Tri-Maine Series - Training & Preparation

Urban Epic Results: 2008

Urban Epic athletes were treated to a beautiful day and calms waters as the first wave of racers hit the cold Atlantic Ocean at 7:50AM. Professional triathlete Mike Caiazzo won the elite wave with a time of 2:19:58, while Becky Lavalle took first among the elite women.

Since the thirteen athletes participating in the elite wave were asked to swim a different course than the age group athletes (a late race start resulted in difficult currents), Tri-Maine elected to record age group results separately from the elite wave.

Among age group participants, Paul Noone of Worchester, MA took the men's overall with a time of 2:17:58, while Kristin Marvin of Ottawa, Canada took the women's overall with a time of 2:31:08.

URBAN EPIC ELITE OVERALL MALE WINNERS

Place Bib#  Name                     Ag City                  Tottime 
===== ===== ======================== == ===================== ======= 
    1     6 MIKE CAIAZZO             32 WESTBROOK ME          2:19:58 
    2   186 DERECK TREADWELL         33 LAURENS NY            2:22:33 
    3   291 OWEN MCGONAGLE           44 BOSTON MA             2:33:54 


URBAN EPIC ELITE OVERALL FEMALE WINNERS

Place Bib#  Name                     Ag City                  Tottime 
===== ===== ======================== == ===================== ======= 
    1     3 BECKY LAVELLE            34 LOS GATOS CA          2:25:54 
    2     5 TENILLE HOOGLAND         30 OTTAWA ON             2:27:28 
    3    10 CATHERINE STERLING       32 KENTS HILL ME         2:35:44


URBAN EPIC AGE GROUP OVERALL MALE WINNERS

Place Bib#  Name                     Ag City                  Tottime 
===== ===== ======================== == ===================== ======= 
    1   153 PAUL NOONE               25 WORCESTER MA          2:17:58 
    2   163 THOMAS MCWATERS          26 THORNDIKE ME          2:24:32 
    3    48 STEVEN TENNEY            40 FALMOUTH ME           2:24:59 

URBAN EPIC AGE GROUP OVERALL FEMALE WINNERS

Place Bib#  Name                     Ag City                  Tottime 
===== ===== ======================== == ===================== ======= 
    1    99 KRISTIN MARVIN           33 OTTAWA ON             2:31:08 
    2   128 ERIN BRENNAN             43 PORTLAND ME           2:38:01 
    3    96 MEGAN FIX                32 PORTLAND ME           2:39:03 

For complete race results, click here.

Urban Epic: Race Favorites

To determine the race favorites for the 2008 edition of the Zone Urban Epic on Saturday, July 26 at 9:00AM, OA spoke with last year's men's and women's winners, Kurt Perham and Katie Payson.

On the men's side, Kurt points to Mike Caiazzo, recent winner of the Scarborough Triathlon and a professional triathlete. Kurt also expects Jeff Fisher, Rob Fast, Thomas McWalters and Scott Marr to have solid performances among the amateur racers. As to his own chances, Kurt will not decide until today whether or not he will race.

On the women's side, the Urban epic will feature two elite-level triathletes.  Mary Miller, a 28-year old from Elliot, Maine, is an elite amateur athlete who has been ripping it up around the country over the past year. She was first at the inaugural Pumpkinman Triathlon, 6th among USA women in the ITU Age Group World Championships and 2nd overall at the 2007 Timberman. But it is Becky Lavalle, the first alternate for the Beijing Olympic team, who is expected to win the women's overall. She may even give Caiazzo a run for his money. Sponsored by Zone, the Urban Epic Title sponsor, Lavalle has been enjoying the rainy, humid Maine weather over the past few days in what is her first trip to Maine.

Among the "best of the rest," Katie Payson points to Angela Bancroft, Larissa Boddie and Erin Brennan as top competitors for the women's race. Katie will also be competing. She has been racing and training strong (2nd at Mooseman and 2nd at the Scarborough Triathlon) and expects to do well on Saturday. In fact, she and Angela Bancroft seem to be trading wins lately. Katie beat Angela by seconds at the Mooseman International distance triathlon and June, while Angela took Katie by a few seconds at Scarborough on the shorter distance course.

