Thanks is large part to the incredible recent efforts of Tammy Guld, Christine Mackrides & Ross Felice at Quarterman BCTC is just 7 points away from the top spot in the DQ Club Challenge.  Tammy & Christine went 1 & 2 overall at Quarterman & Ross won the 45 to 49 AG.  The Stout brothers Matt & Bill as well as Justin Gosling, Ryan Matheson, & Tom Dillon have earned us some top points along the way in the series. I apologize if I left anyone out.  We have just 3 races left in the series to make up the 7 points.  We can catch Jersey Shore Tri club if we can get enough members out racing in the final 3 races.  We get 1 pt. for each member registering in the Tri, DU or aqua bike in any of the following races.  Seaside Tri 9/28, Treasure Island 10/5 & Survival of the Mills 10/12.  See below & don't forget to register under our club.  Thank you

http://www.dqtridu.com/club.htm
http://www.dqtridu.com/seaside.htm
http://www.dqtridu.com/tresit.htm
http://www.survivalofthemills.com/

I did survive SOS.  However i hoped to do much more.  This race has to be on your bucket list, it is one of
the most beautiful races that will ever torture you for 5 plus hours.  It
took me over 6 this year, ironically on my 6th SOS but this is a race of experience & if you do it once you will
want to do it every year & try to improve your performance.  The race starts
with a 30 mile bike, the 1st 25 mile are fairly flat with some up & downs
& a hairy S turn at mile 10, every year someone nearly crashes.  At mile 25
you turn onto rt 45/55 & climb over 1000 ft for the last 5 miles to
Minnewaska park where your crew waits for you takes your bike & sets your
transition.  The whole race is point to point and requires a crew to set your transition and sherpa your bike to the finish.   

I had an experienced crew who supported myself, Nelson & Don Griffin.  Don and I arrived at transition at the same time so it was a little hectic but nothing that really threw me off my game, at least at this point.
From this point you have to carry all the stuff you will need to get to
the Survivor line.  This can vary greatly from athlete to athlete. 

My plan this year of using a pull buoy and stuffing my shoes in it while wearing a Huub swim run suit worked well overall, but more on my choice of equipment later.  I always wear run compression socks and as usual had no issues with me feet. 

So after you get off the bike you run 4.6 miles on a lose gravel trail up Cardiac hill (aptly named) to
lake Awosting for a 1.1 mile swim across the lake.  This was the fairly unique year with very warm lake temps 
Awosting, the coldest lake was about about 73 degrees, which starts with a 3ft. plunge off a rock
into 4ft. water.  For the last few year I have cramped on this run usually at about the 3 mile mark or so, this year i blew out my right calf at the 1 mile mark.  It came so fast and hurt so bad it dropped me to 1 knee.  I tried to stay positive and told myself you have cramped on this run before and had good races no big deal.  So I kept going slowed my pace to about a 9 min mile but at mile 4 it cramped again, not quite as bad on the first time but it caused me to stop and try to work it out.  After about a minute i was able to run again but again i had to slow my pace even more.  When i approached the swim entrance i walked to get my swim run suit up and zipped, un-rolled my Xterra buoy and fished out my cap & goggles.  Now i'm at the transition mat to get into the lake.  If you want a fast run time cross the mat and get your self situated to swim, if you want a fast swim time do it on the other side of the mat. 

The swim started fine although you quickly realized there was a wicked head wind and 1 foot chop.  So I did my best to swim smoothly but the wind and the chop made the pull buoy provided more noticeable resistance.  Then  at about the 1/3rd mile mark the right calf cramped to the point wear i had to break my stoke hang on my buoy to work out my cramp.  This took about a minute during which time i was moving backwards due to the headwind and chop.  This happened 1 more time with about 200 yards to go but this time it wasn't quite as bad so a just swam slowly through it.  At this point I was very concerned about making my goal time.  So needless to say my Awosting swim time of 35 minutes was about 6 minutes slower than my best time for that section.

It is always cold when you get out of Awosting, however this year it was a very cold year.  We started the race with temps of 54 or so on the bike and when we got to Minnewaska the temp dropped into the upper 40's.  When i got out of Awosting the temp was approx. 47 degrees.  I drank some tea at the swim exit aide station took some electrolytes and started to run. 

The run to lake Minnewaska goes up and down with no real hilly sections, the 2nd half has some real good stretches of down hill.  However i was unable to run faster than a 10 minute mile.  Now at this point was telling myself just survive don't worry about your time & get to skytop with out a serious injury.  I finally got through the 5.5 mile trail run to lake Minnewaska for a long 1/2 mile swim across that lake. 

