Wrentham Duathlon: a season's starter.
The season started, but summer had not yet arrived, as cold northerly
windsgreeted the athletes in the early hours of Sunday morning at Wrentham
State School Fairgrounds. The FIRM crew had been hard at work for some time
already, putting up tents and transition areas. As forecast, the rain had stopped
and the ground was starting to dry, but long pants and gloves were the order
of the day for all but the most brave-hearted (or foolhardy?). Cyclonauts and
Wheelworks team uniforms were in visible abundance. At 8:30am all were
congregated in the start area, for this early season test of winter
training or lack thereof.
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The run began at a blistering pace at the front, before oxygen debt set
in, the excitement wore off, and the pace settled with a group of 5 at the front.
The group included a few new faces to the Firm series, strong runners like
Mike Caiazzo, Matt Brichetto and Jerome Schumacher, making their first steps in
the triathlon world, well-suited to a course like Wrentham.
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Near the end of the 1st run, established triathlete, Dave Kane dropped off
a little, perhaps tactically, as he stormed through T1 to take the lead
heading out onto the bike. He was soon passed by Paul Miller, who began to
establish a lead, little aware of the express speed of Jay Marschall who had rapidly
passed the other front runners on the bike and was making steady progress on
reducing the gap to the front. Jay has been racing in the south, from Georgia in
recent years and is another new face on the local scene, certain to be a dominant
factor in any races he enters. At the 5-mile mark, he easily passed
Miller -- there was no response.
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By T2 Marschall had a 45 second lead and it was a classic race of the
stronger runner trying to close the gap on the stronger cyclist during the final
2-mile run. This day the lead was just not quite enough, and on the final corner
they were side by side, with Miller pulling away for the finish. Meanwhile
Caizzo closed a lot of ground on the two, to finish a strong 3rd in his first
Firm race. 4th place was taken by PJ Deschenes, battling as he has done before
with Kane on the final run.
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The women's race was another closely contested affair, with Randy
Swormstedt and Karen Monks racing within 2s of each other through the first run and
the bike leg. Swormstedt prove to be stronger and pulled ahead on the final
run, with Florence Chretien taking 3rd.
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The sun made a brief appearance, as all the 309 finishers came in, while
we all shared our excitement or pain with friends and supporters. For some, the
racing addiction returned as we reviewed the race, adjusted our training and
figured out what changes to make, to go just that little bit faster next time! For
others, it was simply a foretaste of plenty of fun and camaraderie to look forward to over the summer months.
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> Paul Miller.
It began as a chilly day, on the streets of Wrentham, MA
but ended in the
heat of battle as only eight seconds separated race winner Paul Miller, and
runner-up Jay Marschall.
Miller led a contingency of runners who set a torrid pace for the initial
run, in the season opening event. But, once on the bike course Marschall
battled back and was able to overtake Miller, actually putting 37 seconds
between himself and Miller. A strong runner, Marschall fell victim to Miller's
overwhelming speed off of the bike, and settled for second.
Finishing only 28 seconds behind Miller, was Mike Caiazzo whose obvious
running prowess, placed him onto the podium.
In the women's race, only 24 seconds separated winner Randy Swormstedt,
and runner-up Karen Monks. Both ladies remained neck and neck throughout the
first two legs of the event, never more than a whisper apart. Swormstedt was
able to pull away in the final two miles, and proclaim victory for herself. A
strong effort on the part of both ladies drew them away from any other female
competitors, the next of which was almost two and a half minutes back.
The very flat initial three mile run was an excellent way for the event's
316 competitors to prepare themselves for a pretty challenging 11 mile bike
course. Runners made their way around the campus of the Wrentham State
Fairgrounds, on very well paved roads. A slight head wind within the first
mile, turned into a helpful tailwind as runners approached transition.
The bike course began with a quick descent, from transition, onto a
rolling portion of Rte. 140 in Wrentham and Franklin. Just after passing the
Franklin Country Club, cyclists turned right onto a fluctuating Jordan Rd.,
which featured a very challenging climb, followed by a fast descent, giving
riders plenty of momentum to push some heavy gears before turning onto Rte.
115. Once on Rte. 115, competitors were able to maintain a solid pace until
they faced another challenging climb, which fell into a very rolling portion of
the course, and finally turned onto Main St., for a very gradual climb back
towards the race site.
The second run followed the same path as its predecessor, but turned into
the State Hospital, around which runners had first run. The hospital provided
for a nice downhill, which led back onto the initial run course towards
transition, and the finish line.
A great number of volunteers from the local Lion's club (who the race
benefited), and students from King Philip High School provided a safe, well
marked, and well watered course for all involved.
Following the race, participants enjoyed their fill of Clif Bars, cake,
fruit, and plenty of Reebok water. The always lovely Wendy, and her father
Bill, presided over the award ceremonies.
Tim Snow
Photo Links: If anyone has some photos they would like to share please email them to billf@firm-racing.com
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