2009 Rock ‘N’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon Press Conference Quotes
Kara Goucher and Frank Shorter at the press conference. Photo: Sean McKeon
Competitor Running’s Sean McKeon was at the 2009 Rock ‘N’ Roll Half Marathon press conference and caught some of the best quotes from American star Kara Goucher and legend Frank Shorter. Kara is running the race on Sunday and Frank won the race in 1977.
Click here for photos from the press conference.
Kara Goucher
On running the race: “This is a great time to get out and do something a little hard to break up the training block. I have 3 weeks to go on Sunday so it’s just a chance to execute a race plan and go through a dress rehearsal for Berlin.”
On the race: “It is one big start and there will be lots of men in there…It’s really about pushing myself and there will be lots of men out there for me to chase down. I’m not going to go out at a (1:06-07) hard pace but I would love to chase some people trying to run that down.”
On her Boston Marathon experience: “It was my favorite experience as a runner so far. I felt a little heartbroken in the end b/c I didn’t deliver for a lot of people. There’s just so much support and cheering…it was an incredible experience.”
On what happened to change her level of running as she hit her late twenties: “I am definitely a late bloomer, I have been in everything in my life actually. Things did change in my late twenties. I changed coaches, I moved and I started doing more overall bodywork. I was finally able to stay healthy and then I was able to take my training to a whole new level…Having the perspective in life and knowing that running isn’t the only thing that I can do well…so when I do race it really is just running.”
On running her own race versus running against competition: “I really don’t run for PRs, I think my PRs are pretty weak on the world standard and I think it is because my coach has me focused on being a good competitor and championship racer. So when I go to a big race I don’t’ think about my race I think about how to cover other people’s moves…It helps alleviate the pressure on me because I don’t really think until the end of the race, I just cover everybody else.”
On going back to the track: “I love going back to the track. I plan on going back to the track in 2011. I really want to go back and go to the world championships in the five (thousand meters) and ten (thousand meters). My heart is in the marathon and if I want to reach my true potential I need to do it in the marathon. 2012 is going to be all about the marathon.”
On throwing out the first pitch at the Chicago White Sox game: “My coach Alberto Salazar is so concerned about how I’m going to throw this pitch that we’ve been ending every workout throwing a pitch. It’s like more important than cooling down! (Alberto says) let’s get out and throw!”
Frank Shorter
On the race: “The great thing about running in Chicago is it is flat! So if you really want to set a PR and you have a good day like the weather we are having here you can run well.”
On the Kara’s use of the race as prep for Berlin: “The timing for the world championships is perfect because it allows you to go hard and then you also realize that because you have gone hard that you should rest because you are getting near that point in time when you need to back off.”
On his experiences when running this race: “I always loved to come to Chicago (to race this race) because of the heat. I am one of those weird people who loves to run in the heat.”
On the US beginning to understand that first is the only place to be proud of in a distance race: “If you think about it in this past Olympic games the telecasters finally began talking about medals other than gold. It has been a great shift. It is so great you (Kara) can have that performance in Boston and feel the way you do about it, rather than say you disappointed everyone because it is an all or nothing situation.”
On how running has changed over the past 30 years: “That was what I liked to call the first wave of the running boom and many of us were running and more focused on getting personal records…that was your measure of success. In the second wave of the running boom, today, in large part fueled by people who run for other people and other reasons, such as charities… A big part of what is fueling this second running boom are these runner’s for whom running fast doesn’t matter… I think it is a good difference and something that had to happen.”
Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary Debuts Sunday
Yee-haw: Race organizers outfitted pros (from left) Lisa Bentley, Kyle Marcotte and Catriona Morrison with cowboy hats at Friday's press conference. Photo by Jay Prasuhn.
Triathlete senior editor Jay Prasuhn previews the course and the professional field for the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Calgary.
It hasn’t even kicked off yet, but the inaugural Viterra Ironman 70.3 Calgary promises to become an instant classic. Set at the foothills of the Canadian Rockies in Alberta, few can argue that the venue is among the most beautiful in racing. As for the impressive pro field assembled for Sunday’s debut (as well as the sold-out age group contingent), they’ll be hard-pressed to stay focused and not become distracted by one of the most gorgeous stops in racing.