Should be fun to watch. Check back here on Saturday for Urban Epic Results.

Urban Epic 2008

The Urban Epic Triathlon, properly referred to as the Zone Urban Epic to honor the title sponsor, gets underway this Saturday, July 26 at 9:00AM along Portland, Maine’s waterfront. Coming three weeks earlier in the calendar than last year, the Urban Epic builds upon its 2007 debut with some improvements to the course.

One of the big issues at Urban Epic last year was the swim course, which had to be rerouted at the last minute due to safety concerns. The resulting course took swimmers near a sand bar, hanging up some of the participants. This year the swim starts on the other side of Macworth Island. “There are no shallow spots on the swim course,” says Will Thomas of Tri-Maine, the Urban Epic race organizer. “It’s a straight course that measures 1.2 miles to shore. There will be a current like last year, so it will sweep to the left, taking swimmers straight into East End Beach.”

Participants should note that the swim is LONGER than the 1.5K (1500 meters) noted on the web site. “There’s no way this is a 1-mile swim,” said Katie Payson, the women’s winner of the inaugural Urban Epic. “We swam the course last Tuesday, and it took nearly 40 minutes to complete.” Normally, a 1-mile open water swim like this would take 25-30 minutes for a competitive swimmer.

Swimmes will exit the water at East End Beach. Then instead of running uphill to T1, Urban Epic racers will run along a newly opened path. “It will be a flat run to the transition area at the Portland Company Complex,” says Thomas.

The bike course takes off the same as last year but takes participant though Payson Park. Everything else on the 40K Urban Epic bike course remains the same, including a tough hill at the end on Walnut Street.

The 10K run is also improved over last year. Instead of heading out Fore Street, the run will begin along the bike path taking triathletes down a small hill. Athletes will then climbing to the beginning of the Eastern Promenade where it then resumes the same course as last year.

For the official Urban Epic website, click here.

Results: Scarborough Triathlon Results

Mike Caiazzo won the inaugural edition of the Scarborough Triathlon. As expected, Caiazzo beat the rest of the field by more than six minutes with a winning time of 59:48. Caiazzo was the only triathlete to finish in less than an hour. Thomas McWalters took second in the Scarborough Tri with a time of 105:55, followed by Daniel Jackson at 1:06:21, Kurt Perham at 1:06:32 and Robert Fast at 1:06:44 to round out the top five.

Women's race favorite Angela Bancroft took first place among with women with a finishing time of 1:10:30, followed close by Katie Payson with a time of 1:11:08. Alison Van Zandbergen took third with a time of 1:13:47, followed by Carrie McCusker in 4th at 1:14:12 and Anne Wilkenson in 5th at 1:15:08.

For complete Scarborough Triathlon Race Results, click here.

Scarborough Triathlon Race Favorites

OA asked Will Thomas, Tri-Maine race organizer, and Kurt Perham, last year's overall winner of the Tri-Maine Series, who were the likely favorites for this Sunday's Scarborough Triathlon.

When it came to the overall winner, Thomas and Perham, were in unanimous agreement. Mike Caiazzo of Cumberalnd, Maine is the likely men's winner. Says Perham, "Caiazzo will beat the rest of the field by at least five minutes." He should know, as Caiazzo beat Perham at last year's Pumpkinman Sprint Triathlon by the same margin. Other favorites include youngster Daniel Jackson and Steve Tenney. Also, keep an eye out for Douglass Endrizzi, a top swimmer from Scarborough and son of OA's very own, Dr. Donald Endrizzi.

Scarborough Triathlon race favorites on the women's side include Katie Payson, Angela Bancroft and Carrie McCusker. Payson consistently takes first or second in every race she enters, most recently placing second at the Mooseman International.  Angela Bancroft, featured in this blog last year and the Gatorade Athlete of the Month in the July issue of Triathlete magazine, placed third in that same race and finished in just over 1:00:01 at Polar Bear in May. McCusker, one of Payson's training partners, is showing a lot of form on the bike and has healed from a hamstring injury that held her back last year.

Best of luck to all the athletes at the Scarborough Triathlon on Sunday!

