USA Triathlon National Challenge Competition Champions TriCoachGeorgia 01

Against the Odds, Local Athens Georgia Triathlon Team wins National Challenge Competition – TriCoachGeorgia

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TriCoachGeorgia, who also included several members of TriKidsGeorgia, won the Division IV 2014-2015 USA Triathlon National Challenge Competition.

USA Triathlon National Challenge Competition Champions TriCoachGeorgia 01

TriCoachGeorgia won the Division IV (teams with 33-80 members) competition for Biking, Running, and Overall. More than 2,000 teams competed, and with only 50 members (30 short of the maximum allowed), the title of “Champions” in 2/3 racing categories and the overall win is astonishing.

How the National Challenge Competition Works

“Designed to get triathletes excited about offseason training at the club level, the National Challenge Competition features official USA Triathlon clubs from across the country going head-to-head to see who could log the most training miles during the competition.”

According to the USAT, “the NCC featured three sessions, each one month in duration. Clubs recorded their training miles and submitted them on the NCC website for automatic calculation and ranking. Mileage totals were weighted with each swimming mile equaling 10 miles and each running mile equaling three miles. Cycling miles were not weighted.” TriCoachGeorgia, one of the smallest clubs competing, outpointed on a per person average basis most of the larger competing clubs from the rest of the country.

In Division 4, TriCoachGeorgia was in a dog fight with the Black Triathlete Association (BTA), who had the overall individual point winner, Kevin Petty, who was selected to race this year’s world championship in Kona. This battle was waged in pools, on trainers and tarmac, on treadmills, trails and tracks. BTA won the swim month and TriCoachGeorgia pulled out both the bike and run months for the overall win. Much on social media was made of the head to head competition between two of the most active and growing clubs in the country.

TriCoachGeorgia Individual Highlights and Sponsorship Recognition

Many of the TriCoachGeorgia team members pulled down awesome numbers and Seth Waltman and Head Coach Harvey Gayer were top 10 overall for the competition. Right behind was Reuben Adams who was a top 10 male overall. Lester Benitez and Troy Garland rounded out the top 50 overall. Age group winners included Cullen Goss, Judith Garrard, and Dick Thompson for the squad who relied on fewer members than the majority of clubs for points, meaning the team members that contributed all did so in a big way.

TriCoachGeorgia was very thankful for their fueling affiliates and sponsors, Generation Ucan, Nuun, and Infinit. Some prefer slower acting carbs and some prefer faster acting carbs and and these firms covered all options through some difficult, long and back to back training sessions wonderfully.

The team received much support from triathlon suppliers All3Sports.com, Fleet Feet Athens, and Georgia Cycle Sports Concepts. A wide variety of goods at good pricing points is available from these good folks. Special shout out to Fusion Sports USA for eliminating our chafing issues nearly 100%!

More Info about the USAT NCC and TriCoachGeorgia

Full NCC results are available at race-tracker.net/usat. Registration for the 2015-2016 competition will begin Nov. 1, 2016. TriCoachGeorgia is off to a great year following their participation in the NCC. They help you to #DoYourJob (the official TriCoachGeorgia slogan) by assisting children and adults of all levels and abilities map out smart, strategic plans to get them to their priority races strong and healthy. Their coaches care – they are available, involved and celebrate your achievements.

TriCoachGeorgia

The Week After – TriCoachGeorgia

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Last weekend was virtually impossible for us to track all of our athletes. There simply was not enough time in the day. Success was found on so many levels at so many races from overcoming wrecks, flats, vomiting, etc to first timers at half and full Ironman distances to personal records at different distances to podiums and world championships slots.

We are celebrating these successes. The team is on fire. However, the party doesn’t end. It is only beginning.

Most of us are recovering in some form or fashion but like the river that flows, some of us are racing again. Others are on a taper for races in the near horizon. We have quite a few racing Ironman Raleigh 70.3 in two weeks including Judith Garrard aka Judas Priest, Seth Waltman aka TaxSlayer, Chris Keysor aka Gator, and Karl Langenbach aka Longman. Coach Slayer sits this one out but is showing some nice improvement in his recovery from the bike wreck in early April.

