TriKidsGeorgia: Ironkids Alpharetta 2015 – TriCoachGeorgia

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As many of TriCoachGeorgia Reapers enter their taper phase for their “A” Ironman races in Augusta, Chattanooga, Maryland, Louisville, Cozumel, and Florida, the focus turned to the successful and growing kids team, TriKidsGeorgia, as they headed to Ironkids Alpharetta.  With over 700 athletes racing, the coaches and parents were sure the TriKidsGeorgia were well trained for their turn on the big stage.

TriKidsGeorgia sent 19 athletes to the race.  Racers for the team included Ben, Allison, Harry, Jack Hayes, Addie, Isaac, Callie, Jack Stansell, Luke, Keaton, Simon, Jenna, Carter, Caiden, Nicholas, Molly, David Andrew, Caroline and Sydney. Sadly, several were out of town and had to miss the event.

The race had three divisions for participants. The first to race were the Senior racers.

The team entered 5 kids in the Senior division. The race consisted of a 300 meter swim, 8 mile bike and 2 mile run.  The kids were lined up in numerical order and were ready to get in the pool to start his/her race.  Each athlete was well trained and sharpened in late Summer by swim instructor and Cal Poly Triathlete Cullen Goss, who was 13th overall at the 16-19 year old Sprint at the ITU Worlds in Chicago, Illinois. They completed the swim and headed into transition to get on their bikes.

The bike consisted of 4 laps of a difficult course with hill climbs and descents.  The practice the athletes put in over the past year with Coach Slayer and his assistant, professional cyclist John Butler of Watkinsville, Georgia, showed as each of them had exceptional bike handling skills and splits.

The run took them on an out and back course in the woods. All of the kids finished strong and had great races.

Next up were the intermediate racers.  Their race consisted of a 150 meter swim, 4 mile bike and 1 mile run.  The course was the same as the senior division.  The kids worked hard during their race and all had smiles on their faces when crossing the finish line.

Finally, the junior division raced. During this race, spectators often see a lot of first time triathletes. The TriKidsGeorgia had fun cheering on their teammates and other young children as they competed in the 50 meter swim, 2 mile bike and 500 yard swim. As the kids crossed the finished line, they had their names called just like at the adult Ironman races.

At the awards ceremony, TriKidsGeorgia was very well represented. The team had 7 athletes podium in their respective age groups. More importantly, all the kids and parents of TKGa showed class and respect for their fellow competitors. All told, it was a great day in Alpharetta!

Now the TriKidsGeorgia look to finish their competitive seasons at the Five Star Championships and the re-do of the Atlanta Kids Triathlon that was rained out earlier in the Summer. Let us know if your child want to join this free team that doesn’t quit!

Final Note: TriKidsGeorgia is a non-profit and has many sponsors and affiliates including High Performing Systems, Inc., Adams Tile & Terrazzo, Georgia Cycle Sport, Athens Fleet Feet, Wells Fargo Advisors (Seth Waltman), and Positive Outcomes Psychological Services, P.C. Special thanks once again goes to All3Sports.com for their support of the youth team with a donation of gear to the team. Also, a note of gratitude to TriCoachGeorgia athlete, Taylor Lewis, who donated her winnings from the SlayborDay Challenge to the youth team!

September Starts with a Bang – TriCoachGeorgia

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The early part of the week was all about learning about #WeFinishTogether. Read about it here in our blog on the topic. The team coalesced around Judas Preist aka Judith Garrard’s daughter Kim Garrard Stemple and her outstanding movement to giving race medals to folks who needed encouragement. We encourage you to like them on facebook and join the movement! We also are thinking positive thoughts for #TeamTagg as he faces one of his biggest surgeries yet.

After the WFT movement, this week was another mixed bag of fun and suffering for the Reapers. Some are hitting or enjoying the taper for ITU World Junior Elite Triathlon on Wednesday, Ironkids Alpharetta, Ironman Cozumel 70.3, Ironman Chattanooga, or Ironman Augusta 70.3, and others are still going long for their big A races in Ironman Maryland and Ironman Louisville, not to mention Ironman Florida, Ironman Arizona, and Ironman Cozumel. In addition there were some races on the calendar across the country for the TriKidsGeorgia and their older counterparts from the TriCoachGeorgia that the team just smashed.

Everything started off with the Hot Dam Weekend from Go Race Productions. The Olympic distance triathlon was on Saturday and the Sprint triathlon was on Sunday. Representing the reapers on Saturday was Hurricane Sandee aka Sandra Daust, who took overall female, and FC aka CJ O’Mara, who took seventh overall with an assist from his wife Nicole. Hurricane heads out to Kona shortly for the second time and has established herself as one of the top women in the world in her age group! In fact, rumor has it that she and the Man of Steel aka Jon Lunn went out for a long brick after the race.

