Athlete Race Recap: Relay for Life of Southeastern Connecticut, St. Malo Triathlon, & Table Rock Challenge

There were several different types of events going on for Full Circle Endurance athletes this week:

• Relay for Life of Southeastern Connecticut - Norwich, Connecticut
• St. Malo Triathlon - St. Malo, Manitoba, Canada
• Table Rock Challenge - Jamesville, New York

Relay for Life of Southeastern Connecticut

Saturday, June 24, 2023 was a really special day for Jen Hanson; she participated in Relay for Life of Southeastern Connecticut in Norwich, Connecticut!

Relay for Life is a community-based fundraising event for the American Cancer Society and funds raised from this event aim to improve cancer survival, decrease the incidence of cancer, and improve the quality of life of cancer patients and their caretakers.  Over 5,000 events are held each year in 20 countries around the world.  Participants walk laps in teams continuously for 12 or 24-hour periods of time. 

For those whose lives have been touched by cancer, Relay for Life is a way to show support for cancer patients and to connect with their communities. For Jen, this year’s Relay for Life was especially significant, as Jen was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2022 and has been undergoing treatment ever since. (For those keeping track and doing some math, yes, this means that she raced IRONMAN 70.3 North Carolina with cancer in October 2022…she’s a beast.)

One of the signature events in a Relay for Life is the Survivor Lap, when cancer survivors all walk a lap together. Participating in this lap was very special and meaningful to Jen. She lives in Virginia Beach, and being well enough to travel to Connecticut (her home state and where her family and many of her friends still live) to participate in this relay with them and take this lap was really important to Jen.

It goes without saying that Jen has had and continues to walk a long and difficult road. Saturday, however, offered her some love, hope, and celebration for all that she’s accomplished in her cancer journey so far. Cue Destiny’s Child’s “I’m a survivor!”

Cancer sucks.  Rock on and keep fighting, Jen!

St. Malo Triathlon

Kat Kinsner raced the sprint distance of the St. Malo Triathlon in St. Malo, Manitoba, Canada on Saturday, June 24, 2023!

Kat has been following a Custom-Built Training Plan to help her establish a base before some big goals she has this fall. Things didn’t necessarily go the way she had envisioned when she started this Training Plan a few months ago, but she was still able to get some quality training in. Unfortunately, she started coming down with a bit of a cold during the week before the race, which made the race feel harder than it otherwise might have. She managed her efforts well throughout the race and finished feeling accomplished despite it feeling hard!

Congratulations, Kat!

Table Rock Challenge

Tiffany Barrett raced the Table Rock Challenge in Jamesville, New York on Sunday, June 25, 2023!

This is a trail race with a fun format called Last Person Standing.  The race starts with a predetermined time on the clock, and all runners have the chance to finish the 1.2-mile course loop within that amount of time.  Whoever doesn’t complete the lap within the allowed time is eliminated from the race.  The allowed time is reduced for each successive lap in the race, and the last person to complete a full lap under the assigned time is declared the winner.

Tiffany ran 10 official laps! However, since she was using this race as a C-Race in preparation for her A-Race later this summer, she kept running until she had completed her total planned duration for the day as outlined on her Custom-Built Training Plan. She gained important intel from this event that she will use to inform her choices for her A-Race, which is great!

Well done, Tiffany!