“I rode some of the course yesterday, and was in awe,” said Canadian pro Lisa Bentley, who will not only line up for the start at Ghost Lake, but is also an investor in the race. “A deer jumped over fence and across the road in front of me, and after that I saw foxes, cattle, horses. I’m proud that it’s a great course, and especially that it’s in Canada.”
The event, which sold out at just over 1,600 starters, stands as the second-largest triathlon in Canada (behind Ironman Canada) even before Sunday’s start, and is Western Canada’s only half Ironman-distance event.
Bentley, who was involved in early discussions about racecourse design, has done enough events to know what makes a race a popular one. And she’s convinced Ironman 70.3 Calgary will be one athletes will put in their crosshairs for years to come. “I don’t want it to be a race that just lands in a city,” she said. “The point-to-point does a lot to showcase what Calgary is. Sunday, everyone will have the Rocky Mountains over their shoulders; the rolling countryside and we won’t ride through traffic jams. It’s not a city race, but it has the city appeal. It’s going to be a beautiful, fair race, and it’s going to stand out.”
The Field
The field adds up to just under 20 pros, including top ITU pro Tim O’Donnell. Australian Stephen Hackett also makes the start, as does former Montana college and current Colorado pro Ben Hoffman.
Local pro Kyle Marcotte of the Timex/Trek team will certainly want to have a good showing in his hometown, but despite wanting to represent properly on his home turf, he said there are other emotions fueling his race. “The family is here, I have friends coming in. (Winning) would be the biggest thing to date,” Marcotte said,” but we had a friend, Jason Lapierre, pass away, hit by a car, and the course goes by where he passed away. For many of us, it’s a feeling we’re racing on his training grounds. So we’ll have a bit of an extra push.”
A deep Canadian contingent continues with names like fellow Calgarian Scott Curry and TeamTBB’s Matt O’Halloran.
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The women’s field is certainly intriguing as well. Canada is well-represented with Toronto’s Bentley one of the top names here. While she makes the start, her race organizational duties have kept her busy, as well as some lung health concerns due to effects from her fight with cystic fibrosis.
“I’m very fit, but CF has been rearing its ugly head this year, so I’m not at 100 percent and am lucky I have great doctors,” Bentley said. “At the same time, I don’t come to a race unless I’m ready to race. I hope my taper will do some magic!”
Bentley will have her hands full. Australian Mirinda Carfrae has made a career at this distance in winning the 70.3 World Championship and will make the start. Montana’s Linsey Corbin comes across the border to do battle in Canada, and Quebec’s Magali Tisseyre, a recent 70.3 winner, will take on her two LifeSport Coaching teammates in Bentley and Corbin. Xterra pro Danielle Kabush of Calgary and Victoria, B.C.’s Sara Gross also line up.
Lots of interest comes with the presence of Scotland’s Catriona Morrison. The reigning ITU duathlon long distance world champion recently scored a third-place finish at the famed Roth Challenge, with the fastest Ironman-distance debut time of 8:48:11, the fastest Ironman-distance debut. While this year’s Hawaii Ironman debut is high on her priority list, this race is as well for several reasons.
“I’ll stick to my race plan, which is to come out of the water with a minimal gap, but really it’s a great chance to have a big experiment to see how I feel racing after an Ironman-distance race, because I’m still new to this Ironman and half-Ironman thing,” Morrison said. “I just hope there’s no explosions!”
For Morrison, Calgary is a second home, revealing her secondary reason for flying from Scotland to Western Canada; Morrison attended the University of Alberta when in college, and she and Marcotte were friends before either had done a triathlon. “My first ever triathlon was in Edmonton, at the St. Albert Triathlon. It’s a junket race, a chance to catch up with some friends!”
The Course
Sunday’s race begins at 6:50 a.m. Sunday at Ghost Lake. After the single-lap 1.2-mile swim, athletes will board their bikes for a point-to-point 56-mile bike. The predominantly rolling course has a few little pitches for good measure. Despite that, Bentley predicts it will be a fast course. Just seven miles into the bike, athletes will head north for a six-mile tempo climb. A far north u-turn, and athletes head south again, with a likelihood of a southern tailwind pushing them on straight, rural farmroads back toward Calgary proper and T2. “It has good climbs, and a climb I’m calling 70.3 Richter Pass,” Bentley says.
Rides roll past Downtown Calgary to T2, with the half marathon taking place in Glenmore Park. The run is a predominantly flat jaunt along a path along Glenmore Reservoir, finishing in the park.
