The biggest weekend in our short [recent] history

This coming weekend is full of races and full of Caltech athletes competing in those races. In order of event distance, we have (participating athletes and unofficial results listed after race):

The Big Kahuna Triathlon (half-IM; 1.2mi S/56mi B/13.1mi R) - Santa Cruz, CA



John Meier
Swim: 1.2mi, 41:08.5 (Clydes. place 12/Overall place 500)
T1: 5:13.0
Bike: 56mi, 2:34:47.1, 21.7 mph (1/77)
T2: 1:55.4
Run: 13.1mi, 2:04:05.9, 9:28/mi (4/399)
Total: 5:27:10.0 (Clydes. place 1 of 19/Overall place 217 of 847)

Jeff Hanna
Swim: 1.2mi, 37:38.6 (Age Grp. place 33/Overall place 334)
T1: 4:12.7
Bike: 56mi, 2:40:25.0, 20.9 mph (12/131)
T2: 0:52.8
Run: 13.1mi, 1:34:33.6, 7:13/mi (5/36)
Total: 4:57:42.8 (Age Grp. place 7 of 61/Overall place 71 of 847)

We will get race reports up soon. The short story was that the bike was into a strong headwind heading north to the turnaround and the run finish on the beach was brutal. We both qualified for the USAT Halfmax National Championship to be held in Oklahoma City in 2009 (at the Redman). Scott is competing in this year's race that he qualified for at Ironman Hawaii 70.3 earlier this year. All of these races were our first attempt at the half-iron distance.

LA Triathlon (olympic; 1.5k S/40k B/10k R) - Los Angeles, CA

Steve Vass
Swim: 1.5k, 32:36
T1: 4:02
Bike: 40k, 1:13:56
T2: 2:30
Run: 10k, 52:02
Total: 2:45:03 (Age Grp. place 4/Overall place 411)

There were also friends/family of the triclub competing in this race. Oliver finished in 2:40:07 (2nd AG/327 O'all) and Craigalicious in 2:02:12 (yeah, he's fast!).

Portage Lakes Triathlon (olympic) - Akron, OH





Emily McDowell
Swim: 1.5k, 28:37 (Age Grp. place 3/Overall place 93)
T1: 3:49
Bike: 37k, 1:22:39, 16.7 mph (5/160)
T2: 2:37
Run: 10k, 1:01:34, 9:56/mi (6/155)
Total: 2:59:16 (Age Grp. place 6/Overall place 158)

Pacific Coast Triathlon (sprint; 0.5mi S/12mi B/3mi R) - Newport Beach, CA





Matt Eichenfield
Swim: 0.5mi, 16:28 (Overall place 315)
T1: 2:24
Bike: 12mi, 36:20 (110)
T2: 1:42
Run: 3mi, 18:49 (43)
Total: 1:15:43 (Age Grp. place 11/Overall place 105)

Valerie Scott
Swim: 0.5mi, 18:08 (Overall place 480)
T1: 3:02
Bike: 12mi, 43:47 (549)
T2: 1:41
Run: 3mi, 25:18 (523)
Total: 1:31:56 (Age Grp. place 13/Overall place 515)

Congratulations to all! I will get any race recaps posted within the next week. Don't forget to buy some Bear Naked granola products! They are delicious, nutritious, and an excellent snack. Come talk to me if you want some free samples.