By Roxane Kippen, Team OAM Now Tri-athlete
Tri del Sol is a staple event in the annual triathlon schedule. Held mid-July at YMCA Camp Manitou-Lin, located in Middleville, MI, the race offers both Sprint (750 meter swim, 20 kilometer bike, 5 kilometer run) and Olympic (1500 meter swim, 40 kilometer bike, 10 kilometer run) distances. The venue offers a swim in the beautiful Lake Barlow, a bike course covering the hilly roads bordering Yankee Springs State Recreation Area and a run on trails and country roads surrounding the camp.
Kathy Kirk, TEAM OAM NOW resident Aquabike specialist, saw her interval training in the pool pay off in the Olympic distance Aquabike with a great swim (19:03). She had also been working on her bike mount skills to save time transitioning to the bike leg where she cranked out 22.3 mph for nearly 25 miles. She finished first overall of both men and women in a time of 1:22:39.
Alex Vanais, Kathy Kirk
Alex Vanias, former cycling superstar, turned his focus to triathlon this year and is already proving he is professional material in this field with an overall win in the Olympic distance triathlon. He finished just shy of two and half minutes ahead of local professional triathlete Jimi Minnema. Alex came out of the water in 23rd place, nearly four minutes back, but made up the time on the leaders with the fastest bike split of the day averaging 26.8 mph on the 40k course and the fastest run split of the day.
Matt Gunderson, new member of the TEAM OAM NOW Elite Club, stepped out of his comfort zone of duathlon and into the world of triathlon at Tri del Sol this year. His strength on the bike was evident with the 5th fastest bike split in his age group. This was Matt’s first experience with open water swimming and it went better than expected, which is to be celebrated for certain since the swim is often the biggest barrier to entering triathlon. Knowing what to expect from the swim, Matt is now ready to tackle the three disciplines.
TEAM OAM NOW triathletes are up next on July 27 at XTERRA Ionia and August 2 at Millennium Triathlon.
