Athlete Race Recap: IRONMAN Waco, Clark 6-Hour Classic, & Dunn Tire Mountain Goat Run

A variety of events were on the docket for Full Circle Endurance athletes this past weekend - triathlon, trail running, and road running!

• IRONMAN Waco - Waco, Texas
• Clark 6-Hour Classic - Jamesville, New York
• Dunn Tire Mountain Goat Run - Syracuse, New York

IRONMAN Waco - Waco, Texas

On Saturday, October 23, 2021, Scott Heintzelman toed the water at the start line of his third IRONMAN in 13 weeks at the inaugural IRONMAN Waco in Waco, Texas!

Scott was originally registered for IRONMAN Texas back in April 2021, but a last-minute change in permits from the county where that race takes place forced IRONMAN to have to cancel it.  Scott was given several options as to what to do with his race entry from IRONMAN Texas, and he chose to defer it to IRONMAN Waco this fall.

Scott was already registered for IRONMAN Lake Placid and IRONMAN Maryland; adding IRONMAN Waco to the calendar meant that he would be racing three full-distance races in a very short span of time. A race calendar like this is not for the faint of heart; this a very demanding racing schedule and requires a lot of patience for recovery in between each race in order to arrive at race day feeling good and ready to go.

Scott’s bike crash at IRONMAN Maryland complicated this timeline, as the trauma he experienced in the accident meant that we needed to give his body even more time to recover in order to have him ready for IRONMAN Waco.  An additional complication was that his bike had been deemed catastrophically damaged and unsafe to ride as a result of that accident.  Due to the worldwide supply chain issues, this meant that Scott couldn’t get a replacement bike of his own in time for IRONMAN Waco.

However, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and Scott was able to procure a bike rental through PLAYTRI locally in Texas. He had a basic bike fit done when he arrived in Texas, and off to IRONMAN Waco he went.

The bike course at IRONMAN Waco is technical and hilly.  This, combined with riding a new-to-him bike and windy race day conditions, meant that the bike course presented a very significant challenge to Scott.  Despite this, he was able to execute a very consistent run off the bike to cross his third IRONMAN finish line in 13 weeks and his eighth overall. 

Scott is now two-thirds of the way to completing the 12 IRONMAN races required to earn a spot at the IRONMAN World Championship via the Legacy Program. Congratulations on navigating such adversity this season and on your eighth IRONMAN finish, Scott!

Clark 6-Hour Classic - Jamesville, New York

On Saturday, October 23, 2021, Tiffany Barrett tackled the final trail race in the 2021 Salt City Trail Running Series - the Clark 6-Hour Classic in Jamesville, New York!

The premise of this race is pretty simple: run as many laps of the race course as you can in six hours. Based on her earlier trail races this season, I had a pretty good idea of how many laps Tiffany would likely be able to complete in this race, and I used that data from the past events to guide her final preparation for this 6-hour race.

The weather dawned clear and crisp on Saturday morning - perfect conditions for this final race of Tiffany’s season! Tiffany completed 20 miles in 4.5 hours, and decided to stop the race at that time. The course is very gnarly with some MASSIVE rocks, and Tiffany could feel in her body that 20 miles was enough. (Kudos for Tiffany for making this wise choice, versus pushing through for the sake of pushing through and risking injury.)

Tiffany has completed MANY fun and interesting races this year, and she’s been able to remain injury-free throughout all of her preparation and racing.  This is a pretty significant feat, especially when one considers that all of her goal races were trail races (where there is an increased risk of falling and injury).

Congratulations on completing all of the Salt City Trail Running Races and on a marvelous season this year, Tiff!

Dunn Tire Mountain Goat Run - Syracuse, New York

It’s been two and a half years since the Dunn Tire Mountain Goat Run has taken place, but after a cancellation in 2020 and a postponement from its typical first-Sunday-in-May race date, the 10-Mile Mountain Goat Run returned to Syracuse, New York on Sunday, October 24, 2021.

EIGHT Full Circle Endurance athletes ran this beloved Syracuse race: Daria Bakina, Jean Carnese, Lisa Crockford, Rebecca Dottolo, Julie Matyasik, Natalie Metz, Maureen Novak, and Tami Stone.  Full Circle Endurance athlete Christina Barker also came to support and cheer everyone on.

This race has two options: the full 10-Mile course, and then a relay option where two runners can split the course and each run five miles. Natalie and her wife Corey ran the race as a relay; everyone else ran the 10-Miler.

The day dawned bright, crisp, and beautiful.  With the leaf colors at their peak in this region of Upstate New York, it was a perfect fall day, and certainly a perfect day to welcome back the Mountain Goat.

Everyone had different goals for this race.  Some folks (Daria, Natalie, and Maureen) were running it for fun and more like a supported training run.  For other athletes (Lisa and Rebecca), this was a race on their calendar, but were running it easier due to other races that are scheduled on adjacent or close weekends.  Still other athletes (Jean, Julie, and Tami) were treating this race more like an A-Race and had important-to-them goals for the day.

I’m SO pleased to say that everyone had a fun, positive experience at the Dunn Tire Mountain Goat Run! Daria and Maureen talked about how much they loved the day and seeing other athletes and friends. Lisa was extremely happy to run a race that wasn’t in the pouring rain. Natalie’s wife, Corey, ran her longest distance EVER when she completed her five-mile leg of the race! Jean ran ten miles 4:25 faster than she ever has before. After a challenging season of training, Julie ran strong and conquered the hills of the Mountain Goat. Tami knocked right at the door of her goal of breaking 90 minutes, and Rebecca ran sub-80 minutes in her first-ever Mountain Goat!

It was a wonderful, amazing day.  We’re already looking forward to the 2022 Dunn Tire Mountain Goat Run!

Congratulations to EVERYONE!