Many are still in the throes of training for early season A and B races like Trybee of the Go Race Georgia Endurance Race series, Ironman Coeur D’Alene Ironman UK, Ironman Steelhead 70.3, and Ironman Muncie 70.3. There is also the self supported HFT endurance races in Florida. See our FB page for details of the latter.

Our weekend got off to a huge start. Rolling Thunder aka Troy Garland took 4th OA at the Melvin Ingram 5K with a huge PR only one week off his first half ironman! The annual run/walk at Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, GA was established to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease and money to support the Willie R. (Bill) Ingram and Lt. Col. (Ret.) Melvin Ingram, USMC, Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships annually to full-time students pursuing an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, NROTC or chemistry.

Coaches sent several racers to Go Race productions Old Capital Sprint Triathlon and Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, Ga. Those racing included Rolling Thunder, Chan and Erica Carter aka Rocket and Firecracker, Darsh Cook aka Darsh Vader, Kim Mickalonis (along with RT also in her backyard one week off of Ironman Chattanooga 70.3) and Danielle Cheek aka Social D. The Slayers and TaxSlayers also showed up and the Reapers relay rocked it. The team dug deep again. Results were awesome and the podium was loaded with team members, both youth and adults. Others improved their times massively from last year and smiled while the reaped what they sowed.

TriCoachFlorida Head Coach and TriCoachGeorgia athlete Cube aka Fred Meher, took on Miami Man 70.3 in the windy horrid heat.  This is South Florida’s longest running Half Iron Distance Triathlon. Cube banged out a 1st in AG and 17th OA for a huge day.

From TriKidsGa, D.A. went to PAALS Cycling Festival and took 6th in AG and the youth team sent several to 1 Can Tri Super Sprint in Snellville, Ga. This is another one in their Five Star series. These events are designed to be fun and for the entire family.

According to  Megan Hayes, “Harry, Jack, Lane & Nathan raced in the adult super sprint. Harry was in the 1st wave and the other boys were in the 2nd wave. Unfortunately, the volunteer on the bike course sent the first few racers the wrong way so Harry ended up doing the bike and run leg on his bike (+2.25 extra miles); his time did not get adjusted and therefore he ended up in 4th place in the 19 & under.

Jack got 1st, Lane was 2nd and Nathan 3rd in the 19 & under. They all competed well today.

Others raced there too. Megan wrote “Addie got 1st in 10-11 year old girls and had a flat tire with about 1 mile to go but still finished strong!

Isaac was 2nd in 8-9 year old boys and his friend, Jack, was 4th in that age group. This was Jack’s first race and he just decided to do it last night, so he had no training and rode Isaac’s mountain bike. Finally, Callie Rose was 2nd in 6-7 year old girls, and she missed 1st by 4 seconds! She did better on her bike but is still a little scared. “We have little doubt she will conquer those fears.”

All told, this was another great week for the team. We have done our jobs in training on a consistent basis. Now our tactics and athletes’ commitment to them are proving themselves on the race course.

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A very BIG week – TriCoachGeorgia

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We couldn’t wait any longer. The huge week arrived. And we answered the bell in stellar fashion!

While the youth squad put in a huge training week, Taz aka Wes Hargrove left Columbus, Ga and headed out to race Ironman Texas for the 4th time this year on Saturday. He hammered it despite some horrible vomiting. PR’s on the bike and a huge swim. We also had Brad do his job there overcoming all kinds of odds to arrive at the finish in 12 hours. Friend of the team Dustin from Fleet Feet Athens ran into a bike wreck and had to pull out.

Also, we had Coach BigBad race the 10th edition of the XTERRA Southeast Championship at Oak Mountain State Park in Shelby County, Alabama. The race doubled as the 2015 USA Triathlon Off-Road National Championship race. He lit the course on fire and made it to MAUI for the world championship later this year!

Coach BigBad had a lot on his mind this weekend too with a lot of his athletes racing. While he raced, another one of his athletes @all3sportscom All3Eeedee hit Challenge Knoxville. This is the USAT long course championship and she came in 2nd in AG for the olympic!