On Sunday, FC, mentored by Tax Slayer aka Seth Waltman, was back with another huge day coming fourth overall. Also, repping the Reaper was the “Reaper” relay with #14 aka Jake Gayer and Simon the Swimmer paired up with Jim Casey to crush it for another 1st place. There were strong individual performances from Keaton, Jr. Slayer aka Ellie Gayer and Caroline. Also representing the team were the fast Benedicts, coached by Coach Spartacus. In fact, Lauren came first overall female and was joined on the overall podium by Caroline! Jr. Slayer and Keaton took 1st in age group (AG) as well. Lauren’s sister, Taylor, took 2nd AG too!

Go Race puts on great family friendly races that we sponsor and the TriKidsGeorgia families and TriCoachGeorgia athletes love to head out to their offerings. Crisp McDonald has been the consummate race director and we look forward to working closely with him again in 2016! There are some nice surprises on the race calendar for next year as well.

A few other newer TriKidsGeorgia, Carter, Cailen, Jenna, and Mya went over to the Bootlegger Super Sprint Triathlon and wreaked havoc on the course. The Five Star NP Series has been a nice entry level one for the kids and results were very good given their newness to the sport.

Another race on Saturday was the Run Like A Divas half marathon in Peachtree City Atlanta. We had two Reapers repping for Coach BigBad, Social D. aka Danielle Cheek and Darsh Vader aka Darsh Cook. Both showed off their hard earned fitness with solid races.

In addition, on Saturday, Georgia Multisports productions put on the Tugaloo Olympic Distance Triathlon race. Gator aka Chris Keysor tested out his fitness for his long awaited Augusta 70.3 race there. He came 2nd in AG just missing the stacked Masters podium by about a half minute. His race showed how far his run has come catching up to his already blistering bike.

Also on Saturday, over in Cedar City, Utah Gruesome aka Dr. Lisa Harrigan hit up the challenging 13.1 and came through the finish strong like she has all year. The organizers claim this race was “marked by both the red rock formations as well as the tree-covered hills and mountains there along the western edge of the Markagunt Plateau.  Cedar Canyon makes for an especially scenic and fast course thanks to its long, gradual downhill descent at the Cedar City Half Marathon, which organizers call one of the nation’s fastest half marathon courses.”

New TriCoachgeorgia athlete KenJ took his first week as a team member to hit up the local Rochester, New York, Sprint Triathlon called the Finger Lakes Triathlon. The website indicated that the course wanders through the Finger Lakes wine region, in and along beautiful Canandaigua Lake. There were rollers on the bike course and a flat run. Ken knocked it out of the park and we look forward to a huge 2016 for him with Ironman Chattanooga 70.3 and Ironman Chattanooga both on his agenda

On Sunday, we were all also glad to hear that Dad of TriKidsGeorgia Caroline and David Andrew hit up the Erie Marathon and gave it all he had. Results indicated that he came in at 3:12 and likely finally secured his Boston Marathon Qualifying Time again, but this time he should make the cut off and be able to race it in 2016 along with Longman aka Karl Langenbach and Coach Slayer.

Finally, big thanks to Ingo McLean who put on another free transition clinic at Augusta 70.3 The feedback from these has been very positive.

As one can easily see, the Reapers are crushing it again and again. There are a ton of smiles, PR’s, and podiums. More so there is great sportsmanship and lots of camaraderie. No wonder there is so much positive karma and strong growth. In fact, we look to add some more coaches shortly to the staff to accommodate the demand.

Now we turn to Coach KimPossible‘s athlete MadHatter aka Michelle Hughes crack at Ironman Cozumel 70.3 and one of the biggest race weekends of the year for the team the week after with Ironman Chattanooga and Ironman Augusta 70.3!

We Finish Together Inspires – TriCoachGeorgia

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A Movement Starts

We Finish Together (#WFT). These three words have a new special meaning to TriCoachGeorgia and TriKidsGeorgia as TCGa athlete, Judas Priest’s aka Judith Garrard ‘s daughter, Kim Garrard Stemple, fights for her life. Kim started a movement where athletes young and old donate their finisher medals to someone who needs hope and encouragement. Typically these people are fighting for their lives too.

WFT grows

When Kim created this group, her hope was that local athletes would support local people in need.  It has grown ten fold and the movement continues to spread its’ wings. Little did she know what impact she would have on two triathlon teams based in Georgia.

