Athlete Race Recap: USA Triathlon Age-Group National Championships, Niantic Bay Triathlon, and Lums Pond Triathlon

It was a triathlon-filled couple of days for Full Circle Endurance athletes this past weekend!

USA Triathlon Age-Group National Championships - Milwaukee, WI

The weekend of the USA Triathlon Age-Group National Championships is always a big weekend in the triathlon world.  Both the Olympic-Distance and Sprint-Distance races require qualification; athletes have to earn their ticket to this event by qualifying at a USA Triathlon-sanctioned race in the previous season.

Athletes from all over the United States converge on a single destination to race against the top-performing triathletes in the country.  The location of the National Championships changes every few years; this year it was held in Milwaukee, WI.

Carolyn Classen, Emily Green, and Jennifer Pearce all qualified for and decided to race at this year’s Olympic-Distance race on Saturday, August 7.  Jennifer decided to take on the extra challenge of racing BOTH the Olympic-Distance and Sprint-Distance races!  (The Sprint-Distance race took place on Sunday, August 8.)

It was a hot and muggy day in Wisconsin, but all three of these athletes rose to the challenge.  Carolyn finished 26th in her age group, which is very impressive considering the stacked field she was up against!  Emily had a strong performance as well, running a VERY excellent run to finish 55th in her age group. 

Jennifer encountered a bit more adversity than she bargained for, as she had the added bonus of getting a flat on the bike course.  She had some trouble fixing it, but with the help of neutral race support, she was able to get rolling again.  Even with this extra stop time, Jennifer blew her previous personal best time in an Olympic-distance triathlon out of the water.  (Pun intended.)

On Sunday, even with the fatigue from this stand-out performance on Saturday, Jennifer raced a GREAT race at the Sprint-Distance and rocked her doubled-up race weekend!

Niantic Bay Triathlon - Niantic, CT

Sarah Grundy raced the Niantic Bay Triathlon in Niantic, CT on Sunday, August 8.  After a long drought of non-racing (every single event Sarah tried to do for a LONG time kept getting cancelled last-minute!), Sarah is VERY happy to be back out on a race course putting her hard-earned fitness to the test.  Sarah was especially happy with her swim and run performance, and this race was a great stepping stone for Sarh’s BIG goals that she has planned for later this season.

Lums Pond Triathlon - Bear, DE

On Sunday, August 8, Jen Zanni raced at the Lums Pond Triathlon in Bear, DE.  Jen is coming off of some really busy, stressful weeks and she was really looking forward to enjoying herself at this race.  Well, her easygoing mindset paid off; she ended up finishing SECOND in her age group!

Jen’s race is proof that if we take some pressure off of ourselves, we may accomplish big things!  Like Sarah, this race was a good check-in point for Jen, and confirms that the work she’s putting in is paying off.

Please join me in congratulating all of these athletes on great racing performances this weekend!