Also, over in Chattanooga, Tennesee,  we had over 10 doing Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga aka #IM703CHOO. Kim M., Terminator aka Dick Thompson, IronClyde aka Paul Corley, Ingo, DarkHorse aka Angela Adams, IronHorse aka Reuben Adams, Rolling Thunder aka Troy Garland, Xena aka Gina Farrell, McGritty aka Rhonda McGinty, BigBen aka Richard Nasser, Lone Ranger aka Ty Chambers, Alabama Slammer aka Chris Cosby, and The Cock, aka Peter Schriver raced. Coach Slayer and Spartacus were on course in support along with Tax Slayer aka Seth Waltman, Viper aka Steve Smith, and a whole host of family and friends. Results were super strong across the board and PR’s and first time finishers were commonplace.

Meanwhile, Todd H., Social D., and HOSS hit the Turtle Crawl triathlon in Jekyll Island. Both had a blast and showed commitment to the task at hand and great results.

In Brookhaven at the Bolt 5k, TriKids Jack and Luke tore up a hilly course. Each came in with a top placing.

Along with TriKid Caroline, her Dad David, and TriKid’s Ethan’s Mom Laura, Alan, owner of Jittery Joes in Watkinsville, hit a well respected local 10k for PR attempts at the Marigold 10k. This flat and fast USATF-certified course and Peachtree qualifier (#GA13032WC) is the oldest 10K race in Georgia, second only to the Peachtree 10K.  The race was held as part of the annual Winterville Marigold Festival Festival in Pittard Park. Uniformly strong results were garnered and more PRs too!

All weekend long, Godfather aka Chad Kimbrell, Sparkles aka Candace Zipf, TTT aka Todd Nixon, and Hurricane Sandee Daust did the American-TTT in Ohio. This race is described on the website as a triathlon achievement of epic proportions! “Experience 3 consecutive days of racing, gelling together 4 races covering a total of more than 140 miles for the weekend. You will find yourself swimming in the chilly spring-fed lakes, riding the most technically challenging hills in Ohio, and finishing with breathtaking runs along the trail systems climbing and descending those same hillsides.” Results for the crew were very strong as Hurricane placed first solo female (again) and TTT got the demons off his back. Sparkles and Godfather had great races going but ran into some awful flats and a wreck for the former (no injury but the bike may be hurting).

You’d think we could rest and recover. However, this team is like a flowing river. There’s no stopping us. Bring on the next weekend of races and solid training!



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Taper and Tall Pines Madness – May 2015 – TriCoachGeorgia

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TriCoachGeorgia is just now starting to hit our stride. Races are coming fast and furious for the youth and adults on the team. Training is in full swing for many too. This weekend may seem a bit light as many of us are facing our hardest taper week, but next weekend all hell breaks loose with Ironman Texas, Ironman Chattanooga 70.3, Xterra Southeast Championships, American TTT, Marigold 10k as part of the Winterville, Ga Marigold Festival, etc.

Our number one race this weekend is a two part slug fest at Clarks Hill Lake in Lincolnton, Georgia. There we will race the Go Race Productions, two Tall Pines events. There is an olympic distance on Saturday and the Sprint distance triathlon on Sunday. We really jammed out last year at both races and stamped our place in the Georgia Tri Series history books.

Some of the folks racing the olympic distance included IronMouse aka Amy Peavy-Smith finally getting to race after her previous cancelled one, BigBen aka Richard Nasser in a tune up for Choo 70.3 next week. Also we saw former team members Hurricane Sandee the racing machine and TTT, aka Todd N, just getting back on the course. We have Ironmouse for the double, the Slayer girls, including DocSlay, RedVenger, and Jr. Slayer, as well as Harry from the youth team.

For both races, conditions were rough in the swim and the heat really picked up on the run, but we seemed to fight through it. Results for theSaturday olympic went very well as expected. Mouse with a first in age group and Big Ben with a second in age group and a blistering run. Hurricane was first overall woman. TTT ran into some problems with his swim.

