Subject: RE: 21st Annual Castaic Triathlon is back ! Results are here http://www.canyonhighcowboys.com/crosscountry/TriResults2008.htm And reprinting this endorsment as it echoes my thoughts on the race "Great race- I'll be back Hi clubbers- Just got back from racing the Castaic Lake Sprint Triathlon and I have to say, it was sweet and excellent and I can¹t wait to share the dets on this little gem of a race.... So on Thursday night as I was perusing the surf forecasts hoping for a report that would totally ruin a surfer¹s day but certainly make mine, I decided just for S¹s & G¹s to google southern cal lake triathlons- this race popped up, and lo an behold it is also on the LATC calendar, but somehow I must have overlooked it when I laid out my race plans for this summer. Anyway, I decided to show up and race it- I know many, if not most of you thrive in the chop and surf and current and mania of the western seaboard, but I am from New York City, and despite living in So Cal for 13 years, the Pacific surf not only baffles me, but genuinely scares me.... So, happily finding a lake tri alternative, I jumped at it. And here is what I discovered... 1. Castaic Lake is clean, warm (78! No wetsuit!), sandy bottom, glassy and beautiful. 2. the bike course was fun, technical, challenging, and rockin, with a tough half mile climb on virtually traffic free roads. 3. there were about 115 people in the entire race- chill! 4. run course is a mostly flat out and back, through a county park, scenic, clean air, great. 5. race is on a Saturday! A Saturday! Whole weekend opens up! What a concept! Don¹t have to wait for Catalina to race on Saturday! Did I mention its on Saturday? 6. the race director is the coach of the Canyon High School cross country team, and him and the team kids put this on every summer on a shoestring budget, but with so much care and heart, and with such good vibes, that it was just a joy to witness. All proceeds go to the team. 7. medals are given out 5 deep in every category and they are schweet! So, while I saw maybe 4-5 tri clubbers out there, I thought I would put this out there to all- it is a lovely, down home, totally mom and pop vibe race, easy to get to, tons of parking, nice 8 am start time, and a great experience over all. There is another one on August 9th! Hope to see more of you¹s out there next time round." Amy B. |