My 2nd swim was a little better as there was no wind or chop and I only experienced minor toe / foot
cramps.  But it only took 17 plus minutes to get across the lake, not close to my best time for that section.  The exit of Lake Minnewaska requires you climbing up rock stairs out of the water and naturally i cramped yet again negotiating the rock steps. 

The next run is an 8 mile lose gravel fire road run to Lake Mohonk.  It is
mostly flat until mile 7 where you hit Godzilla hill, then when that
finally flattens out until you hit son of Godzilla.  There is plenty
support with aide stations every 2 miles.  The last 1/4 mile is gorgeous
single track that opens up to the majestic Mohonk Mountain House & lake
Mohonk.  This run was not a run for me this year as I walked about 2 plus miles of the 8 with the other 6 no faster than an 11 minute pace

When you approach Mohonk you can hear Alex Sherwood welcoming all the survivors to the survivor line and you know you are so close, but there is still the short 1/2 mile Mohonk swim and the 7/10th of a mile climb up to Skytop and the survivor line.

One of the toughest part of the Mohonk swim is climbing over the split
rail fence to get into the lake.  I was quite worried about cramping during
this swim but the lake was the warmest of the 3 lakes & I had a decent swim
virtually no cramps till the climb out of the lake.  Yes, you guessed it you climb more rocks to get out of Mohonk.  This year i decided to swim with my shoes on,  some athlete do this including this year winner who had the 2nd place finisher hot on his heals.  This decision helped win him the race, because while his competion who got aout of Mohonk just behind him, watched him running up toward Skytop while he was fishing out his shoes and attempting to put them on, which isn't easy with 18 mile of running, 30 miles of biking and 2 miles of swimming under your belt. 

 Now all that is left is the 7/10th of a mile climb up to Skytop Tower to the
Survivor line.   Every year we get   Registration is Halloween night at midnight.  So
stay up, eat all your kids candy & register for SOS 2014.  Thank you
again Harris for being a great crew.

As I'm way behind in race recaps & posting results for BCTC members over the past several weeks I will attempt to catch up in this post.  If I forget your result please let me know & I will revise with all additions submitted.  Also please send pictures to [email protected].
Our latest set of impressive results all happened last weekend where Mark Eiller & Justin Gosling had incredible races at Ironman Wisconsin & Quakerman Olympic.  Mark finished what is a very tough course in 12:15:23 good for 11th in his AG.  Justin just flat out won the race at Quakerman.  Also Bob MacFarlane was 3rd in his AG at the Quakerman Half Iron. 
The Bucks County Du saw Todd Wiley back in form winning the race in a blazing 48:50.  Jacob & Monika Paciorek both lit up the course, Monika was 2nd overall & Jacob was 2nd in his AG.  Jim Stein & Randy Hudson also had a great races at Bucks placing 2nd & 3rd in the AG.
Bill Stout & Alex Ochman each had 2nd place finishes overall at Medford Presidential Lakes & Steelman.  Also placing at Steelman in their AG where Clare Daniels 2nd & Christine Macrides 3rd.  In the Sprint race Lisa Ochman won her AG & Tom Dillon was 3rd.
Like last year we are in 2nd place for the DQ series with 4 races to go. We are currently 38 points out of the top spot. http://www.dqtridu.com/ 
See all links to the results below:

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman/wisconsin/results.aspx?race=wisconsin&rd=20140907&q=eiler#axzz3DCslGggc

http://results.active.com/events/quakerman-triathlon/half-iron-individual/expanded?&age_group=M50-54&sort=finish_time&direction=asc

https://www.lin-mark.com/raceresults.aspx?guid=6c49fb07-b9fa-4b30-a0e2-f6b8aba215ce

https://www.lin-mark.com/raceresults.aspx?guid=c4a91b35-eea9-46c1-9ed0-a2a34705a870

Rough seas & rain created a challenging swim & bike at the Belmar Tri & Du for Autism.  25 athletes had to be rescued but that did not stop the 7 club members & 2 relay teams from having a great day at Belmar.  We had 5 on the team get on the podium.
Ryan Matheson 2nd
Anthony Accardo 2nd
Tom Dillon 1st
Nelson Dunham 3rd
BCTC 4 Autism relay 3rd (Wendy aka Heidi Fesmire, Mark Eiler & Nick Accardo)
Rene Harnishfeger 2nd Duathlon
 All results at www.angelfire.com

Conditions this year at Ironman Lake Placid were absolutely horrendous but they didn't stop Dave Noa & Bill Perry who both had tremendous races.  Congratulations to you both for completing both loops of the swim before they pulled everyone out of the water due to lightening in the area.  This was the least of the challenges as rain, wind & hail came down for the entire 112 mile bike & most of the run.  Dave & Bill both had impressive times as well finishing in 11:15:28 & 11:19:03 respectively.  Next year you're due to get better weather.