Scarborough Triathlon Results Live

Live results for the Scarborough Triathlon, Greater Portland's only sprint triathlon featuring an open water ocean swim,  can be found at Live-Timing.com.

Scarborough Triathlon

The Scarborough Sprint Triathlon kicks off its inaugural year in the face of Hurricane Bertha bubbling offshore in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, July 13 at 8:00AM. Why is this a concern? The Scarborough Triathlon features a 1/3 mile open water swim from beautiful Scarborough Beach in Scarborough, Maine. An estimated 350 racers will depart in a total of 5 to 6 waves, with the fastest men and women racing first. Triathlon racers will leave from the south end of Scarborough beach, head straight out into the ocean, turn left parallel to shore, then take another left hand turn and head toward beach for a total of 575 yards.

“Hurricane Bertha is expected to produce head high waves,” according to longtime local long-board surfer, Peter Interland of Yarmouth. “That means waves will likely be in the 5- to 6-foot range, big for July.” The good news for racers is that offshore, hurricane-generated waves tended to be spaced in longer intervals than the typical wind generated waves. “The interval should be about 15 seconds,” according to Interland, “And at high tide waves will likely be breaking within 100-110 meters of the Scarborough beach shore. The big potential issue for racers is the strong rip tide, which will present challenges going out and coming in. Beyond 100 meters, it should be pretty smooth.”

According to Will Thomas, race organizers at Tri-Maine are working with the state park service and the Town of Scarborough on contingency plans. “It’s too soon to tell,” says Thomas, “But the worst-case scenario is that we may have to delay or shorten the swim, or go with a beach run instead of a swim, turning the event into a duathlon.”

For up to date surf information, Interland suggests http://www.nesurf.com/to keep track of hurricane and wave development.

Beyond Bertha

With water temperatures in the mid-60s, Scarborough Triathlon race participants are reminded that they are required  to wear wet suits during the open water portion of the race. (To monitor current water and wave temperature, visit http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=44007) Exiting the water at Scarborough Beach, triathletes will run to T1, which is set up in the first parking lot from the beach. The first portion of the 15-mile bike ride will be over a hard packed dirt road, where racers will turn right onto Black Point Road racing straight to Highland Avenue on the right. Riders will pass through a well-marshalled stop sign at the intersection of Highland and Pleasant Hill Road. But the real issue will be the turn onto Fickett Street in South Portland. Racers will take a hard right hand turn onto Fickett, which will require everyone to slow. Fickett Street starts with a short, steep climb before turning into the downhill of Sawyer Road in Cape Elizabeth. Given Fickett’s sharp turn and steep little climb, smart riders will have shifted to the small ring and a small gear before turning onto Fickett Street. From Sawyer, racers will turn right onto Route 77 and then take another right at the end of 77, back onto Black Point Road. This time, racers will proceed past Highland over the highway overpass and through beautiful Scarborough Marsh. T2 is located half way up a steep hill and requires racers to turn left into the second transition area. Left hand turns are cause for caution, so even though the roads are well marshalled, riders will need to be on the alert for Sunday morning drivers.

The run portion of the Scarborough Triathlon has triathletes returning to Black Point Road (also known as Route 207) where racers will proceed to the Eastern Trail head, where the majority of the 3-mile foot race will take place. Racers will pass through a small residential neighborhood before crossing Route 1 to finish in Scarborough’s Memorial Park, home to the Town of Scarborough’s 350th anniversary celebration. For a list of post-race events taking place at Memorial Park, visit http://www.scarborough.me.us/350thcelebration/events.html.

Race smart. Be safe and enjoy a beautiful race!

Tri-Maine Series Races 2008

Tri-Maine has announced its race schedule for 2008.

The 2008 series begins with the PolarBear, formerly the Iron Bear, on May 3, 2008. The PolarBear is a hugely popular sprint triathlon that takes place at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. The race features a 525 yard pool swim, a 12-mile bicycle time trial and a 5K run. Tri-Maine is expecting approximately 500 competitors for this event. Registration opens on February 15, 2008.