Finishers will be privy to one of the most unique finishers medals in racing: a belt buckle, a nod to Calgary’s cowboy culture. (Calgary hosts the annual Calgary Stampede rodeo, one of the largest in the world). “I’m glad (Montana pro) Linsey Corbin is racing here,” Bentley said with a laugh, “cuz she’s such a cowgirl!”
Check in with triathlon.competitor.com for a detailed race report, as well as a race photo gallery.
Pro Recipe: Melanie McQuaid’s White Bean And Kale Soup
We’ve heard a lot recently about the many health benefits of kale, so when we heard that XTERRA champion and frequent Triathlete contributor Melanie McQuaid was a big fan, we asked her how she likes to prepare this vitamin-rich vegetable. This hearty soup is her favorite way to eat kale. The basic recipe below is vegetarian, but she suggests adding low-fat Italian sausage if you want to add protein and a more meaty flavor. She recommends serving this soup topped with shaved Parmesan cheese and black pepper and some crusty multigrain bread.
Ingredients:
• 2 cups of white beans, soaked overnight (or 2 15-ounce cans of salt-free white beans)
• 10 cups of water (If using canned beans, substitute 2 cans of broth in vegetable, chicken or French onion varieties and 2 cups of water.)
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary (or use 3 teaspoons of dried rosemary)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow or sweet onion, diced
• 1 leek, chopped and rinsed well (white part only)
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 8 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 teaspoon red chile flakes
• 6 Roma tomatoes seeded and diced (You can substitute a large 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes if you need.)
• 1 teaspoon cracked pepper
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 bunches of kale, any variety, chopped coarsely
1. If cooking dry beans, place all of the beans in a pot with bay leaves, 2 teaspoons of rosemary and cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the beans are tender. In the last 15 minutes of cooking, add a teaspoon of salt.
2. Sauté the onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until translucent and golden. Add the leek and continue to cook over medium heat until soft and translucent. Add the red pepper flakes, salt, garlic and rosemary and cook for a few more minutes. Add the tomatoes, liquid and beans and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes.
3. Add the washed and chopped kale to the soup and simmer until tender. The soup is ready to be served with a drizzle of balsamic and shaving of Parmesan sprinkled with black pepper.
Alternative options: Adding Italian sausage to the soup, broiled in the oven and chopped into bite-sized bits, can make it quite spicy. If adding sausage, be careful with how much of the red pepper flakes you add. This soup is very hearty, but for the bigger appetites you can also add some rice pasta (rice holds its shape in soup a bit better in my opinion) or orzo to turn this soup into a minestrone. Also, if you really love rosemary, putting a few stalks into a tea ball and suspending it in the soup adds more rosemary essence. Kale is not the only green, leafy vegetable that would work in this recipe. You can use any variety of kale including green, purple, curly and flowering, but also you could substitute Swiss chard or spinach if you prefer.
—Compiled by Ashley Slaney
Competitive Field Set For Ironman 70.3 Antwerp
Vanhoenacker and Granger head up stellar field that includes 13 Ironman and 70.3 champions.
With 1,100 competitors from 30 different countries, Ironman 70.3 Antwerp will feature both an international and incredibly competitive field. No less than 13 Ironman and Ironman 70.3 champions, including Marino Vanhoenacker, pictured here, are expected to compete in the Antwerp event.
Formerly known as the Marc Herremans Classic, Ironman 70.3 Antwerp certainly enjoys the support of many of the sport’s premier Ironman athletes who come, in part, to support Herremans. Another in a long list of outstanding Belgian athletes, Herremans finished sixth at the 2001 Ford Ironman World Championship, but then lost the use of his legs early in 2002 when he crashed on his bike while training in Lanzarote. He went on to compete in Kona again later that year on a handcycle and wheelchair. He was not only featured in NBC’s Emmy-award winning coverage, he was also named Belgium’s sports personality of the year.
Here’s a list of the pros registered for the race, which will take place on Sunday, August 2.
