I often wonder why I do all this athletic stuff that causes me to get up so dang early in the morning. I was reminded just why early on Sunday morning, as Dee and I headed to Hickory Grove Park for the sprint triathlon. A breathtaking sunrise was there to greet us all on our drive north towards Nevada. The beauty of the sunrise was an indication of the good things to come - perfect weather, a great course, a well run event and about 400 athelete friends to share the day!
The first annual Hickory Grove Triathlon is a sprint - and is basically a new name for the old Cy-Man triathlon (which is once again being managed by the Iowa State Triathlon Club and will be held on Sept. 6th at Big Creek State Park). Hickory Grove is a great event - a beautiful park, a tight, spectator friendly course and good food and awards.
Several All9Yards women participated this year - Jana Severson, Dee Mable, Nichole Wendle, Molly Shephard-Robinson, Sandra Stone, Hunter Callanan and good friend Julie Sedor. Lena and Sammy were up at the b-crack of dawn to volunteer for the event as well!
It was great to see everyone there - and pink came home with Gold, Silver and Bronze! Nichole won her age group (gold), Jana was 2nd overall (silver) and Dee was 3rd in her age group (you guessed it - bronze!). Congratulations to each of them for their results, and congratulations to the rest of the pink ladies for toeing the line and participating in a great little triathlon!
Saturday was the State Criterium Championships - rather the DSM Area Criterium Championships! In the Women's Cat 4 race, there were only 3 teams represented, PRC, DMOS and All9 - all from Des Moines! PRC had a great day, as did Lacey Douglas from DMOS - as Lacey and Ana Nelson got off the front with about 6 laps remaining. Chris Marvelis went shortly after Dee, um, disappeared from the chase group (a bit of a slip on the wet roads left her a half a lap behind... and a little bloody...) - followed by Maria Rutenburg. Kim and Joann chased hard but ran out of real estate before they could catch them - and Maria caught Chris - so it finished 1. Ana, 2. Lacey and 3. Maria. Kim and Joann were #5 and 6, with Dee and Caroline Zeller brining up the final couple of places. It was great to see Caroline in her first ever USAC race, and a hearty congratulations to Dee for even having the guts to toe the line after Tuesday's events. I'd also like to congratulate Ana for winning both the Iowa State Road Race and the Iowa State Criterium!
While pink may not have come through as state medalists - it is evident that the clear winner is Women's cycling! In one short year, central Iowa has become a stronghold of women's cycling - and, interestingly, the nation is taking notice.
Jump on the bandwagon -there is still more to come - with Race Like A Girl this Thursday, another Waterworks race in the works for September - it is a great time to get out and ride - come race or come and cheer on your friends in the race!
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