iron girl triathlon

Iron Girl Triathlon in Syracuse, NY

Kristen Hislop, Robin Davey, Lisa Davey, Sarah Klein, Becky Lazorchak, Karen Casper, Stacey Walker, Rachel Knaggs Photo by Hugh Casper

On Sunday July 26, 2009, the first Iron Girl triathlon was held in Syracuse NY. The Iron Girl series has been around for a few years, but this is its first trip to the Northeast. The 800 meter swim was held in Lake Oneida followed by a fast and flat 18 mile bike ride and a scenic 3.1 mile run by the lake. Over 600 women registered for the race with just under 500 participating on race day. Competitors ranged in age from 14 to 68 years young.The athletes were challenged by personal schedules, training challenges, injuries and for many fear. The joy and sense of accomplishment was evident on every face crossing the finish line. A group from the Capital District area signed up and trained for the race.

Stacie Walker from Waterford, NY has family in the Syracuse area and was kind enough the drive the course and give an early report to the rest of the group. Robin Davey from Clifton Park, NY was lucky enough to race with her daughter. They almost crossed the finish line together! Now her daughter Lisa is hooked and they'll have plenty of other mother-daughter races in the future. Rachel Harvey of Troy, NY signed up to participate in an all woman race and wanted a shirt that said 'Iron Girl'! Her goal for the race was 'hold nothing back' and she didn't. Kristen Hislop's goal (yes that is me) was to come home with jewelry. The Iron Girl age group awards were necklaces specially created byTriClique using the Grace logo for the IronGirl series. She accomplished the goal with a second place in her age group (pat on the back). Karen Casper has upped her training and it shows - she had a fast and comfortable finish. Sarah Klein, originally from Denver CO said, "I can't wait to do this again next year". She'll have a lot of women right beside her. Becky Lazorchak of Ballston Spa, NY has moved from pure cycling events to the world of triathlons and is enjoying the new challenge.

After completing the race athletes were treated to a catered breakfast with linens and flowers on the tables down by the lake. If you need more reasons to race an Iron Girl event how about the Aflac plush duck, towel, sponges, pedometer and rubber bracelet. Other sponsors like Luna Bar offered free goodies at the expo. This is a race New York women should put on their race calendar for 2010!

To learn more about other women's race series look here - http://www.examiner.com/x-16850-NY-Triathlon-Examiner~y2009m7d15-Choosing-your-first-triathlon