New this year, the Belgrade Lakes Triathon replaces the Wild Bear triathlon from 2007 and 2006. Taking place on the summer solstice, June 21, 2007, The Belgrade Lakes Triathlon - or BLT as Tri-Maine refers to it - is a modified Olympic distance tri and a duathlon. The BLT tri features a .5 mile swim in beautiful Belgrade Lakes, a long, 25-mile bike time trial and a five mile run, while the BLT duathlon starts with a 2-mile run with the same bike and final 5-mile run. Tri-Maine expects 300-400 competitors in its inaugural edition. Lodging and tent campground sites are available at Camp Runoia. Registration is currently open.

The Scarborough Tri is also new to Tri-Maine in 2008. Scheduled for July 13, 2008 at 8AM, the Scarborough Tri replaces the Shipbuilders Triathlon in Bath. The Scarborough Tri is a sprint distance triathlon that begins at Scarborough Beach with a 1/3-mile swim, followed by a 15-mile bike ride and a 3-mile run. The race finishes next to the Scarborough 350th Anniversary Celebration in Memorial Park in Scarborough Town Center. Tri-Maine expects 300-400 competitors in its inaugural edition. Registration is currently open.

The Zone Urban/Epic Triathlon returns to Tri-Maine in 2008. A popular Olympic distance triathlon, the Urban Epic is held in downtown Portland, Maine and features a 1-mile swim, a 24-mile bike ride and a 10K run. The Urban Epic also boasts an Urban Festival with live music and a beer garden for this spectator-friendly event. Last year, over 300 athletes participated. This year Tri-Maine expects over 400 participants. Registration is currently open.

The Lobsterman Triathlon in Freeport, ME is Tri-Maine final event for 2008. Taking place on Saturday, September 13 in beautiful Winslow Park, the Lobsterman Triathlon is an Olympic distance event featuring a 1.5K ocean swim, a 40K bike ride and a 10K run. Some of the regions toughest triathletes contest the Lobsterman each year. The 2008 race will be no different. The Lobsterman Triathlon is open for registration now and is the only Tri-Maine event to feature an Aquabike competition (swim, bike).

All the Tri-Maine races in 2008 are sanctioned by USA Triathlon, the National Governing body of the Sport.

Lobsterman Triathlon 2007 Results

Lobsterman Triathlon 2007 Results: Tri-Maine race leader Kurt Perham took the overall win today in the 2007 Lobsterman Triathlon with a winning time of 2:04:33. Perham bested his results over last year's Lobsterman by over 2 minutes on a rain soaked course in scenic Freeport. For Perham, the race was equalized on the bike when he caught second place finisher Milos Janicek of Boston, who was ahead of Perham by a minute coming out of the water. Perham won the race on the run, where he put another minute into Janicek. With his victory today, Perham has cemented the overall title for the Tri-Maine Series Races. Congratulations to Kurt!

Catherine Sterling of Kents Hill, ME edged out the 2006 Lobsterman winner, Kim Webster, by a mere 12 seconds with a winning time of 2:11:00. Sterling was out of the water 2 minutes more quickly than Webster, who closed the gap by a minute coming off the bike and drew within 12 seconds of Sterling on the 10K run. Great race!

Tri-Maine women's leader, Erin Brennan, finished first in her age group (40-44) and 3rd overall among the women with a time of 2:20:37.

OA's very own Dr. Scott Marr finished 30th overall with an impressive time of 2:16:57. Dr. Marr was 3rd overall on the 40K bicycle course.

And Angela Bancroft, featured in this blog earlier this summer, finished first in her age group (35-39) and 62nd overall with a time of 2:24:02. In a quick email exchange with OA, Angela summed up the day pretty well, "It was quite a day out there!!! Lots of fun and challenging! The cold rain made our hands and feet numb which made the
transitions the trickiest part of the day!!! I could Not manipulate my hands to shift, put on a hat or tie my shoes!! Guess those things will improve with experience. I will Never skip the speed laces the next time it rains!" Way to be tough! Great job Angela!

