Race Coverage

Memorable Stuff...

Monday, 29 July 2013 01:10

By Sean Pease

PAUL BUNYAN TRIATHLON RACE REPORT - Paul and Babe warmly welcomed almost 150 triathlon participants to the lovely town of Bemidji this past weekend for the 8th annual Paul Bunyan Triathlon, hosted by Front Runner Race Management, which is owned by one of the nicest, most smiley people in the world...Mr. Randy Fulton. The race venue has grown exponentially over the years by about a thousand percent. Year one claiming just 10 triathlon victims, now well over 100. It's a small and quaint race with great views and a terrific lake swim. The bike course is simple and sweet with big shoulders and fast flats. The run course heads ....

south from Cameron Park around the shores of Lake Bemidji. It's quite breathtaking, and totally worth it.

I headed in to town Friday evening. Getting a late start on the day meant showing up in Bemidji a bit behind schedule, but nothing was missed, just a little bit of sleep. The hotels were completely booked for the weekend because of a little party that was happening in Walker, MN. I think it's called Moon Dance...maybe you've heard of it. If you haven't, you may or may not be missing anything. Nonetheless, the place to lay the head for the night ended up being at Bemidji State University Linden Hall dorm. Just a few blocks from Cameron Park, it actually ended up being a perfect spot to get from point A to point B. I was wrenching in the morning before the race, of course representing my favorite bike shop and place of employment (Gear West Bike), so I was up early and to the park well before anyone else. I got down to Cameron Park around 6am, the race was set to start at 8.

Upon entering the park and transition area, I see Randy sitting at a picnic table tinkering with timing machines, not time machines as in time travel, but the machines that aid in reading your timing chip. These are the types of things that most don't know are happening on race day morning. Things like -- while setting up transition, the underground sprinklers came on ans soaked the shirts, timing equipment, and registration information. That's a big deal, even for a smaller race, and yet Randy keeps his smile and carrys on...and that is the way it should be. I digress.

After talking about where to set up my mechanical area, about the beautiful morning that was given to us to race and have fun, and about a bit of life stuff...Randy and I go our separate ways and get stuff done. The participants begin to trickle in one by one, two by two and the energy at Lake Bemidji's north end starts to ignite. Everyone is happy and smiling...it's extremely refreshing and brings the fun back to racing in an instant. In between 'customers' I get my bike racked, check out bike in and out, and the run out section of transition and set up my area. Once set up I can concentrate on taking care of bike issues and meeting some really cool new people, and seeing some familiar faces as well. In the mix I decided I should get my wetsuit out and start thinking about squeezing into that thing. I searched the car high and low, nothing. Seriously, I thought...yep. I had forgotten the darn thing, and it was most likely sitting in my garage or out on my driveway back home. I didn't panic, but I need all the help I can get in the swim, so it was a bit of a bummer.

While working on a bike for one of the relay teams I happened to mention that I forgot my wetsuit. The gal I was helping said "I just happen to have a suit in my car that I don't need today, because I'm not swimming, would you like to try it out?". I said that that would be great and she was gone and back in no time at all with a suit that has seen better days, but would also work just fine. I was very appreciative, to say the least, and now we were set...the race would begin in about 20 minutes, I didn't feel the slightest bit nervous.

Wave 2 for me, which was the under 40 sprint distance wave. The distance for the swim was a half mile, the water temp was good, and it was a bit choppy out there. Nothing too major though. So off we went. An out and back swim course with big orange buoys, sighting was just fine and in no time at all I was at the last buoy and headed back to shore. I'm truly not a great swimmer, and today was not much different, but I felt relaxed and just kept pulling water and moving forward. Before I knew it, I was running up toward shore and stripping my wetsuit, cap and goggles. I could not wait to get on the bike!

Heading into transition I felt a bit wobbly. This was my first solo tri of the year after all, and I have put most of my energy into the bike portion of the 3 disciplines. First transition time was horrible. I felt like I was standing there just staring at my bike for about 10 minutes. Finally I got my stuff together, helmet on, shoes on...and off I went. I had heard from a teenage guy early in the morning that the course was really flat with two hills, one being a triple bump climb, the other a quick and painless riser. I was ready for anything, and with only a 12 mile course I could put it all out there, The bike was dialed in just right. The first couple miles it took some time to get my bearing straight. I passed a handful of folks straight away and the goal was to just keep picking them off one by one until there were none left. My confidence has grown significantly on the bike in the past year or so, especially working with such bike freaks, so I felt right at home out there. As I approached the halfway point I was feeling very strong and the trip back to transition was painful, but exhilarating. At one point I could see no one in front of me, and no one behind me. I wasn't sure, but at this point I may have been leading the race. I went with that thought process and continued to mash the pedals. Knowing what was to come, I needed all the lead I could get.

Back to Cameron Park, racked the bike quickly, running shoes on...and with a spring in my step I bolted out of transition. If I were in the lead I would have to dig deeper than ever to hold off some seemingly fit guys who weren't far behind. Leaving transition I saw two guys just coming in on their bikes. Probably had about a minute on them, and a 3 mile run would be painful, but over rather quickly. First mile in, no one around, running solo, running in pain...yet, taking it all in. Just about the time I was feeling fatigued I saw a runner coming at me, the opposite direction. Sure enough it was one of the participants, he had already made the turnaround and was headed back to finish. I shouted out 'good work man' as he passed and I dug a little deeper trying to maintain a place. After the turnaround I was able to see who was gaining on me, or who was at least close. A couple relay guys and one really fit looking gent, a local triathlete. All three got me with about a mile left and I knew at this point I was running for third. I held on as long as I could and finished very strong. I could hear K-fult on the microphone cheering in the participants and congratulating the finishes. It was overwhelming to be a top 3 finisher. I had left it all on the course, and enjoyed every minute.

We continued to cheer the participants in, one by one. Chatted it up with some of the locals, and shared stories of our morning and race. The vibe surrounding Cameron Park that morning was nothing shy of spectacular and great. I think this day quickly rose to the top of my favorite race day list. For many reasons, not just because of the numbers. i will definitely go back to Bemidji next year and do this race again. I'd like to thank Randy and his Crew for everything. I'd also like to give a shout out to K-fult for being helpful zipping up my wetsuit and being ready with jumper cables when the car didn't start when I was ready to head out (don't leave your keys in the ignition all morning with the radio on kids, it isn't wise, duh).

Now it was off to Rutgers Resort for some fun and sun, relaxation and great conversation. What a day, what a weekend! Definitely one I won't soon forget.

Side Note: If you are up in the Bemidji area and you have a bike...go to Lake Itasca State Park and ride to the headwaters of the Mississippi and out and around the park itself. It's amazing. The roads are freshly paved (with rally nice tar) and the scenery is amazing. It's about a 15 mile ride, so give yourself time to do it twice if possible and you won't be disappointed.

Cheers - SBP -

RESULTS

ED - Weekend race coverage--Chisago, Waseca etc.- posts on Tuesday!