The Strawberry Fields events have slipped under my radar until now. After reviewing the event web site it became apparent that the Olympic distance race is very similar, if not identical, to the original Oxnard Triathlon, sponsored by the now defunct Fleet Feet Sports and Rob Fukatomi, of Mike & Robs fame. I then rummaged through…
Ironman Lake Placid remains one of my favorite races, however only doing the event once, in 1999, the venue, which is oriented around the hub of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics motivates one to perform at a higher level. The course is scenic, with abundant pine trees and creeks, and the ski jumps of a…
Vineman 70.3, another half ironman race that no longer yields Ironman World Championship qualifying slots. The Vineman series has an interesting history with the WTC, as the owner of IMHI is now known. The original Full Vineman was one of the early Hawaii qualifiers, and a valid one at that, considering the course, except possibly the swim,…
Writing about a race that I did not participate in usually forces me to grope the web for information regarding the race. This time was different, the information came to me via email, from a reliable source, who provided some insight into the inner workings of the event. My source was adamant about insuring that…
Ironman France was recently relocated to Nice, where Mark Allen once dominated a course that was roughly equivalent to the usual Ironman distances in difficulty but not in the metric sense of 2.4, 112 & 26.2. Nice is very much like Santa Barbara, from both an athletic viewpoint and the local geography. A cold ocean,…