Hello Gators, Two of the best aspects of our club are the diverse mix of athletes and the supportive nature of the group. Both have been on display recently and will continue to be throughout the season. The club is composed of everyone from those training for their first triathlon to some that have been in the sport for 10+ years, have multiple Ironman distance finishes, and/or are regulars on award podiums. Whatever your experience or performance level, it’s always great to see an athlete set a personal distance record or set a PR at a particular distance/event. And it’s particularly special when an athlete crosses the finish line for the first time in a triathlon. So far this season we’ve had four athletes complete their first triathlon starting with Mark Donovan (White Lake Spring Half Ironman distance) and continuing with Tiff Pfluger (Devilman Sprint) and most recently Michelle Leonard and Kristin Kozera (both at the Independence Triathlon last weekend). We also have a number of athletes that will be breaking a personal distance record including seven of our Lady Gators at half Ironman distance events taking place the next three Sundays including Challenge Quassy in Connecticut (June 7; Tiff Pfluger and Adrienne Foster), Ironman Eagleman in Maryland (June 14; Maddie Matarazzo, Ellen Friend, Melissa Moffa, and Steph Babiec), and Ironman Syracuse in Syracuse, NY (June 21; Maribeth Baker). And our team spirit and supportiveness have been on display often at training workouts and events such as the Love Run, Devilman, and the Independence Triathlon with a huge turnout of Gator participants and spectators in each case. And we’ll see that continue at other upcoming team events such as Steelman French Creek, Ironman Lake Placid, and Steelman Quakertown. Later this season (August 16), we will have a number of individual participants and relay teams participate in the Challenge Pocono Mountains triathlon. We’ll have at least four teams registered for the half distance event plus several individuals in the Olympic and half distance. If you are not yet participating but would like to do so, please let us know as we can still assist with putting together some additional teams. This week's news topics include...Accomplishments… Independence Day, that course is a Bear, and Taking on New York!!Who’s Next?… We’re everywhere!!... Philly, Delaware, Connecticut, and even Wyoming!!Mark Your Calendars… Workouts, Steelman French Creek, and Bike Maintenance Clinic!! Happy Birthday!: Best wishes to the following club members that are celebrating birthdays this week…Monday, June 1: Danny FriendSaturday, June 6: Andy Rosebrook... Celebrating with two races this weekend! Accomplishments: Gators running (and biking and swimming) rampant!!...Saturday, May 30:2 Bridges Swim (Brooklyn, NY): Nabil Radouane successfully completed this 5K course… Way to do another 5K the hard way, Nabil!Spartan Tri-State New York Sprint (Tuxedo Ridge, NY): Jay Sherman completed his third Spartan race of the season, this time racing for the first time as an Elite racer. Jay was able to complete the 5.25 mile long ski slope course that included 1,950 feet of elevation gain and had two brutal uphill 75-100 yard barbed wire crawls. Despite being his Elite debut, Jay was able to finish in front of almost 100 Elite participants and in the top 10% of the event overall… Impressive effort, Jay!!Sunday, May 31:Black Bear Triathlon (Lehighton, PA): Chris Reiter conquered the infamous Black Bear hilly Olympic course and achieved great results finishing in the top 20% overall and the top 30% in his age group. Chris’ other accomplishments included top 15% bike and T2, top 20% swim, top 25% T1, and top 30% run. Way to go, Chris!!Independence Triathlon (Quakertown, PA): We had an outstanding showing once again at our 3rd club event of the season. The amazing level of participation culminated in us retaining our 3rd place position in Piranha’s Greater Atlantic Club Challenge and also our first cash payout ($69.40) for finishing as the 3rd ranked club at the event. It was also our first time using the new club tent and banners and since there was a bit of rain, that was nice to have. It was also great to see so many non-racing Gators out to support the team including Brian Kozera (and 3 kids), Tim Pfluger, Vince Bellino, Kelly Beauchamp, Allison Wesler (and Zoey), and Diane Lynch! We had first time triathletes as well as podium finishers; overall it was a great day to be a Gator!...Suzanne Angelaccio finished in the top 25% of all females, top 35% of her age group, and top 45% overall as well as top 50% swim, top 50% bike, and an amazing #16 overall (out of 347) in T1… Great work, Suzanne! We’re going to have to have you join the Beauchamps for our next “Transitions clinic”!Steph Babiec finished in the top 30% of her age group and top 45% of all females… Good