Hello Gators, I think that everyone is aware that this is a big weekend for our club with eight Gators participating in Ironman Lake Placid and another dozen plus that will be there to train and support (and maybe a few will sign up for the 2016 event). It should be a great weekend for our team whether you are there in person or in spirit. This week's news topics include...Accomplishments… Lots of swimming and a couple of tris!!Who’s Next?… Gators in Lake Placid... It's more than a bad movie!!About A Gator... One of our Lake Placid athletes!!Recommended... Follow the Gators at Lake Placid!!Mark Your Calendars… Lots of upcoming club events!! Accomplishments: Recent results include a couple of swim distance PRs and a couple of great triathlon results…Sunday, 7/12: Steelman Open Water Swim (Lake Nockamixon, PA): Chris Phillips set a new distance PR in this 3.1 mile event, which was also his first time participating in the Steelman OWS… Nice work, Chris!!Saturday, 7/18: Swim Ocean City (Ocean City, MD): Nabil Radouane successfully completed the 9 mile swim event at Ocean City’s Ocean Games, his first effort in this ocean-based swim. Nine miles is about the equivalent of spending as much time in the water as it takes to complete a half Ironman distance event! Way to go, Nabil! You’ll be doing the English Channel before long.Sunday, 7/19:NJ State Triathlon (West Windsor, NJ): Allison Wesler finished in the top 45% in her age group and the top 45% of all female participants in a very competitive field. This was Allison’s first time participating in the Olympic distance at this event. Great job, Allison!Anthracite Triathlon (Jim Thorpe, PA): Chris Reiter narrowly missed a podium spot finishing 4th in his age group and 18th overall. Chris also set a PR in this event. Excellent results, Chris! Who’s Next?: This weekend we have Gators participating in two events that are both taking place in the state of New York…Sunday, 7/26:Grimaldo’s Mile (Coney Island, NY): Nabil Radouane makes it back to back weekends of events and takes on another swim event on his way towards his goal of 50 miles of OWS in 2015. Ironman Lake Placid (Lake Placid, NY): The waiting is over… It’s time… Reminder of our eight Gators participating in this year’s event…Vince Bellino (2nd Ironman distance event)Adrienne Foster (1st Ironman distance event)Don Mack (1st Ironman distance event)Dave Marine (1st Ironman distance event)Tiff Pfluger (1st Ironman distance event)Tim Pfluger (1st Ironman distance event)Byron Solvason (5th Ironman distance event)Jeff Spillane (1st Ironman distance event) About A Gator: I decided that after asking 46 of you to complete one of these, I was obligated to do one. Recommended: Follow the progress of this Sunday’s Ironman Lake Placid (there should be a “Live Coverage” button on Sunday with cameras at the swim exit and run finish and split times for all three legs… http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman/lake-placid.aspx#axzz3gphwWMMB Mark Your Calendars:Upcoming Club Events:Sunday, August 9: Steelman (Quakertown, PA): As usual, we’ll have a ton of athletes competing in the sprint and Olympic events… A dozen at last count, but there will likely be more than 20 of us by the time the event gets here.Sunday, August 16: Challenge Pocono Mountains: We have at least 16 athletes participating as individuals and on relay teams. If you are interested in doing either, it’s not too late, just let us know!Saturday, September 12, Diamondman Challenge: This event features all sorts of races… Sprint and half Ironman distance triathlons and duathlons, off-road triathlon and duathlon, and kids triathlon and duathlon. We’d like for it to be a family event and we’re planning to host a few kids training sessions over the summer so that we can have a pack of Jr. Gators participate. Reserve the date on your calendar and stay tuned for more details coming soon! Go Gators! Don M