01- Marino Vanhoenacker, Belgium (four-time Ironman Austria winner)
02- Luc Van Lierde, Belgium (two-time Ironman World Champion )
03- Rutger Beke, Belgium (first place Ironman Arizona 2007 )
04- Ain Alar Juhanson, Estonia ( two-time winner of Ironman Lanzarote )
05- Bert Jammaer, Belgium (winner Ironman Lanzarote )
06- Gerrit Schellens, Belgium ( two-time winner Ironman South Africa )
07- Fraser Cartmell, Australia (two-time winner Ironman 70.3 UK )
09- Paul Matthews, Australia (two-time Ironman 70.3 champion )
10- Belinda Granger, Australia (many time Ironman and Ironman 70.3 champion)
11- Lucie Zelenkova, Tsjechië (winner Ironman South Africa 2009 )
12- Tine Deckers, Belgium (winner Ironman France-Nice 2009 )
13- Dann Brook, Great-Britain
14- Allesandro Degasperi, Italy (third place Ironman 70.3 Switzerland 2009 )
15- Frederik Van Lierde, Belgium (third place Ironman New Zealand 2008 )
16- Stijn Demeulemeester, Belgium (third place Ironman 70.3 Antwerp 2007 )
17- Alun Woodward, Hongary (fifth place Ironman 70.3 Oostenrijk 2009 )
18- Toby Jameson, Engeland (10th place Ironman 70.3 Antwerp 2008 )
19- Joel Jameson, Engeland (eighth place Ironman 70.3 Antwerp 2008 )
20- Thomas Darby, Finland (seventh place Ironman 70.3 Antwerp 2008 )
21- Bas Diederen, Nederland (third place Brasschaat 2009 )
22- Axel Zeebroek, Belgium (13th Olympic Games 2008 )
23- Koen Hoeyberghs, Belgium (fifth place Brasschaat 2009 )
24- Tim Brydenbach, Belgium (fourth place Brasschaat 2009 )
25- Bart decru, Belgium (ninth place Brasschaat 2009 )
26- Sofie Goos, Belgium (fourth place 70.3 Ironman Antwerp 2008)
27- Christel Robin, France (second place Ironman Nice 2009)
28- Rachel Joyce, Germany (second place Ironman Zuid-Afrika / lanzarote 2009 )
29- Ana Burgos, Spain (20th place Olympic Games 2008)
30- Felicity Hart, Great-Britain (second place Ironman 70.3 Antwerp 2008)
31- Delphine Pelletier, France (Champion France long distance 2009 )
32- Caroline Perin, France (third place France long distance 2008 )
33- Ulrike Schwalbe, Germany (fourth place Ironman Nice 2008)
34- Tara Prowse, Australië (second place Ironman 70.3 Australia 2008)
35- Emma Kate Lidbury, Great-Britain (sixth place Ironman 70.3 Antwerp 2008 )
36- Cora Vlot, Nederland (seventh place Ironman 70.3 Antwerp 2008 )
Provided by Ironman.com
On Your Trademark
Six weeks and 115 pages of writing later, I am back in Massachusetts with 60% of my book drafted and 10 days before I fly off for my run-about in Australia. Feeling kind of like a kid who cries to come home at the end of summer camp, I’ve reunited with muggy New England and a garden with weeds that come up to my ribs. I opened the fridge this morning to find my husband apparently living on a liquid diet of milk, OJ, and Coke Zero–oh, and the Bombay Sapphire he’d advanced himself after reading Monday’s post.
This is all to say that I took off early for groceries and sundries, and it was in the parking lot of Target that I saw this on a minivan bumper:
Trademarking a number, printed in black Times New Roman: excessive, no? Why not trademark boredom and banality while you’re at it?
SF Marathon, Brian @ mile 20+: "Marathons are fun!"
I wouldn’t mind if someone would please copyright the sensation of mile 20 so that no one else can feel it without express permission of the copyright holder (”not it!”). But declaring an unregistered trademark for a basic four-character expression of personal pain and triumph strikes me as a) way too 21st century, b) way too proprietary, and c) way too tacky.
(I know, I know, I’m reading way too much into that little ‘TM,’ but it’s a Friday blog post and I feel like dissecting the idea of intellectual property when it comes to a numerical expression of agonizing physical stunts. Plus, today’s run was uneventful; there wasn’t even any curious roadkill.)
Who gets to own ‘26.2?’ Apparently, 412,000 people in 2007. Sometimes I think the number has gotten too mythic, too robust, and too tacit for what it really is: a digital representation of your own phenomenological territory. Those out-of-focus race shots of a red-faced you with contorted expressions and an awkward landing in your gait are probably a better statement of a marathon. But you can’t plaster those on your car.