Lobsterman Triathlon 2007 Results (Top 20 + notables)

1 KURT PERHAM BRUNSWICK ME 2:04:33
2 MILOS JANICEK BOSTON MA 2:05:09
3 ROB MCCULLOCH OTTAWA ON 2:05:48
4 MATT BRIGGS CONCORD MA 2:06:07
5 JONATHAN MCCALL SHREWSBURY MA 2:07:17
6 JAMES YOUNG OTTAWA ON 2:07:33
7 THOMAS MCWALTERS THORNDIKE ME 2:08:18
8 DOUG PRESLEY ARLINGTON MA 2:09:01
9 SHAWN BERRY CARIBOU ME 2:09:46
10 STEVE KIMBALL BOLTON MA 2:10:16
11 ROBERT MAHONEY MANCHESTER ME 2:10:53
12 STEPHEN REED LOUDON NH 2:10:53
13 CATHERINE STERLING KENT HILL ME 2:11:00
14 KIM WEBSTER FRAMINGHAM MA 2:11:12
15 TIM DOWNES CENTERVILLE MA 2:11:20
16 PAUL KNEPLEY WAYNE PA 2:11:53
17 BRIAN HANAK ROXBURY MA 2:11:59
18 STEPHEN FLYNN FREDERICTON NB 2:12:07
19 DAVID SINCLAIR WAITSFIELD VT 2:12:24
43 ERIN BRENNAN PORTLAND ME 2:20:37
20 GARY DAVID STOW MA 2:12:34
30 D. SCOTT MARR FALMOUTH ME 2:16:57
62 ANGELA BANCROFT PARIS ME 2:24:02

For complete Lobsteman Triathlon 2007 Results, click here.

Lobsterman Triathlon

The Lobsterman Triathlon is the 7th featured event in the 2007 Tri-Maine race series calendar. With 650 individual triathletes representing 20 states and several Canadian provinces, the 2007 Lobsterman Triathlon is the largest triathlon in Maine and one of the largest multisport events in New England. Featuring an Olympic distance triathlon as well as an aqua-bike (swim, bike, call it a day), the Lobsterman Tri attracts elite athletes from around New England.

Last year, Andrew Boone of Cambridge, MA won the elite men's classification with a winning time of 1:57:54, while Kim Webster of Framingham, MA took the women's title for the 2006 Lobsterman. Webster is returning to defend her title this year. Boone is not.

Kurt Perham, who finished fifth in the 2006 edition of the Lobsterman, is the only triathlete from the 2006 Lobsterman's top 5 returning in 2007. Perham currently leads the Tri-Maine Series race competition having won the Wild Bear, Ship Builders and the inaugural edition of the Urban Epic Triathlon in August.

The Tri-Maine race leader will have plenty of competition though at the 2007 Lobsterman. The Northeast Collegiate Triathlon Conference (NECTC) has designated the Lobsterman Tri as one of their official race events for 2007. The NECTC was formed in 2006 to provide an organized series of collegiate triathlon races for northeast schools. NECTC teams include Harvard, Boston University, West Point, Yale and MIT among others. (You can bet the MIT triathletes will have the aerodynamics down!). With fast young college kids participating, the winning time is again likely to be below two hours at this year's Lobsterman. (OA's very own Dr. Scott Marr and Dr. Eric Hoffman are also registered participants at this year's Lobsterman, so Perham had better watch out!)

Earlier today, OA spoke to race organizer, Will Thomas of Tri-Maine Production about the Lobsterman. Besides the competitive field, OA wanted to know what made the Lobsterman truly unique. "Definitely, the venue," says Thomas. "The venue is spectacular. Winslow Park in Freeport serves as the transition area, start and stop. The park features a beach, an open field, water on three sides - it's ideal for a triathlon. The protected cove is a perfect place for spectators to watch the 1.5K swim. The bike features a lollipop loop that is exactly 40K over rolling terrain, and the run is exactly 10K. The parking is abundant and easy to reach. The Lobsterman Triathlon is a great, end of the season attraction for triathletes and spectators looking for a last hurrah."

Taking place this Saturday, September 15, the Lobsterman Triathlon begins with an ocean swim at 11:00am to coincide with the tides in Freeport, Maine at Winslow Park. Enjoy the race and check back here later for results.