Tri Photo Gallery from Northern Life

The athletes started out with a 750 metre swim in the shallow waters of Whitewater Lake, biked 20 kilometres and ran five kilometres. The event was planned by the Nickel City Triathlon Club.

“We're hoping to use it (the triathlon course) for next year, so that's why we're testing it out,” said Laura Bewick, the technical organizer of the event.

“Basically the course is fairly flat and fast. It has nice, warm water. It's a fairly flat lake with no waves. It's also basically flat in terms of the run and bike. There's not really any hills.”

Mike Coughlin, who also helped to organize the event, won the race with a time of 1:02. He said he was “pretty happy” with his time, saying “my legs felt good out there today.”

Clinton Lahnalampi came in second with a time of 1:07, and Brad Walker came in third with a time of 1:11. Preliminary Results here

“It's tough to find a safe triathlon course here in the Sudbury area. But the club has done an excellent job in creating this venue. It will be a lot of fun for the kids next year at the summer games,” said Coughlin.

Bill McKetsey, the technical adviser for the 2010 Ontario Summer Games, was on hand to watch the event.

“It's the first time I've been out here (to see the course in Azilda). It looks very good. I think people seem to be well prepared. There's lots of officials around.”

McKetsey said 3,600 youth between the ages of 14 and 19 years old will be coming to Sudbury next year for the summer games. There will be 32 events, including archery, volleyball, basketball, soccer and mountain biking.

He said the summer games will be a big boost to Sudbury's economy. “It's going to be $1 million plus for the economy. We're looking at 3,600 kids, plus coaches and officials. It's a major event for the city, the largest that Sudbury's ever hosted as far as participation.”

McKetsey said the triathlon course is just one of several new sports venues in Sudbury that will be used during the summer games.

“We've got the mountain bike (venue) out in Naughton, we've got this venue (triathlon course in Azilda) ready to go, we've got a BMX track being set up at the Adanac ski centre and we have the new track at Laurentian University.”

Bewick said the triathlon club is always looking for new members.

“We take anyone from somebody who have never been in the water before to fast, elite-type athletes. We take it all,” she said.

“We do some workouts together. We have some coaching support. But a lot of it is just about getting together and sharing information and encouraging each other and getting out to race together. It's lots of fun.

“It is a challenge. You have to commit to working a little bit at all of the sports, because you have a combination of three."

Course gets thumbs up

Posted By BRUCE HEIDMAN, THE SUDBURY STAR
Updated 2 hours ago

The 2010 Ontario Summer Games triathlon course got a good workout Saturday.

Organizers wanted to put the course, located at Whitewater Park in Azilda, through its paces ahead of next summer's big event, with 21 competitors completing a 750-metre swim, 20-kilometre bike race and fivekilometre run in a short sprint triathlon.

The course, which doubles back on itself with some tight turns, got the thumbs up from those who took part, although there are concerns about the winding bike course.

"It's a lot of fun going back and forth and seeing your competition and friends on a regular basis," said men's winner Mike Coughlin, 35. "I think there will be some technical issues that came out of this test run that we can address to make it safe and fair for the kids next year, but all in all it was a great day."

He did find it challenging, however.

"The turnarounds are very important, on the bike in particular," he said. "When you are carrying speed into a tight turn, especially since drafting will be legal and there will be packs of cyclists, to be able to navigate those turns safely will be a matter of skill, but also course design. I'm sure the committee will have a long discussion about that."

Preparation and focus was the key to Coughlin's victory.

"I train hard and I think that was the main reason I did well," he said. "I pay attention to details when it comes to transitions and how to use the gearing on the bike, especially on a technical course like this where it is fast-slow, fast-slow. I think that made the difference."

Women's winner Sandie Grelier, 25, had concerns with the bike course, but gave the course her approval nonetheless.

"We would like to change the bike because there are too many corners," she said. "You lose a lot of time in those corners, but it was good. The weather was not very helpful, but the water was very warm and there was a good atmosphere and lots of encouragement.

"I think the course will be great for the Summer Games, and we will be ready."

Racer and triathlon committee member Elizabeth Taillefer, 27 and a five-year triathlon veteran, had nothing but good things to say.

"I found the course really good," she said. "The swim was great and the cycling was very technical and the run course was great. The course was really well marshalled and easy to get around because of the volunteers and I really liked that. It looks like everyone enjoyed themselves."

Race organizer Laura Bewick was collecting comments from the racers and making plans for when the racers hit the course next year.

"It went really well and we had lots of great comments," she said. "Everybody was pretty pleased with the course. We don't have to make too many modifications for next year, just on the bike course."

All the competitors were pleased with the swim course.

"It should be a fast swim because it is nice and shallow and it was warm today, like it usually is here," Bewick said. "I'm really happy with the turnout. We had 21 people and that was a perfect number to test it out to get feedback from everyone and there was enough distance between everyone that we didn't have any contact or crashes or anything like that."

The bike course changes are mostly about safety, not times.

"Next year, we will have a safety concern because the kids will be drafting and they are fast and it will be a much more high-risk event, so that's where our modifications will hopefully help to make it a longer course," she said. "We're hoping to keep the same venue, so we will have to do some scoping around the streets and see if we can work with the city to slightly pull the course longer down some of the streets or maybe do a little bit of a different loop."

Whitewater Park is a tremendous venue, not just for the facilities for the racers, but also because of all the space for spectators.

"This location is fantastic and I think Azilda will be a great community to host an event," Bewick said. "They are supportive and we had good response from the community today with people from in the area out to check out the race."

Coughlin hopes organizers can straighten out the bike route to keep the event at Whitewater Lake.

