Athlete Race Recap: Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon, Shipyard Old Port Half Marathon, YMCA Race Weekend, Thousand Islands 10K, Chew Valley 10K, IRONMAN 70.3 Eagleman, Keuka Lake Triathlon, Great Chesapeake Bay 4.4-Mile Swim, & Escape from the Cape Triathlon

THIRTEEN Full Circle Endurance athletes raced this past weekend on two different continents and four different states and in a variety of types of endurance events!

• Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon - Ithaca, New York
• Shipyard Old Port Half Marathon - Portland, Maine
• YMCA Race Weekend -  Fayetteville, New York
• Thousand Islands 10K - Wellesley, New York
• Chew Valley 10K - Bishop Sutton, England
• IRONMAN 70.3 Eagleman - Cambridge, Maryland
• Keuka Lake Triathlon - Keuka Park, New York
• Great Chesapeake Bay 4.4-Mile Swim - Stevensville, Maryland
• Escape from the Cape Triathlon - Lower Township, New Jersey

Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon - Ithaca, New York

Christina Barker returned to racing on Saturday, June 11, 2022 at the Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon in Ithaca, New York!

Christina’s last race was in November 2019.  She has a BIG goal for later this year, and wanted to get in some “stepping stone” goal races along the way to help her build toward her A-Race.  This race in a picturesque location close to home was a great fit for her!

Christina had a couple of challenges in her final long runs to prepare for this half marathon, but we had talked through a race strategy that she was comfortable with.  This race strategy included a plan of what to adjust if she encountered adversity along the way.

Christina had a great race!  She beat her goal time by nine minutes and executed a smart, solid race.  This was a wonderful return to racing for her, and we’re excited to see where she builds to later this season!

Congratulations, Christina!

Shipyard Old Port Half Marathon - Portland, Maine

Heidi Caruso ran her first race of 2022 on Sunday, June 11, 2022 when she ran the Shipyard Old Port Half Marathon in Portland, Maine!

Heidi is a mom to three BUSY teenagers and she also works as a nurse (both teaching nursing AND working at a hospital!).  Fitting in training can be challenging for her, but she made it work and headed off to do this race with her younger sister.

Heidi truly ROCKED this race!  She reported that it was both beautiful and amazing.

Way to go, Heidi!

YMCA Race Weekend - Fayetteville, New York

Rebecca Dottolo and Sarah Gerk both participated in YMCA Race Weekend in Fayetteville, New York on Saturday, June 11, 2022.

Rebecca raced in the duathlon with her son, Dom.  This was Dom’s first official multisport event and they were excited to tackle the course together.  They rode mountain bikes for the race - no easy feat!

Despite plans to cross the finish line together, Dom decided to turn up the heat and sprint to the finish to cross before Rebecca (officially beating her by nine seconds).  I think it’s safe to say that he had a strong, great race!  Rebecca reported that she was more excited and happier to do this race than any of her other races this year because she got to do it with her son.  Dom finished fourth overall and Rebecca finished fifth overall (second overall female).  What a day for them!

While Rebecca and Dom were taking on the duathlon, Sarah was swimming and biking in the aquabike.  This was Sarah’s first multisport event this year, and she was very excited to be partaking in a race.  Sarah truly loves the racing community and just lights up when she’s at a race.  Sarah rocked the swim and bike and ended up finishing as the third overall female!

Congratulations Rebecca, Dom, and Sarah!

Thousand Islands 10K - Wellesley, New York

Beth Tucker raced for the second weekend in a row and raced the Thousand Islands 10K in Wellesley, New York on Saturday, June 11, 2022!  She had a solid race and her finish smile says it all! 

Way to go, Beth!

Chew Valley 10K - Bishop Sutton, England

Rachel Andrew had a great time running the Chew Valley 10K in Bishop Sutton, England on Sunday, June 13, 2022!

The race says the following about its course: “Our beautiful rural route and fabulous hill!”

Rachel says that the hill is “ridiculous” - not necessarily “fabulous” - and that no one around her ran for most of it.  This being said, Rachel reported that she had a really fun time, that the race was well-organized, and that everyone was very friendly.  All-around, this was a good day!

Way to go, Rachel!

IRONMAN 70.3 Eagleman - Cambridge, Maryland

Lisa Crockford’s triathlon season began on Sunday, June 12, 2022 at IRONMAN 70.3 Eagleman in Cambridge, Maryland!