I would love to peel my 26.2 sticker off my wagon, but I can’t get it off, which means it’s kind of like this blog: it dooms me to marathon running until I crash and burn. Because I’d rather not crash and burn (call me crazy), I want one of these to slap on top of the 26.2:
Car Magnet from runumother.com
Tim DeBoom: Discovering New Places
One advantage of being a professional triathlete is traveling the world. Photo: John Segesta
Written by: Tim DeBoom
“I’ve traveled every road in this here land.”
When Johnny Cash’s legendary baritone sings these words from “I’ve Been Everywhere,” I’m reminded of my own life on the road these past 17 years.
Travel is definitely one of the perks of being a professional triathlete. Other sports allow athletes to train and compete around the world, but almost all the marquee events in our sport are held in places that are also considered vacation destinations. I can honestly say that I have visited almost all my dream vacation spots through racing. I have also discovered some places that I never would have considered visiting but are now possibly my favorites on this planet.
In 2000, I had been injured and sick early in the year, so my season got a late start. I needed a race in which I could find my rhythm before Kona. The great guys at Klagenfurt, Austria-based Triangle Sports invited me torace the Ironman there. I had never thought of going to Austria and did not know much about the country, except from the movie “The Sound of Music.” (My mother forced us boys to watch that movie when we were young. She claimed it would give us some culture.)
When flying into Austria, all I could see was green. The whole countryside appeared to be a manicured golf course. My wife and I stayed at an incredible bed and breakfast and immediately became part of the family there. It was a challenge to continue my taper because all I wanted to do was explore the surrounding areas. The lake water was so clean that I thought of actually hydrating during the swim. Of course, this excludes the warmer waters that plague the beginning of every swim. The bike course was a fast, challenging loop around the lake with a tiered climb that was once used in the Giro d’Italia. The run went through a beautiful park and quaint cobbled town that was fast and filled with fans the entire way.
The race itself went fine. I came in second to a blazing Jurgen Zack by about a minute. The real memory of the race, however, was my introduction to the European crowds. This was my first European Ironman, and I felt like I was in a stage of the Tour de France. The crowds would part at the last minute, leaving just enough space to let me through, and cowbells rang in my ears for days afterward. It sure makes it tough to bonk with all that fan support out there.
After the race, we stayed a little longer and enjoyed some more of the country, driving into the mountains and then down to Venice, Italy, for a day trip. As touristy as Venice can be, I was amazed by the history of the city and became addicted to the espresso. Like most people go to a bar and have a couple of beers, the Italians have bars where they drink shot after shot of espresso with spoonfuls of sugar in every one. That is probably why I came home and had to buy a thousand-dollar coffee maker. The other thing I remember clearly about Venice is the abundance of stairs in that city. Wendy Ingraham and I were doing the post-Ironman modified crab-walk for much of the day. Keep this in mind if you visit after the race.
As a mountain man at heart, I think Ironman Austria sets the benchmark for races that have it all. However, there are several races that deserve an honorable mention. In Pucon, Chile, a smoking volcano glowed red outside my bedroom window at night. In Laguna Phuket, Thailand, I swam with elephants in the surf before the race and got chased by a wild pig during the run. Yes, I ran fast that day! If you want to stay close to the U.S., take a day trip from Phoenix down to Rocky Point, Mexico, for the Las Palomas Triathlon and the best post-race beach party around.
The sport of triathlon offers a bounty of exotic locales just waiting to be discovered, not only for the incredible scenery and beauty, but for the people you’ll meet as well. The hospitality in some of these places is beyond what I have experienced here in the States. In most foreign countries triathlon is a spectator sport that draws huge crowds and a festival-type atmosphere. The triathletes who never venture outside their comfort zones are missing out on some incredible adventures. Whether you are new to the sport or a veteran who has finished 100 races, I highly recommend doing a destination race in the near future.
I started my adventures by driving around the country to races with my dad and brother, and I gradually ventured beyond U.S. borders and traveled the world. Interestingly, I wrote this column while traveling in Australia for another race. I’m happy to report that I just discovered a new favorite spot to add to my list (or the lyrics of my own little ditty). Byron Bay, I will be back.
Nutrition Plan
I thought I would take a moment to share with you my race nutrition plan for Ironman Arizona. It’s pretty simple. In fact, my motto for race nutrition is “keep it simple.”
