Harriet Run Group: CLAMAR 2009 - One for the Record Books

The second annual CLAMAR Invitational Triathlon and BBQ was a huge success thanks to the orginizational efforts of CLAMAR Race Director Fritz and the excellent fan and volunteer support in the transition areas.

The course consisted of a 1/2 mile swim, 15 mile bike, and 3 mile run in and around the Cedar Lake area in Minneapolis.

This year's list of triathletes was a "Who's Who" including all of the top Triathletes from HRG and several newbies finishing up their rookie seasons (yours truly included in the latter). Adding to the competitive excitement of this year's event, was the handicapping and staggered starts allowing all competitors to race on a level playing field. Official time keeping was supplied by Hagan & Associates, the premier time keeper for all CLAMAR sporting events.

Top honors went to Jennie K (photo left) as she crushed the field with her stellar performance (almost 5 minutes in front of the second place finisher), providing the exclamation point to an already successful first year. Second place was originally awarded to Mike S., who passed our third place finisher Bryan S about a mile into the final run. However, after a double checking of the handicap algorithm, it was discovered that Mike had actually finished third, just behind Bryan S.

Taking the podium for the straight time honors were Victor, Mike S and Fritz, with Victor dominating the bike portion averaging speeds of just over 21.5 MPH along the 15 mile course. Transitions times certainly played a key role for the top competitors as Fritz and Doran came in with the lowest combined transitions times of just under 2 minutes.

The season ending BBQ, potluck and awards ceremony were held at the picturesque Sherping Westphal Estate and training facilities in SW Minneapolis. A fitting end to a "Fit Full" year.

See you at the next event - Twin Cities Marathon!