NJ State saw rare perfect weather & a wetsuit legal swim for the Olympic Race.  Although most of our Team did not wear their wetsuits Sunday & that didn't slow down Allyson Thompson who was 1st out of the water & held on to win her age group.  Lisa Kall & Ryan Matheson also won their age groups in the Sprint race with impressive results.  Others who made the podium were Christine Mackrides 2nd, Clare Daniels 2nd, Tom Dillon 3rd & Rev Rhodes 3rd.  USAT officials were out in full force & were very strictly handing out penalties.  Suzi Beck & Tom Beerbower were harshly penalized in Tom's case it kept him off the podium after he had a tremendous race.  The team competition was stacked this year & we fell to 4th place overall.  Thank you to all the members that came out to race & Socialize.  see all results at link below:
NJ State results

The DQ series continued today at Vincentown & BCTC
represented well & earned more points.
 Bill Stout - 6th overall, 1st in AG
Jacob Paciorek 5th in AG
Matt Stout 1st in AG
 Monika Paciorek 2nd in AG
 Ross Felice 4th in AG
 Also Scoogie Snyder was 2nd
  overall by just 1 second.
 
See full results at http://www.dqtridu.com/vince14.htm
 
Right now we are sitting in 3rd place but after Vincentown is figured in
we may jump to 2nd.  See team
standings below:
 http://www.dqtridu.com/club.htm


 

Last weekend was quite busy & long for some of our incredible members.  We had Members competing in Challenge AC, Ironman Coeur d'Alene, Avalon & the Western States 100.  For most of us it is Tri season but Harris Brenner completed the most prestigious endurance race there is, the Western States 100 miler from Squaw Valley to Auburn, Ca.  Harris finished in 25:01:54.  Congratulations on an incredible accomplishment.
Other incredible accomplishments were Ryan Matheson completing the very challenging Ironman Coeur d'Alene in 11:35:31.
At Challenge AC we had 4 members all finish with impressive results.  Congratulations to:
Alex Ochman 9:56:38 - 3rd AG
Lisa Kall 11:28:01 - 2nd AG
Tammy Guld 12:57:59
Nicole Kocis 13:54;24
Also Lisa Ochman did the Aquabike at Challenge & finished 1st in her age group & was the 8th women overall.
At the the Avalon Sprint Tri Rev Rhodes was top masters & Clare Daniels was 2nd in her Age Group.  If you have a result you would like to share please send it to [email protected]

The weather was perfect for this past weekend for the Escape the Cape & Eagleman 70.3 Triathlons.  We had over 25 members racing in these 2 races alone.  Special kudos goes out to Scott Craig & Wendy Fesmire, Scott completed his 1st iron distance event at Eagleman & Wendy decided her 1st triathlon ever would be the challenging Escape the Cape.  Congratulations to both on incredible achievements.  Allyson Thompson also had impressive results in a stacked field at Eagleman finishing in 4:49:34 with a blazing 1:33 run. 

Escape the Cape had 6 BCTC members get on the podium in both the Sprint & International distance.  Stew Conard had an impressive race finishing 1st in his age group & posting the fastest transition time in the sprint race.  I guess he paid attention at Tom Dillon's transition seminar.  Others finishing with podium spots were: Monika Paciorek, Nelson Dunham, Tom Dillon, Kevin Grevera & Anthony Accardo.  Also Mark Lutz who competed in the Aqua Bike was 4th overall. See all results below:

http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_race.php?race_id=40376&re_FN=kevin&re_LN=&re_extra_1=&re_NO=&re_CITY=&re_STATE=&re_DIVISION=&submit_action=select_result&race_id=40376

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman-70.3/eagleman.aspx#axzz33iBveo3F

Mark Eiler & Dave Noa placed 2nd & 3rd respectively at the Black Bear Half.  Pictured here with race director Michelle Redrow from CGI.  Scott Rybny, Tom Haimowitz & Mike Magee all had good showings at the Independence Tri led by Scott who finished 23rd overall in a competitive field.
See all results at links below:
http://www.piranha-sports.com/Results/ResultsAll.aspx?RaceID=815
http://www.cgiracing.com/blackbeartri/RESULTS/Results.aspx