Let me begin with my pre-race breakfast. Before most races I have a light breakfast comprising of a bottle of Ensure and a banana. This menu goes down quickly and easily yet provides plenty of carbs to top off my glycogen stores. But before an Ironman I like to have something more substantial, because I won’t eat again until after I finish. So in Phoenix I will have a nice big bowl of oatmeal and some orange juice.
I won’t drink much else because humans are not camels, so drinking a ton of fluid before racing achieves little besides increasing the number of annoying bathroom breaks you have to make before and even after the race start. An hour before the horn sounds I will wash down three caffeine pills (thus breaking a one-week cafeine fast) with a final swig of water and then cut myself off.
Exactly one 24-ounce bottle of Accelerade will await me on my Kestrel Airfoil in transition. That’s it. No aero hydration bladders, no gels taped to the top tube. All that crap is utterly superfluous. Why carry more than one bottle of fluid when it adds a lot of weight to the bike (24 ounces is one and a half pounds, folks!) and there are aid stations available at which to grab refills? Why wrestle with gel packets when a sports drink alone provides as much carbohydrate as the body can absorb during exercise?
My first Ironman was fueled entirely by Accelerade and, when that ran out, Gatorade supplied on the course. Okay, I had one gel on the run, but that’s only because I missed the Dixie cup at an aid station. With this approach I got all of the energy I could absorb and suffered none of the sloshing, gas, bloating, nausea and worse that so many athletes who gobble gels, energy bars and salt tablets all day long believe are normal in an Ironman. Yes, gastrointestinal issues are common enough in Ironmans, but in nine out of ten cases they are caused by trying to consume too damn much.
The one problem I did have in Madison was that I had to pee a zillion times on the bike. That’s because it was a cool day and I wasn’t sweating much. So if I could do it again I would actually drink less on the bike and slurp a few gels, as energy needs remain high on cool days even as fluid needs are relatively low. But in a warmer race, as I expect Arizona to be, I can rely on fluids all the way without having to urinate every 45 minutes. I know this because I have been going all-liquid in my recent hot century rides and have peed only once in each.
I don’t even understand the concept of a special needs bag. I did not use one in Wisconsin and I will not waste my time with one in Arizona, either. What in god’s name could I possibly need to put in there?
But what if I get hungry? So what if I get hungry? I can eat when I finish. In Wisconsin I gobbled two slices of pizza as soon as I had crossed the finish line. I was freaking ravenous. But I know that if I had tried to eat before I crossed the finish line I would have gone no faster and only increased the likelihood of GI issues. Hunger is a red herring in Ironman racing. It’s natural enough, but it doesn’t change the fact that you can only absorb about 300 calories per hour and you’re probably already getting all of those calories from your sports drink - and gels, if you must.
A great many triathletes worry a lot about their race nutrition as they approach an Ironman. I ain’t worried.
Packet Pick-Up Options
Packet Pick-up Options
While race management strongly recommends that each runner pick up your own race number, timing device, t-shirt and goodie bag at the Health & Fitness Expo we are offering two options in an effort to accommodate the requests from teams, families, and local runners, while balancing the very real security and logistical needs of a major participatory event in today’s world and the extra cost of providing such services, we are pleased to be able to offer the following options.
Help Your Friends at the Expo
Again this year, you can pick up your friend’s race packet at the Expo. The procedure will work as follows:
- You can pick up a maximum of four packets, including your own.
- You may pick up your packet and one friend’s for no extra cost. If you pick up additional packets you will be charged $20 per packet.
- You must have a copy of the photo ID and the signed confirmation card from each person whose packet you are getting.
- Once you get to the Expo, please bring these items directly to the Solutions table to pay for the service and receive your packets.
Race Day Late Packet Pick Up Option
Registered to run, but can’t make the Expo fun? Race number and timing tag pick up will now be available on race morning for a $30 late fee.
This special service is limited to 300 participants.
- You must register for this service before online registration closed on September 13.
- This opportunity is first come, first serve and once sold out, we will not offer any other Race Day Packet Pick-Up at the start line - NO EXCEPTIONS. We appreciate your understanding of this policy.
Once you register for this service, you will not receive a refund if you pick up your packet at the Expo. - Friends/Family cannot pick up your packet for you on Race Day.