work, Steph, including another nice sprint finish!!Maribeth Baker finished #2 in her age group… PODIUM!!... as well as #19 overall female, and top 30% overall. Other accomplishments included top 15% T1, top 20% swim, top 33% bike, and top 40% run… Congrats, Maribeth!!Ken Beauchamp who is still not close to 100% finished #15 overall as well as #2 in his age group… PODIUM!!... and #1 in the entire race in T1 (it was an amazing site watching Ken exit his wetsuit… I thought I was watching a video in fast forward until I remembered it was live). Other accomplishments included #5 overall bike, top 15% run, and top 33% swim… Strong as always, Ken!!Adrienne Foster was #4 in her age group (just missing a podium spot), top 15% female, and top 30% overall. Adrienne also finished in the top 50% overall for all splits… Run: top 33%, bike: top 35%, swim: top 45% (a bit better than last year), and T1: top 50%... Nice work, Adrienne, guess the Ironman training is helping!!Jim Foster finished in the top 45% overall as well as top 30% on the bike… Great job, Jim!!Kristin Kozera became a FIRST TIME TRIATHLETE!! Despite this being Kristin’s first event, she also achieved great results in T1 (top 35%) and the swim (top 50%)… Awesome job, Kristin!!Michelle Leonard, one of our most experienced cyclists and runners, also became a FIRST TIME TRIATHLETE!! Michelle’s results were also outstanding including top 25% female and age group, top 45% overall, top 25% T1, and top 35% bike… Congrats on a fantastic race, Michelle!!Frank Moffa finished in the top 20% overall and top 40% of his age group. Frank’s other accomplishments included top 15% bike, top 20% T1, top 25% run, and top 40% swim… Great return from IM Lake Placid, Frank!!Don Schlichtmann was the top Gator finisher coming in #9 overall and #1 in his age group… PODIUM!! Other accomplishments included top 25 finishes on the bike (#9), T1 (#20), and the run (#24) plus top 10% swim… Way to get it done, Don!!Byron Solvason was close to a podium spot finishing #5 in his age group as well as #37 overall, all while assisting Michelle in her first tri swim. Other accomplishments included #17 overall bike, top 25% run and T1… Great race on multiple fronts, Byron!!Heather Tracey participating in just her 2nd triathlon finished in the top 30% of all females as well as the top 50% overall and in her age group. Other accomplishments included top 15% run and top 33% T1… Congrats, Heather!! Your fast T1 time seems to indicate you were happy to be out of the water!Brent “the Dreamer” Voynar finished #22 overall as well as just missing the podium at the #4 spot in his age group. Brent’s other accomplishments included #21 overall bike, top 10% swim, top 15% run, and top 20% T1… Nice job, Brent!! Who’s Next?: This weekend there are at least ten Gators racing in at least four states, including one athlete racing on both Saturday and Sunday. Best wishes to all for a safe and successful event!Saturday, June 6:Rev3 Quassy Olympic Triathlon (Middlebury, CT): Andy Rosebrook (event #1)Grand Teton Half Marathon (Jackson, WY): Dean MilliganSunday, June 7:Rev3 Quassy 70.3 Triathlon (Middlebury, CT): Adrienne Foster, Tiff Pfluger, Tim Pfluger, and Andy Rosebrook (event #2)Tri-It Triathlon/Duathlon (Bear, DE):Triathlon: Bill Cooney, Don SchlichtmannDuathlon: Kelly Beauchamp, Ken BeauchampSee Chicks Run 10K (Philadelphia): Maureen Pinkerton Mark Your Calendars: Upcoming Events:Sunday, June 14, 7:00am: Steelman French Creek Triathlon and AquabikeMonday, June 15, 7:00pm-8:15pm, Spring-Valley YMCA (specific location TBD): Bikeworks Bike Maintenance clinic Upcoming Workouts:Saturday, June 6: Steelman French Creek Preview Ride (and optional brick run). Two options (both are hilly)…Option 1 (6am start led by Don M): 18 mile loop including Shed Rd. loop (6-7 miles) and Steelman loop (11-12 miles) plus brick run after final loop is completed. First loop will start promptly at 6am from the parking lot on Shed Rd. near the intersection with Rt 345/Park Rd. Plan is to complete at least four loops for a total ride time of up to five hours. We will pass the parking lot twice during each loop, so you can jump in or out at any time. If you plan to join in late, please let us know so we know when to stop at the parking lot to look for you. This will be a “no drop” ride, but will be a faster paced ride than Option 2 (17-19 MPH average).Option 2 (7am start led by Brian K): 12 mile Steelman bike loop plus 30 minute brick run on the Steelman run course. Will include a single loop of the Steelman bike course and will begin promptly at 7am from the boat launch by the ranger station in the transition area of the Steelman race (see Steelman French Creek website for more details about location… http://www.steelmantriathlon.com/fc/index.php). This will be the slower paced of the two groups (11-14 MPH avg). Go Gators! Don M