"I really liked the swim," he said. "Sure there are weeds, but the water was beautiful and it's a nice venue here. I was not aware of it, but I coach as well and this is really on my radar now for hosting training camps."

 

Sunday morning was busy around Minnow Lake as 43 runners took on Running Room Sudbury's Water Waddle 5k and Minnow Lake 10k. This was the third year for the event that initially started out as a 5k only. The 10k was added in the 2nd year and both races were again included in 2009.

Sudbury's Patrick Doucet (18:07) and Julie Tessier (25:55 were the overall 5k winners. In the 10k event Brad Thomas from Fort Wayne Indiana was the overall male winner (38:53) and Sudbury's Kerry Lamarche took home the female honours (44:27). Not bad for having a baby a couple of months ago.

Congratulations to all, especially you newcomers. Thanks to the organizers and volunteers for a job well done.

All Results

 

Three Sudbury Rocks!! members took part in Timmins Golden Trail Festival Half Marathon Run and Walk. Karen Beaulieu and Flo Atkins competed in the half. Paul Jeffrey of Sudbury also competed. Flo's husband Ken took on the half walk - which he won in a close battle.

Part 5 – Preparing for an Event

Welcome to week 5 in our “So you want to Run” series. Through the last 4 weeks I’ve covered the basic things you need to become a successful runner. You’ve learned how to run and do it safely. Your technique improved as you became more comfortable in this new sport and you’ve also learned the wisdom of caution in your program. As a result you have remained injury free. You have some kilometres on your feet and friends now refer to you as the runner.

All of a sudden thoughts wander to such things as organized events. Are there any? Which should I choose? How should I prepare for the day?

There are lots of local runs. The Sudbury area hosts road and trail runs all the way from 1k to the marathon at 42.2k and our events happily accommodate all levels of participants. Take a look in www.sudburyrocks.ca Events Section for a list of all local runs.

So which one should you choose? It depends. If you are newer to running and your mileage is modest a 5k is probably your best bet. Even at this level you should already have completed a few runs or run/walks of about 4k. Whichever distance you choose ensure you are not stepping up too much into uncharted territory. Do not run a 10k on 5k training. Adrenalin will carry you a long way but maybe not all the way. Most runners prefer to train over the distance they will compete at. This provides a comfort margin in your endurance level that will ensure a strong and probably faster finish time. The most important thing is to enjoy your first official running experience so be realistic with your choice.

How do you prepare for the day? Here are some tips to make your first race experience a successful one.
• Make sure you’ve worn your race shoes on a few training runs so they are well broken in. Socks should not be brand new either. Wear and wash them at least once. Ensure the seams do not interfere with your foot/shoe interface. Treat new apparel the same way.
• If you plan on taking a sports drink or gel etc. during the run be sure to test its effect on you in a training session before the big day. You don’t need an upset stomach to spoil the day.
• Water and sports drinks are almost always provided somewhere at strategic locations along the course. Be aware of where they are if you plan on using them. Something to practice ahead of time is taking a cup of liquid on the fly without spilling it all over you. Don’t worry. It’s not that hard.
• Register for your event and pick up your race kit ahead of time as you don’t need this stressor on run day.
• Taper off your mileage in the last week. Don’t go into the event tired. Nothing you do in this period will have much of a positive effect so take it a little easier so you can perform optimally on race day.
• Keep well hydrated and fuelled during the final week but watch your intake as your total mileage and calorie burn have decreased.
• Come into the race well rested. Two days before the event is the key time to get extra sleep. That way you will be strong on race day even if the jitters keep you up the night before.
• Lay out your clothing the night before. Attach bibs, timing chips etc. at this time so you can roll out the door without worries in the morning. Taking a glance at the weather channel might give you an idea of what to wear. Don’t forget to bring a change of clothes and maybe a towel for the shower if they are provided.
• Get some carbohydrates in about 2 hours before your run start. Things like oatmeal, peanut butter and toast and a bananas work well for me. Keep away from high fibre foods.
• Know ahead of time exactly where the event is, where the parking is, where the start line is and when the start time is. Plan on arriving with lots of time to spare.
• Warm up with bit of light jogging before the race start. This will calm your nerves and warm the muscles up a bit as well.
• Position yourself fairly in the start area. If you think you are very competitive, start closer to the front. Be realistic though. You don’t want faster folk attempting to run over you.
• Don’t go out too fast. It’s much easier to speed up if you misjudge your effort than to slow down because you have to.
• Enjoy your first run. Look around, smile at everyone and thank the volunteers. Don’t forget to run strong and tall through the finish line too as someone might be taking your first run picture ever.
That’s a long ‘to do’ list but following those pointers will help ensure your first official run is not only successful but more importantly full of joy and satisfaction.
Next week: Part 6 – The Joy of Running

 

Join Team 'Sudbury Rocks for the Cure'

I have registered a team with the help of Stephanie Koett and Maureen Moustgaard to participate in the CIBC Run for the Cure on Sunday October 4, 2009 and I would like to invite all Rocks!!! members to join. This years team name is "Sudbury Rocks For The Cure". Anyone wishing to join our team can go to the www.cibcrunforthecure.com website, choose the Sudbury location and follow the instructions to register. Last year our Rocks!!! team raised a great deal of money for a cause that I'm sure has touched everyone in some way or other. It would be great if we could match or exceed the amount this year.

My new email address is shyawmaclean@gmail.com for anyone wishing to get in contact with me or just send me a quick email so I can add you to my address book.

Hope to see everyone on October 4!!!!!

Sheila Yaw-MacLean