E-zine 09/02/02

Editors comments

It has been a while since the last update and tons has happened. The Ironman Utah race had significant problems. K100 Relay was true to form with controversy and some of our members tackled the Vermillion races.

This next week I will be emailing the forms for everyone doing Cross Calgary Relay to fill out.. Anyone interested in running should contact me via email at blaznfast@aol.com 

Take care out there and remember to think Blazn Fast!

Feature Article

None this issue

None.

Race Reports

This edition we have two reports for you: The Vermillion Marathon and Ironman Utah

Vermillion Marathon - May 25, 2002 (as reported by Jason)

Jason returned to the off road Vermillion marathon as a former champion (2000) and was using the race as a tune up to the Death Race later this summer. Despite his lack of higher focused speed training Jason had a number of long runs under his belt and was ready for this small participant off road marathon. Despite the course problems of 2001 and the recent poor weather the 2002 edition of Vermillion proved to be fairly well run.

Taking a page from the conservative marathon racing strategy Jason ran in a small pack through the first of this 4 lap (10.5km per lap) race in about 56 minutes before picking up the tempo to 51 minutes in lap two. He was joined by 3 fellow competitors that didn't quite know what Jason had in mind as he again picked up the pace in lap three to about 50 minutes in which only one was able to keep in contact before Jason accelerated to a fast final lap of 48 minutes to win his second title at the race. Congratulations Jason!

Ironman Utah Race Report - June 8, 2002 (as reported by Alex)

Alberta area Blaznfast members (& associates) headed down to Provo a few weeks ago for the inaugural Ironman Utah Triathlon.  Included in the contingent were Strater C (Okotoks), Deb C ( Edmonton ), Dan H (Okotoks),  Bob R (Airdrie), Richard R ( High River ) and Alex W (Balzac).   Deb, Dan, and Bob were first timers, hoping to be able to add the much coveted title of “Ironman” to their portfolio of achievements.  

All was going well until about an hour before the swim start, when a howling northwest wind came up and started whipping up the shallow, muddy waters of Utah Lake .  Conditions were rough but “raceable” at about 6:55 , when for some reason the start cannon went off prematurely.  Within 10 minutes the conditions got considerably worse, with 4-5 foot waves crashing down on the swimmers.   Deb Crowfoot turned back first, after ingesting a few gallons of the murky waters.  Once it became apparent that the race buoys had blown away (rumor has it they were later found near Bermuda), most of the other 1500 or so swimmers followed Deb’s lead – many spending more than an hour fighting their way to shore, unable to see above the waves, with nothing to sight on except some distant mountains and the sun.    Rescue boats, kayaks, and Jet-Ski’s helped haul the stragglers to shore.   One life was lost in the mayhem.

Once everyone else was accounted for, the race was shortened to a duathlon, with a 70 mile bike (down from 112 miles) and a 13.1 mile run (down from 26.2 miles).   The weather gradually improved and the bike and run conditions turned out to be pretty good.  Alex and Richard completed the bike in about 3:30, with the rest of the team coming in just over 4 hours, not bad when you consider that Richard stopped to help someone fix a flat, Bob had major problems with some brand-new cycle shoes, Strater had a severely pulled muscle in his back, Dan had been out of town most of the last 6 months and had only ridden his race bike twice outdoors, and Deb’s work schedule didn’t allow him to train much.  Yep, definitely a group of seasoned pros…..

Everyone took it easy on the run and finished the race well before sunset. 

So, with the shortened course, can the finishers call themselves Ironmen, or just wannabes?   There’ll probably never be agreement on the issue, but after fighting for our lives in the lake, then finding out that  one of our fellow triathletes had died in the water, then sitting shivering for several hours while the details of the race were worked out, then braving the heat, wind, and hills of the bike and run, the spirit of Ironman was definitely there for all to witness. 

Ironman has offered 900 free spots to upcoming races to those who completed Utah .  You’ll be seeing most of the Blaznfast team either in Penticton , Panama City, Santa Rosa (Vineman), or next year’s Utah race to remove any doubt on their Ironman status.

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