If you have opted for the Race Day Late Packet Pick-Up service, please bring your signed confirmation card and photo ID to the Late Packet Pick-Up Will Call tent on race morning. Late Packet Pick-Up hours are as follows: 5:30 am - 7:30 am.
Purchase Race Day Late Packet Pick-Up
Nutritional Recovery
Written by: Shawn Talbott, PhD
A popular post-exercise recovery supplement.
Recovery is the neglected performance enhancer, and proper nutrition is the best recovery enhancer.
Everyone is training hard - but the winners are recovering better. Athletes at the highest levels of competition - Tour de France, Ironman, Olympics - understand that the ability to recover quickly and completely often makes the difference between peak performance and poor performance.
What happens if you recovery poorly? Your body remains in a depleted state, tissue damage continues, immune system activity becomes suppressed, and injury sets in. The first and most obvious way to enhance recovery is by simply replacing what you’ve lost during exercise. Secondly, by preventing the downward spiral of continuing tissue damage and immune suppression, you can coax the body’s physiology out of a “catabolic” state (marked by tissue breakdown) and into an “anabolic” state (characterized by tissue repair and rebuilding). Finally, the athletes who recover more fully from one intense workout to the next can train at a higher level without illness and injury or risk of overtraining. The instructions for high-level endurance performance are not rocket science: 1) Train Hard; 2) Recover Fully; 3) Repeat.
The adaptations to exercise training (stronger muscles, improved endurance, and higher oxygen consumption) occur during the recovery phase of training. Workouts provide the stimulus for change, but it is during the post-exercise period that the actual physiological and biochemical changes take place to help us become faster and stronger for the next effort. Without adequate recovery, not only do we place ourselves at risk for illness and injury, but we also hamper these post-exercise adaptations (and our performance). Why would you punish yourself through a hard set of intervals (setting in motion the stimulus for adaptation), but then effectively “shut down” the physiological and biochemical adaptation phase with inadequate recovery?
Grabbing a banana and a glass of water after your workout is certainly a step in the right direction - but while this might be OK for the occasional fitness jogger, it’s simply not enough for avid endurance enthusiasts who push themselves on a regular basis.
There are three major aspects to optimal post-exercise recovery: (1) Hydration, (2) Glycogen Replacement, and (3) Biochemical Balance (encompassing inflammation and oxidation, repair of tissue damage, and restoration of normal immune function). Attention to any one of these areas will aid post-exercise recovery, but attention to two or three areas will optimize recovery and set you up for better training and performance down the road.
Hydration
The research is quite clear on a couple of important points with regard to hydration during and after exercise. The first is that you will become dehydrated - even with a short workout. Count on it and plan for it. The second is that electrolyte beverages with low sugar concentrations are clearly superior to water in absorption and retention in the body.
Glycogen Replacement
The most important effect of your post-exercise snack is to rapidly stimulate glycogen resynthesis. Almost any combination of carbs and protein will do the job: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a glass of chocolate milk, one of the commercial post-exercise recovery drinks, etcetera. Endurance athletes should shoot for about 300-500 carbohydrate calories consumed as soon as possible following exercise.
Biochemical Balance
The biochemical changes that occur during exercise encompass a wide range of systemic disruptions such as increased inflammation and oxidation, tissue damage (mostly to the skeletal muscles and lungs), and temporary suppression of immune system activity. If not adequately addressed, these biochemical derangements can increase your risk of illness (colds, flu, and other respiratory tract infections), injury (tendonitis, fasciitis, and stress fractures), and overtraining (lethargy, depression, and irritability).
Getting inflammation and oxidation under control is as easy as getting some more antioxidants into your diet. Brightly colored berries (blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries), most fruits juices (orange, grape, and apple), and even dietary supplements that contain flavonoids (antioxidant) and proteolytic enzymes (anti-inflammatory) are an easy approach to combating these biochemical compounds that can delay tissue repair.
Enhancing the tissue reparative process is also fairly simple. The protein that you may already be consuming with your post-exercise carb-based snack will provide the amino acid building blocks that the body will use to rebuild damaged muscle tissue.
Finally, one of the most overlooked aspects of post-exercise recovery is restoring immune system function. Intense bouts of training and competition can suppress immune function for a full day or more, with a marathon-distance run suppressing immune system activity for about two weeks. Restoring immune function back to normal levels is partially accomplished by consuming antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients, but also by providing specific amino acids (glutamine and the three branched-chain amino acids - valine, leucine, and isoleucine) that immune cells use as a fuel source when fighting infection and repairing tissue damage.
