BEST WISHES FOR A SAFE AND SUCCESSFUL EVENT... ... to all of our athletes who are swimming, cycling, and even jumping this extended weekend! Before we cover the 9 athletes we have in action between tomorrow and next Tuesday, we'd like to take a moment to honor Kristen Oswald... For those of you that did not know Kristen Oswald, today is the 4th anniversary of her way too early passing. Kristen was an amazing person who was always smiling, even through the pain of an IRONMAN race. Kristen competed in IRONMAN Lake Placid three times. In 2016 she did not make the bike cutoff, but she came back again with her first IRONMAN finish in 2017 (I can still remember her Chomping her way to the finish line as Mike Reilly, who was out on the red carpet by that time, called out "Kristen Oswald, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!". That happened again in 2018 and by that time Kristen was a veteran and she came back just a couple of months later to also finish IRONMAN Maryland. Kristen also served as our club's Vice President. She will always be in our memories and we can spend time with her both at her bench and tree at the Reynolds Dog Park as well as at a gazebo that overlooks Mirror Lake in Lake Placid that is partially dedicated to Kristen. And the next time you go out for a ride on the SRT that you really don't feel like doing and you pass Kristen's bench and tree, try to be inspired by her efforts and ride on! Kristen, We miss you and we'll always remember and love you! 💙XOKO💚 A few notes and our weekend workout schedule... • SVY Masters Swim-A-Thon: Sort of like our Gatorthon, tomorrow/Saturday morning at the Y the SVY Gators Masters Swim Team is conducting their second annual Swim-A-Thon fundraiser from 7:45am to 10:15am. It is in the outdoor lap lanes and only open to the masters team and to the tri club. Hopefully a few of you will make it to swim. An email was sent to our distribution list earlier today with all of the details, including how you can make a donation even if you are not attending; any amount will help them towards their $1,500 goal. • Youth Gators Ride and Run Workout: After the inspiration of Friday night's youth Gators movie night, you can participate in this workout taking place on Saturday, July 29 afternoon. See the event for more information and to register to attend... https://www.facebook.com/events/657269629640832 • Get your 2023 Member T-shirt! We are now distributing the exclusive 2023 SVY MS Gators 2023 member t-shirts! To get yours, just be somewhere that I am and you can claim one. The next opportunity will be at the Monday evening swim workout. For swim workouts, I leave the boxes in my car, so if you let me know in advance that you'll be there, I'll bring it in with me. Note for youth Gators: Please contact Cindy Kelecic or Angela Epelbaum to get your t-shirt. Weekend Workouts: We have three workout options over the weekend... • Saturday 7/29, 7:45am-10:15am, Spring Valley YMCA OUTDOOR pool: Uncoached group swim with the SVY Masters Swim Team as part of "Swim-A-Thon 2023". There will be at least one lane available for the club to use; if there are more than 2 swimmers we will circle swim. Enter the outdoor complex through the indoor pool. This is open to all tri club members and their families. • Saturday 7/29, 8:30am, Keystone Running Store, 200 E. High St, Pottstown: Group run... https://www.facebook.com/groups/479291044416772 • Sunday 7/30, 8:00am, Steel City Coffeehouse & Brewery (203 Bridge St, Phoenixville): RUNegades group run • Sunday 7/30, 11:15am-12:15pm, Spring Valley YMCA indoor pool: Uncoached group swim Weekend Events: So, who's doing what? 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, July 29: • SVY Masters "Swim-A-Thon" (Spring Valley YMCA): As mentioned above, this event is open to all tri club members and their families between 7:45am-10:15am. We do know that at least Kristie Bruno will be participating before handling a lifeguard slot for French Creek Racing. Go get your mile, Kristie! • Spellbound Century (Mount Holly, NJ): It's never a bad idea to participate in an event named after a brewery. Your guaranteed to have a fun time at the finish line! But Tim Truckley will be earning it as he take on this 100 mile challenge. Go Tim! Tuesday, August 1: • AAU Junior Olympic Games (Des Moines, IA): She gets up and nothin' gets her down! You think your tough, she's the toughest around! She might as well jump, go ahead and jump, Keira! Our very own Jr. Gator, Keira Brannen, has qualified for the long jump and will be competing at this very prestigious event that includes top athletes from around the country! Go, Keira, jump high and jump far! • CLUB/SPONSOR EVENT: French Creek Racing's OWS Race #5 (Trooper/Norristown, PA): There are two events remaining in this year's series (also August 22) that includes 1/2 mile and 1 mile distances. A half dozen Gators are on our start list including Chris Acosta, Kristie Bruno, Carla Setzler, Jennifer Gehret, and David Stone in the 1/2 mile event and Hannah Ludescher in the 1 mile event. Go Gators! Have fun, Gator Done, then drink a beer! 💚BK🍺