2009 Nation's Triathlon a Great Success!!

A record-setting 8 NORSA members and affiliates competed in the 4^th Annual Nation’s Triathlon. This was the third consecutive appearance by NORSA-mainstays Steven L., and Adam. They were joined by Matt, Leo and Russ, who each finished their second Nations Tri. Newcomers this year included Mike, Brian and Marie.

The Nation’s Triathlon is a Standard Olympic-Distance race. It consists of a 1500 meter (0.93 Mile) Swim, a 40 kilometer (24.85 mile) Bike, and a 10 kilometer (6.21 mile) Run. The Nation’s Triathlon is one of the biggest triathlons around. While 6000 people registered, 3933 actually competed in and finished this year’s race. The attrition is probably due to the fact that the race sells out months before the competition. When race day arrives, many competitors FTA due to scheduling problems they couldn’t foresee months in advance, as well as regular sickness, injury, etc.

Like last year, all competitors had to go to a few events before the race. Packet pickup was at the Washington Hilton on Friday and Saturday. There is no packet pickup on race day because the logistics of distributing 1000’s of packets in the hours before the race would be mind-boggling. Additionally, competitors were required to leave their bikes at the race site the day before the event. This allowed many competitors to take shuttles to the race site from the host hotel.

The weather for this year’s race was perfect: mostly sunny skies with a high of 83 and a low of 63 for the day. The race was started at 7:00AM, so the NORSAites got to compete in that perfect 70-degree range.

This year’s course was modified slightly from the previous year. Competitors swam in the Potomac under the Memorial Bridge. The water this year was a little browner and a little less clear than in previous races. The water temp was about 71 degrees. Most competitors wore wetsuits, most NORSA members did not.

Between events, competitors had to find their bikes in the mega-massive transition area (see photo). Hopefully, they remembered their row number.

The bike took racers into Rock Creek Park, up the Whitehurst Freeway, then out-and-back on Canal Road, the Clara Barton Parkway, and the Cabin John Parkway. This course was heavily shaded (good), but may have been a little narrow for so many competitors.

The run was around Haines Point and the Tidal Basin. As the race expands each year, there seems to be less of an ability to host it on the Mall. There was no Pennsylvania Avenue Finish this time. However, traffic in the city was significantly less affected and racers were able to finish next to the transition area, rather than miles away as in previous years.

Results:

How long is a race of this magnitude supposed to take, you ask? Well, the overall winner finished with a time of 1:55:59. Mayor Adrian Fenty finished with a time of 2:21:18. The last competitors crossed the line around the 5-hour mark.

Everybody on the NORSA-squad finished with these highly respectable times:

This year, Russ again came out on top, with an overall time of 2:33:23. He was followed by Steven L. (2:40:57); Leo (2:50:08); Marie (2:50:15); Matt (2:52:40); Mike (2:54:49); Adam (2:57:41) and Brian (3:08:51). Complete results with splits are available here.

Congratulations to all the NORSA members who competed in this year’s race and thanks to the family and friends who came for support! I hope you all enjoyed this year’s post, which unlike last year's post, contains more than 2 paragraphs, more than 1 picture, and has hyperlinks, results, descriptions and adjectives.

Luray Sprint Triathlon

On Sunday, August 16, veteran NORSA members Matt W., Russ M., Jon S., and Leo W. joined newly minted NORSA members Brian B. and Mike L. to compete in the Luray Sprint Triathlon in Luray, VA. This was a challenging race consisting of a 750 meter swim in Arrowhead Lake, a 16 mile bike through the rolling hills of the Shenandoah Valley, and a 5K run.

Matt White Actually Delivers on Promised NORSA Article (Also: Team NORSA Competes in 25th Annual Colonial Beach Triathlon)

On Saturday, July 11, Team NORSA competed in the 25th annual Colonial Beach Triathlon in Colonial Beach, VA. Undeterred by the possibility of contracting Vibrio from swimming in a tidal area of the Potomac River, returning NORSA triathletes Leo Weitzenhoff and Matt White teamed up with potential new NORSA members Mike Louis and Brian Barrett to compete in this event. The sprint-distance triathlon consisted of a 750 meter swim in the Potomac River, a 14 mile bike through backcountry roads in the Colonial Beach area, and a 5 kilometer run along the bank of the Potomac.

The swim course consisted of one loop around triangle of buoys in the river. Although Team NORSA encountered no major difficulties during the swim, returning triathletes Leo and Matt found the river in the Colonial Beach area to be, overall, saltier, nastier, and harder to see through than the upstream portions swam during the Nation's Triathlon in the Washington, D.C. area.

The bike course was flat and straight, but with a surprising twist - the road was not closed to vehicle traffic during the race. Although volunteers and county sheriff's deputies were directing traffic at a few of the intersections, the triathletes often found themselves sharing the 2 lane road with semis and tour buses going 55 mph. Although Matt finished the swim course 30 seconds ahead of Leo, Leo caught up on the bike portion and finished the bike course two-tenths of a second faster than Matt.

The run course was also flat and straight, with a few drunken neighborhood spectators cheering on the athletes (at 8:00 in the morning). Leo opened up his lead here, finishing the race with an overall time of 1:26:21, an improvement over his previous sprint time at the 2007 Sandman Triathlon in Virginia Beach. Matt also improved on his previous performance at the Sandman with an overall time of 1:29:14. First-time triathletes Mike and Brian also made Team NORSA proud with overall times of 1:39:57 and 1:45:01.

Following the race, Team NORSA joined other Colonial Beach triathletes for a healthy breakfast of pizza, beer, and cookies at the local American Legion post. Fun was had by all and Leo, Matt, Mike, and Brian report that they will soon compete in another triathlon (the Luray Sprint on Sunday, August 16).