BEST WISHES FOR A SAFE AND SUCCESSFUL EVENT... ... to our Watermen (and Waterwomen) and anyone else racing their way into October! The triathlon and open water swim season in our part of the world is rapidly drawing to a close, but it's not over yet! This weekend we have six athletes competing in a Maryland triathlon offered by club sponsor Kinetic Multisports. Additionally, club sponsor French Creek Racing is conducting a training camp over the weekend and a SwimFest event at French Creek on Sunday! Read on to learn more about both of these events and other activities taking place this weekend (including 2 athletes taking on Saturday and Sunday events)! A few notes and reminders: • 2024-25 Club Officers Election: This is an election year for us and next week our election coordinator, Kerri Brannen, will be posting information about nominations and our election timeline, so stay tuned for that! • Indoor Cycling: Next week we transition back to indoor evening cycling with the resumption of spin workouts (Tuesdays 7:15pm), Zwift meetups (Thursdays 8pm), and Gators Zwift Team Time Trial racing (Thursdays 6:30pm; if you are interested in participating, please contact David Stone who can add you to our Zwift TTT racing Messenger group). See the October-December weekly workout calendar for all of the details... https://www.facebook.com/groups/msgators/posts/2345394582311967 • Gator Fitness Challenge and Gators Hoagiefest Club: This fall we'll have two options for you to consider to help you stay fit for the most challenging part of the year. Both start in 3 days on Monday, October 2! This includes the Gator Fitness Challenge that involves weekly Swim/Bike/Run and Strength/Core/Flexibility challenges as well as a fun Plank Challenge; for more details and to register go to... https://www.facebook.com/groups/msgators/posts/2340092159508876 And we're restarting our "Gators Clubs" with the October 1 through December 31 "Gators Hoagiefest Club" where you can earn badges for participating in club workouts, participating in an event, or posting to the club Facebook group; more details coming over the weekend! • End of Year Festivities: Mark your calendars! We're tentatively set for dates for our end of year party and for our Annual Member Meeting / Awards & Recognition Night. The party is being planned for Friday, December 8. And the Annual Member Meeting / Awards & Recognition Night is set for Tuesday, December 19. Weekend Workouts: This weekend we have three workout options including a swim and two sponsor-led group runs. • Saturday 9/30, 8:30am, Keystone Running Store, 200 E. High St, Pottstown: Group run... https://www.facebook.com/groups/479291044416772 • Sunday 10/1, 8:00am, Steel City Coffeehouse & Brewery (203 Bridge St, Phoenixville): RUNegades group run • Sunday 10/1, 11:15am-12:15pm, Spring Valley YMCA indoor lap pool: Uncoached group swim workout Weekend Events: Here is our weekend race roster. As always, if your name is missing from our best wishes list, PLEEEASE post a comment so that we can send Good Gator Vibes your way! Saturday, September 30: • CLUB/SPONSOR EVENT: Kinetic Multisport's "Waterman's Triathlon" (Rock Hall, MD): This event features Olympic and Half IRONMAN/70.3 "Long Course" triathlons on Saturday and a sprint triathlon on Sunday. We have a half dozen athletes competing including the following... In the Long Course: Carla DelFico, Gleb Epelbaum (first 70.3!), and Whitney Chadwick-Lessar (first 70.3!). In the Olympic: Holly Beauchamp, Jennifer Gehret, and Ben Moore (first Olympic!). And David Stone and Don Mack will be there to support them, possibly volunteer, and provide game time updates, photos, and possibly even occasional live video coverage! Go Carla, Gleb, Whitney, Holly, Jennifer, and Ben! • Bike MS: City to Shore Ride (Cherry Hill, NJ to Ocean City, NJ): This event features many distance options and we have a short course participant and a long course (x2) participant. Lindsay Inger will be taking on the 25 mile option that begins in Mays Landing, NJ. Jill Basile will be completing the 100 mile century option (that is actually 101.3 miles, why not?) that includes six rest stops and lunch; and that's not the end of Jill's ride... Read on! Go Lindsay and Jill! Sunday, October 1: • Bike MS: City to Shore Ride (Cherry Hill, NJ to Ocean City, NJ): This is not a recording! Coming back for a second day of long distance riding, Jill Basile tackles the second day of riding with a 75 mile route (you have to get back to your car somehow, right?). It's the same course as Saturday minus an extra 25 mile loop that is added on Saturday so that riders can hit the century mark. Ride on Jill! • SPONSOR EVENT: French Creek Racing's "Fall SwimFest" (Elverson, PA): After this lengthy stretch of mostly crappy weather we've had, Sunday is forecast to be beautiful! So why not take advantage of great weather and take advantage of our club discount code and get out for a final 2023 OWS? There are many options including 1/2 mile, 1 mile, and 5K individual events as well as a 5K relay option. And there is also a SwimRun event (1 mi swim followed by a 5K run). Whitney Chadwick-Lessar is planning to make a return from Saturday's Rock Hall, MD event and participate in the SwimRun. Go Whitney! Have fun, Gator Done, then drink a beer! 💚BK🍺