On the sprint, TTT bounced back for a big race. Mouse was back on the podium, and Harry, and every one of the Slayers were first in AG. Number 14, Simon and Jim Casey also came in as first relay team! Hurricane won overall female again and Go Race put on another wonderful set of races with all mothers recognized. It was great to see Ingo, Rolling Thunder aka Troy Garland, and Coaches Slayer and Spartacus out in support, along with a lot of family and friends.

Also on Sunday, the team had Darsh Vader (Cook) take on the Mother’s Day 13.1 in Dacula, Ga. The entire course ran on a wide paved road through a gorgeous and scenic park. Darsh had a blast on the 3 loops and an out-and-back to make up mileage. Her run progress is evident almost daily. Augusta 70.3 won’t stand a chance!

With another great week in the books, the team turns to a huge weekend of racing! Time to #DoOurJob #ReapWhatWeSow so we can #PartyInTheUSA!

Smell the Wildflower – weekly summary May 2015 TriCoachGeorgia

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You can’t have every weekend packed out with races and big swims or rides. Although we have had a packed out schedule lately, we are facing a relatively lighter one this weekend. Still there is plenty of action, and we have a huge month of May on the way!

Starting off for us this week, Young Stud, Cullen, takes on Wildflower, an Olympic-distance (1.5 km / 40 km / 10 km) race in Central California, where he’s at school Cal-Poly. According to common internet sources, Wildflower is known for a particularly hard, hilly and technical course. It is one of the largest triathlon events in the world, with 7,500 athletes and 30,000 spectators attending each year. Traditionally it is associated with a Wildflower festival, though in recent years the festival has been eclipsed by the increasingly large athletic event.

Next we had Terminator, Dr. Dick Thompson, and Alan W. of Jittery Joes Watkinsville, Ga take on a 5k. Terminator works towards Ironman Louisville and Alan works towards a 10k PR at the Winterville Marigold 10k later this month. Terminator scored a 1st in Age group and Alan banged out a 2nd OA on a very tough downtown course. Terminator came back out later in the evening and won another AG too at the Dacula Revolution Glow Run. More impressive was the fact that, in his late 60’s, he still had to compete in the 50 and over group.

Earlier in the morning we had Judas Priest racing again. She is happy and healthy again and came in with a sub30 time! This was good for 1st place AG at the Fiesta 5k Run For ALS. This was a very special race for her and we were all pleased after her difficult year last year before she joined us.

Continuing a trend of late, we also have youth racing Georgia and in Florida. Both states look to hold great races worthy of some travel. We also had some endurance events participants racing nearby.

First off, several TriKidsGa were in Rome for the Tri for the Kids Triathlon. According to their webpage, the 7th Annual Tri for the Kids Triathlon was a sure bet for a great, safe, fun and competitive race for youth that was held on Darlington School’s campus for youth ages 6–15. Jack placed 1st place Elite Division, Simon 2nd place Elite Division, and Luke 4th place! Simon’s mother said she wished she had a video of his finish- NEVER has he moved like that!

Secondly, we have more TriKidsGa racing the The First Coast Kids Triathlon. According to their website, this event was held at Everbank Field in beautiful, downtown Jacksonville on the banks of the St. Johns River, and it will become the first triathlon ever to finish inside an NFL stadium. The center of all the action will be the Pepsi Zone on the South End of the stadium. Issac scored a 2nd in age group and Callie Rose faced her bike fears to bring it in 7th in age group. Jack and Addie had great days too, coming in 2nd and 4th in a stacked elite field!

Thirdly, while Coach Spartacus was a volunteer course marshal, Hurricane Sandee did a 3 mile swim and 50k at the Wildwood Games in Appling, Ga as she progresses to Kona for the Ironman World Championship in Fall. This is her second time competing there.

Finally, BreakingBad, aka John Dunavant, took on the full century ride at Chattanooga, Tn. This ride took him up and down 3 Mountains Century — Suck Creek, Sand and Lookout, in 3 states – Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. Riders left Chattanooga and headed north. He is on his way to Ironman Coeur D’Alene and this should help give him some confidence for the task at hand. We now move on to races around Mother’s Day including a double race “Tall Pines” via our Georgia Triathlon Series and directed by Go Race Productions!