TriKidsGeorgia Join in

During a recent youth practice, the TriKidsGeorgia worked together to write notes and attach them to medals.  The kids have dedicated their final races of the season to Kim and have begun the process or giving back medals for hope and encouragement.

So do the Reapers

Likewise, the TriCoachGeorgia athletes have rallied around JP providing her support for Ironman Maryland and racing and training in Kim’s honor too. An accomplished athlete in her own right, like her mother, who is a multiple world championship Ironman 70.3 qualifier, Kim currently struggles in her toughest days to complete the Marine Corps Marathon in late October if she makes it. As the final races of the season quickly approach, many of our athletes will have #WFT written on their arms or wear blue in honor of Kim and her fight.

Please Join in and Give Back

You can read up online and join too. This is not a charity but a movement as you will read or see here. Kim kindly has given hope to TriCoachGeorgia’s #TeamTagg. If you are looking for the group to support, please visit the We Finish Together Facebook page.

Slaybor Day Weekend – TriCoachGeorgia

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This weekend was supposed to be an easier one for many in the USA. However, Labor Day turned into Slaybor Day and a little idea born on the track during a Coach Slayer and TaxSlayer long run, grew to huge proportions.

Check out the awesome Viper aka Steve Smith video if you haven’t already. In this fresh new Slaybor Day Challenge (along with a video here) for everyone regardless of team or other affiliations was invited to knock this brick out over Labor Day. The results, as they unfolded, and afterward were simply astounding. The team will be awarding a $66.6 from all3sports.com to one of the participants once the data is all counted.

However, although all participants dug very deep to get their challenges done in some form or fashion usually over the amount required, one person in particular took things up a notch and added 2 more levels to the original challenge. Terminator aka Dr. Dick Thompson showed his grit and determination for Ironman Louisville this year with his astounding training days, that he dedicated to the leader of the #WeFinishTogether movement, Kim Garrard Stemple, daughter of our Judas Priest aka Judith Garrard. (A whole other blog on this cause is currently in production). Terminator actually finished the challenge at Level III which was more than a full ironman across disciplines!

Meanwhile the youth squad was in the throes of their early season football and cross county training and racing. Huge performances were put on by Caroline, Ellie, Ben, Amy, for their respective schools, Oconee Middle, North Oconee High School, and Malcolm Bridge Middle School. Every TriKidGeorgia is performing well and they still find time to practice multisports twice a week.

Practice led to great results at the Sugar Creek Youth triathlon in South Carolina for several of the youth team members. We had first timers, podium winners, and generally great performances! As can be seen from the pictures online, the TriKidsGeorgia just get it right. Congrats to Carter, Simon, David Andrew and Caroline, and Jake among the many other kids who rocked it out! Now the team turns to Hot Dam Sprint and Ironkids Alpharetta.

Close friend of the team David Eckles joined Rolling Thunder aka Troy Garland this weekend for a local favorite, the Butterfly Dreams 5k. RT was back on the podium. This race supports Butterfly Farms in Watkinsville, Ga where they serve the community with hippotherapy and honor a young child who died with health complications.

Up in New Jersey, after a long flight from Oklahoma traveling to her old home town of Holmdel, Gruesome aka Lisa Harrigan hit up the Walk in the Park 5k with her daughter Gracie. This was a rousing performance more so for the memories it stoked and forged than for the results per se. You see, the Walk in the Park women’s 5K took place on Gruesome’s old high school cross country field!

Over at gorgeous Callaway Gardens, Coach KimPossible sent first time triathlete and new team member Abby to the Callaway Olympic Triathlon. Abby didn’t have much time to cherish the beauty of the Gardens as she was too busy doing her job, and landed a podium in her first race ever! One can see the look of pride clearly on her face.

Finally, the team was stoked to see Kim and Martin M. as well as Xena aka Gina Farrell and Hoss aka Bradley Odom out at the Savannah Century September 6. Not only did these team members fight off some mechanical issues to go long. Some found it in them to run off the bikes after huge bike days setting them up nicely for their late season races.

All told, this week was huge! The team keeps going and growing and we have results and smiles to prove it. Inquire about how you can join them moving forward so your 2016 will be as fun as their 2015 is.

Final notes: It’s the final chance to get points in the Georgia Triathlon Series. Hope to see you at the HotDam Races for Go Race Productions this weekend. There are other races too like the Diva’s Half Marathon, John Tanner 2 Sprint Triathlon, and Tugaloo Olympic distance, that the team will be representing at.