A HUGE shout out to all the ladies of BTWG who competed in the Go Girl Triathlon at Eagle Creek. I hope to have some first hand accounts and race reports emailed to me so I can share them on the blog, or you might catch some reports on the ladies blogs.
It was an ideal day for a race; a little overcast, cool temps, and mild humidity and it seems the girls really made the most of it. If I understand correctly, one of the teams placed 7th and 2 girls had PR's on the run!
Congrats to all who competed and a special thanks to the BTWG support crew - Pam the Blam, Matt, Rob and Joe!
After enjoying the post race celebration I continued to enjoy the day with a short (30 minute) barefoot run over at the soccer fields; it was amazing and exhilarating and the turf felt wonderful beneath my unshod feet. Making it all the more special? Jody and Christian joined me! Yup, I've got Jody taking up a little running and she's loving it so far and this is a gal that has "bad knees" and most doctors would tell her she should avoid running. A little coaching and the right preparation and she's been doing great.
Peace,
Chris
3 comments:
Way to go Ladies!!!
My apologizes for missing it- I mean really missing it! I thought it started at 9 so I got to the park a little after 10 when the place was clearing out. I drove around looking for familiar faces but no luck. Perfect weather!Sounds like everyone did great!
Chris—
Just wanted to let you know I volunteered at Go Girl as a body marker and at the water stop on the run and can say it was an unbelievable representation of ladies of all ages, sizes, and abilities.
The youngest lady at 13 years old finished 73rd with a time of 1:18. The most experienced lady (literally--she does tri's all summer long and has for years) of 63 years young came in 97th with a time of 1:20. That's only a 2 minute difference between the two!
While on water duty during the run we had several impromptu volunteers ask if they could pass the water to their sister or aunt or mother, grandmother or wife. We saw them on their first mile out and their last mile back in. You could tell the ladies were looking for their families on the way back in when they needed that extra push to finish.
It was an honor marking these ladies arms, answering their questions, providing them water, giving them words of encouragement to calm the nerves, wish them good luck, and cheering them on the last few minutes of a long journey to the finish line.
I would strongly encourage anyone who participates in races to volunteer at least once. The stories are amazing and will fuel your fire to swim harder, pedal stronger, and/or run faster at your next event. I have never volunteered for a race before but I was as exilerated after the Go Girl as I was finishing my first triathalon.
Way to GO GIRL(s)! Congratulations on having the courage to sign up and the will power to make it happen for you and your teams.
Sherry C
Patti:
Sorry you missed it! Thanks for coming out to support. We will get you on a team next year!
Sherri:
Wonderful race report from someone who has been on both sides of the race - racer and volunteer. I've been a volunteer at several races had have been race director for 5k'S and sprint tri's and like you said, it's almost as much fun being a race supporter as it is to race!
Thanks for posting your experience!
Peace,
Chris
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