Nice job. *Doug Jones DNS race to a recent collarbone/cycling injury. This occurred at IM Texas several weeks ago. Doug would have assuredly been on the podium in the 60-64 Age Category. We wish Doug a speedy recovery and appreciate him coming out to support the team even though he could only cheer us on with one arm. *Another sure-fire podium bet in the 45-49 was Andrew Rothfeder. Andrew went down hard on the Bike, losing 30% of his epidermis on the course but still managed to complete the race. Way to tough it out Andrew! Post race activities at The Grandman were exceptional. The shaded area near the finish line offers comfort as well as a beautiful vantage point looking out over Mobile Bay. GCTT teammates and friends were able to rehydrate, relax and rehash the day’s events. Food, music, massage tables and cold beer – it was indeed a Good Day! GCTT looks forward to Grandman2016! - Lance The rain fizzled out for the 5th Annual Traditions Triathlon yesterday just north of Biloxi, MS which made for a really great day to race. The guys had some awesome performances and represented the team with flying colors! Here is how they finished up: Eric Larson - 1st OA Joey Pocreva - 1st AG Caleb Earhart - 1st AG Jared Moore - 1st AG Rob Felty - 2nd AG Allen Stanfield - 1st AG Aaron Runyon - 3rd AG Scott Roberts - 4th AG Evan Malone - 5th AG Sam Hudson - 2nd OA Andrew Rothfeder - 1st AG Chad Hon - 3rd AG Jeff Conrad - 4th AG Lance Steed - 5th AG Randy Walton - 1st AG Johnny Harrison - 1st Grandmasters Doug Jones - 1st AG Terry Bailey - 2nd AG As you can see it was a strong race for the team. Complete results can be found here. Our next race is Fairhope's Grandman Traiathlon - see you there! Saturday, April 4th, 2015 Red Hills Triathlon, Tallahassee, FL - 7:30 am The Gulf Coast Tri Team kicked off its third year with an awesome race at the Red Hills Triathlon in Tallahassee on Saturday April 4th. Red Hills always provides a great early season test as it draws top competition from all along the Gulf Coast, Tallahassee and even some racers from the more southern reaches of Florida. This year was no exception but the Team was up to the challenge. Red Hills is one of the more picturesque venues as the swim and run take place within Maclay Gardens State Park while the bike course exits the Park in search of every hill in the vicinity. Most of the Team arrived early enough Friday to get together for a Team meal and to catch up a bit on what everyone had done during the off season. Looking around the table it was clear that everyone had been training hard through the Winter and looked fit and ready for race season to start. The weather for this race is always unpredictable....sometimes in the 40s and other times in the 80s. Saturday morning was a bit warm but the overcast skies made it an ideal morning for racing. A quick look around the transition area confirmed that there were a lot of strong competitors and everyone seemed ready to get the day started. After a little more work setting up transition it was time to get a warm up run in and then to head to the Lake. The water in the Lake was low 70s and wetsuit legal. Certainly chilly when you first enter but the chill was quickly forgotten after a short warm up. The horn sounded and the first wave went off at 7:30am. Before long the Lake was full of racers and transition was buzzing with racers heading out onto the bike course. The bike course is more challenging than what is typically encountered on the Gulf Coast and keeps you working hard for the full 16 miles. While the bike course is a big loop there seem to be far more uphill miles than downhill. Sam Hudson smoked the course with the fastest bike split of the day on his way to winning the Masters division. It is clear that the Team was ready for the course as all 11 members placed within the top 26 bike splits! The run course has its' own challenges. After heading up a short hill out of transition the course is a series of rolling hills for the first mile before heading into the woods of the Park for about 1.25 miles of some pretty technical trails before returning to the pavement for the stretch to the finish. The trail section always requires runners to slow their pace but Eric Larson navigated it better than anyone else to notch the top run split of the day on the 5K course in 17:15. Following the race everyone was quick to check the results and it was clear that the Team had represented itself well. GCTT claimed 5 of the overall top 10 finishes and 11 of the top 24! In addition to Sam's win in the Masters division Johnny Harrison claimed Grandmasters. Age Group winners included Allen Stanfield, Eric Larson, Andrew Rothfeder, Randy Walton and Doug Jones. Rob Felty, Chris Knerl and Scott Roberts all claimed podium spots as well. Jared Moore finished 13th overall but just missed the podium in the stacked 30-34 age group. Everyone seemed pleased with their performance for this stage of the season. No time for rest though as the Team will have a big turnout at the Traditions Triathlon in Biloxi on Saturday April 11th. Always a great event put on by Team sponsor www.runandtri.com Rumor has it that a wager may be brewing between Sam and Allen as Sam, despite his advanced age, was able to resoundingly beat Allen by 1 second at Red Hills. Race fast! Stay safe. See you at Traditions. -Randy Red Hills overall results: http://www.racesmith.com/results/2015results/RedHillsTriathlon040415oa.html Red Hills age group results: http://www.racesmith.com/results/2015results/RedHillsTriathlon040415ag.html Checkout the photos on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/GulfCoastTriTeam Yesterday the Gulf Coast Tri Team kicked off their season with the 2015 Red Hills Triathlon in Tallahassee, Florida. The guys were up against some top notch competition but still managed bring home a lot of hardware. Our thoughts and prayers are with a competitor that was hit by a vehicle while on his bike - we wish that you heal quickly and make a full recovery. Here were the results from the day: Sam Hudson 5th OA, Masters Champion Allen Stanfield 6th OA, 1st AG Rob Felty 8th OA, 2nd AG Eric Larson 9th OA, 1st AG Chris Knerl 10th OA, 3rd AG Johnny Harrison 12th OA, Grandmasters Champion Jared Moore 13th OA, 4th AG Andrew Rothfeder 14th OA, 1st AG Randy Walton 16th OA, 1st AG Doug Jones 23rd OA, 1st AG Scott Roberts 24th OA, 3rd AG Full results can be found here. Looking forward to anther great race next weekend at Traditions Triathlon in Mississippi! Big shout out and congratulations to GCTT member Evan Malone on racing and finishing the Grand Daddy of all Triathlons - Ironman Kona. Thank you for representing our team at Kona and well done buddy! Also, awesome pics! |
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