Summary
Most of us have no need to become “Tour de France” adept at post-exercise recovery (so we can ride 100 miles a day for three weeks). However, the majority of us maintain our endurance training as just one part of our complicated lives. Enhancing your ability to recover quickly and fully can help you to enjoy that other “stuff” in your life, while at the same time helping you reach that “next level” in your training and competition.
Shawn Talbott holds a PhD in nutritional biochemistry (Rutgers) and MS in Exercise Science (Massachusetts) and is an avid endurance athlete competing in Ironman triathlons and ultra-marathons.
NFL Star Rallies Pro Athletes To Race Triathlons For Charity
Ted Johnson (foreground) and Max Lane, former New England Patriots, biked 70 miles as part of the Memory Ride. Photo: Art Cambell
Written by: Bethany Leach
Picture a 6-foot 6-inch former NFL offensive lineman setting his 310 pounds atop his old mountain bike—which, admittedly, had served as a coat rack in his garage—to compete in a sprint triathlon. That’s just what retired New England Patriot Max Lane did for charity.
“It’s very funny,” said Jackye Colligan, the director of Lane’s To the Max Foundation. “He definitely catches people’s attention.”
After retiring from the NFL seven years ago, Lane became somewhat of a local celebrity in Massachusetts and attended local charity events, usually including fancy dinners, silent auctions or golf tournaments. However, the tickets to the events usually cost between $500 and $20,000 a ticket, Colligan said. Lane felt he was losing touch with many donors because the cost of tickets “priced out a lot of people that would like to contribute,” he said.
So Lane started the To the Max Foundation, an organization with the goal of raising funds in creative ways to distribute to some of his favorite charities. To raise the funds, the organization hosted its first event, a tailgate party outside of the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium last fall. The event included a live band, an open bar, a barbecue and more than 100 attendees. The event led to about $10,000 donated to charities. Lane also convinced former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson to pedal 70 miles with him last week to raise money for Alzheimer’s research.
Max Lane and Jackye Colligan after completing the Mattapoisett Triathlon in Massachusetts on July 12. Photo: John Imprescia
Now, Lane is organizing a team of former professional athletes, including former NHL Boston Bruins players, to race in the Fantastic Nantasket Triathlon in Hull, Mass., on Sept. 27. To find teammates, Lane generally approaches professional athletes in his network of friends or at charity events, such as golf tournaments, and asks them if they’re interested. When they start making excuses, Lane said, he tells them, “Look at me. If I can do it, you can do it.”
The money raised from the sprint triathlon will go toward two organizations: The SeatSwap and Hull’s athletic department. The SeatSwap is a nonprofit organization that allows ticketholders to donate tickets to sporting events, and the tickets are given to children who wouldn’t normally be able to attend. The event will also be raising money for the athletic departments at the schools in Hull, where the race will be held. The department is at financial risk of eliminating all sports programs for students.
The Fantastic Nantasket race was Lane’s first triathlon, and he placed 43 out of 45 in the Clydesdale category. “Triathlon is a humbling experience,” Colligan said. “These guys go from being the best at what they did to finishing last in triathlons.”
Nonetheless, he finished the race with a sense of accomplishment and was proud that he had run the full three miles without walking. He was happy just to finish, but he hopes to beat his time this year. “I’m gonna have my game face on this time,” he said.
Lane became interested in racing just last year. “After football was over in 2002, I didn’t want to work out because I had spent my entire life working out. I turned into a couch potato, put on some weight,” he said. After a staff infection that sent him to the E.R., Lane decided it was time to maintain his health better. After a trip to the doctor, the 38-year-old was told that he needed to work on his cholesterol. He started working out with Colligan, an endurance athlete who raced in Olympic-distance triathlons and the Boston Marathon. When she encouraged him to race for charities and to start a foundation that could distribute funds to them, he started the To the Max Foundation, which was approved as a 501(c)3 organization at the beginning of 2009.
Lane hopes to work up to Olympic-distance triathlons. “What I like about triathlons is that you’re doing three things in short intervals, so it never gets boring,” he said. “You’re always trying to do more and improve your time.”
For more information or to donate, visit Tothemaxfoundation.org.