If you’ve been following these reports for awhile, you may remember that Lisa has had quite the long-course triathlon journey.  She (finally) became an IRONMAN in 2021, but ironically, she’s never had an official finish at a 70.3-distance triathlon…..until June 12, 2022.

Lisa absolutely rocked IRONMAN 70.3 Eagleman.  She danced her way into the water (we have video to prove this), passed many athletes on the bike course (clocking her fastest race bike pace EVER!), and managed the heat of the day well on the run to come in for an official finish with over 35 minutes to spare.  (I really appreciated this since Lisa’s having only 54 seconds to spare in September 2021 at IRONMAN Maryland caused me to gain a few extra gray hairs.)  Truly, this race exceeded expectations on so many levels!

Congratulations, Lisa!

Keuka Lake Triathlon - Keuka Park, New York

On Sunday, June 12, 2022, Paul Elm, Maureen Novak, Lindsey Stasko, and Bridget Hamm opened up their multisport season at the Keuka Lake Triathlon in Keuka Park, New York!

Paul raced in the Sprint Distance race; Maureen, Lindsey, and Bridget all raced in the Intermediate Distance race.  This was Lindsey and Bridget’s first-ever triathlon and Paul’s second-ever!  All four athletes were using this as a supported training day to help them prepare for their A-Races coming up in July.

The water conditions were choppy, which presented some adversity to all of them.  Unfortunately, Lindsey was unable to finish the full swim course for the Intermediate Distance race.  This was very, very disappointing to her.  (Understandment alert!)  I’m so very proud of how she handled this.  Even though she wasn’t going to get an official finish time, she decided to continue on and ride the bike course and run the run course.  Many, many other athletes would have been overwhelmed by the sadness and disappointment and would have been unable to work through it effectively enough and quickly enough to make the choice that Lindsey did.  This was a very solid training day and we learned a lot to apply to Lindsey’s final training before her BIG goal race next month.

Paul navigated the choppy waters and went on to execute a solid bike and run, which was good enough to land him on the top of the podium in first place in his age group!  Pretty darn great for his second triathlon ever!

Maureen executed a solid and steady race across all three disciplines.  This was her first triathlon since 2019, so it was a great opportunity to get back into the rhythm of triathlon racing and to get some input on what we can work on in training to help her feel as ready and confident as possible for her upcoming goals.  As icing on the cake, Maureen finished first in her age group!

Bridget has been following a Custom-Built Training Plan as she prepares for IRONMAN Lake Placid this year.  She had a great first triathlon with a solid swim, bike, and run that was good enough to land her in second place in her age group!

Way to go Paul, Maureen, Lindsey, and Bridget!

Great Chesapeake Bay 4.4-Mile Swim - Stevensville, Maryland

Scott Heintzelman tackled a big challenge and a bucket list item when he swam the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim in Stevensville, Maryland on Sunday, June 12, 2022!

This race has been on Scott’s radar basically as long as I’ve been coaching him and he officially registered for the 2020 event.  Unfortunately, this race was not only canceled in 2020, but in 2021 as well.  So, this race was truly YEARS in the making when Scott finally hopped into Chesapeake Bay!

Conditions were choppy (a theme during races this weekend!) and Scott reported that this swim was hard and truly tested him.  However, not only did he finish the race and swim across the entirety of Chesapeake Bay, but did so under his goal time of three hours!

Way to go, Scott!

Escape from the Cape Triathlon - Lower Township, New Jersey

Jamie Levine opened up her triathlon season with the Olympic distance of the Escape from the Cape Triathlon in Lower Township, New Jersey on Sunday, June 12, 2022!

This race is a rather exciting and different one for a few reasons.  The race starts with a 12-foot jump off of the Cape May-Lewes Ferry.  Athletes finish the race by running on the beach (literally - in the sand) for several miles of the run course.  In so many ways, this race is an exciting challenge!

Rough waters were in the forecast (there’s that theme again!) and Jamie was nervous about this.  She used some great tools in her Athlete’s Toolbelt to help herself stay calm and focus on the elements of the race that she could control.  She went on to execute SUCH A GREAT SWIM at a faster pace that she even realized!  Mental training is just as important as physical training, and Jamie’s race is definitely proof of this.

She had a great bike and adjusted as-needed on the run to adapt to the changing conditions and terrain.  Truly, Jamie had a great race all-around!

Way to go, Jamie!