BEST WISHES FOR A SAFE AND SUCCESSFUL EVENT... ... to all Gators who are racing or training this beautiful extended weekend! It's a light weekend of racing with just one athlete on our start list, so we'll take the opportunity to also cover a few other topics including... • "Tuesdays in the Park" recap • IRONMAN Lake Placid approaching • Thursday night socials • And, of course, we'll remind you to log your "Gators Surf & Turf Club" badges and baked potato toppings! We'll also answer what is becoming a FAQ... "Do I have to purchase a Spring Valley Y outdoor pool pass to participate in club swim workouts over the summer?" Tuesdays In the Park: Let's start with a recap of the first RUNegades "Tuesdays in the Park" Ice Cream 5K and Kids' Fun Run. We ended up having another stellar turnout on a spectacular evening (seems like every evening has been spectacular recently) with 10+ Gators on the scene either as runners or supporters! And for the third time in four days (including the French Creek Tri and the Independence Tri), it happened again... coming from the announcers microphone... "Another Gator crossing the finish line!" And there were Chomps on the course, before and after the race, and at the finish line... and also on the podium with 5 Gators landing podium positions. We were very visible on a highly successful weekend (plus Tuesday)! When will it happen again? Maybe on Tuesday, June 6 at the next French Creek Racing OWS Race? Maybe on Friday, June 9 at the RUNegades' RUNway Mile? It'll definitely happen on Sunday, June 11 at the Scoogie Events' Kids Rock Triathlon/Duathlon where at last count 15 of our youth Gators will be competing! If you haven't experienced it yet, join us at one of these events... You don't have to compete... You can volunteer... Or just show up with your lawn chair and Chomp and cheer! It's motivating, it's exhilarating, it's emotion-filled, but mostly it's just plain old FUN! So back to Tuesday night, the first of four Tuesdays in the Park Ice Cream 5Ks / Kids' Fun Mile Runs... We had nine Gators racing with Deb Rocco and Don Schlichtmann there to take photos and provide support. Aurora Setzler kicked things off in the Kids' Fun Run waltzing home hand in hand with a couple of new friends! And then the rest of our crew took on the 5K with a huge turnout of runners. As was the case on Saturday and Sunday, all of our athletes successfully completed the event. This included David Stone coming close to a PR, Sarah Barkley, and Carla DelFico; all three were following up on Sunday's success at the Independence Triathlon. Randell Torres also took on his first attempt at racing a 5K and he was super fast in establishing his 5K PR. We also had a handful of podiums led by youth Gator Sophie Fazekas. Our other podium finishers included Ginny Angus, Sonny Dayrit, and Don Mack! Great job by all! IRONMAN Lake Placid: After last year's huge turnout of Gators at IRONMAN Lake Placid, we have a single athlete, Ginny Angus, representing the club at this year's race, which take place on Sunday, July 23. At this time we have a support crew of three planning to attend (Friday through Tuesday) including David Stone, Kristie Bruno, and Don Mack who will all also be volunteering during the event and possibly participating in the short sprint tri that takes place on Monday evenings. If you'd like to participate in what is always guaranteed to be a spectacular weekend of spectating, training, and enjoying one of the most beautiful places you can easily drive to, please contact Don Mack for details on how to get involved. Thursday Night Socials: Okay, last night was four consecutive weeks of post-ride Thursday night socials following our club ride. That's enough for it now to be a thing. So if you join us for a Thursday night ride, there is a good chance that we'll be meeting at a local establishment afterwards to share a beverage, some food, and some good laughs and discussion. Feel free to join us any time and this includes just attending the social, just attending the ride, or both! Gators Surf & Turf Club Badge logging: Just a reminder to log your accomplishment any time you earn a new badge (or baked potato topping). To date we have 71 badges and toppings logged, but there are likely many completed activities that have not yet been logged. To make it easy, here's the post where you can check off your accomplishments... https://www.facebook.com/.../msgators/posts/2243028729215220 "Do I need an outdoor pool pass??" This question has come up multiple times recently. Is it necessary to purchase an outdoor pool pass to participate in Gators club workouts. The answer is an emphatic "No". The Y plans to keep the indoor pool open all summer, including during our five weekly scheduled workouts, so we will be swimming indoors the same as in the fall, winter, and spring. If there is ever a need or opportunity to swim outdoors, we'll be able to do so without a pass. If this does occur it would most likely be outside of the usual outdoor pool complex hours and it will be announced well in advance. Weekend Workouts: We have three workout options over the weekend (please confirm if the Saturday and Sunday morning group runs will take place before attending since it's a holiday weekend)... • Saturday 5/27, 8:30am, Keystone Running Store, 200 E. High St, Pottstown: Group run... https://www.facebook.com/groups/479291044416772 • Sunday 5/28, 8:00am, Steel City Coffeehouse, Phoenixville: RUNegades group run... https://www.facebook.com/groups/2270225076335823 • Sunday 5/28, 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! Sunday, May 28: • Charlie Horse Trail Half Marathon (Mohnton, PA): Running in this 13.1 mile event, which supports the Sepcial Olympics, is our resident "I'm ready for another tough challenge!" athlete, Jon Crosby! The event, which largely takes place on the Horse Shoe Trail, is touted as one of the tougher half marathons in any state as it includes going through water (within 300 yards of the starting line is the first crossing of Hay Creek), over rocks, up and down hills, and navigating through roots and downed trees with an extremely muddy final mile. Go Jon! Have fun, Gator Done, then drink a beer! 💚BK🍺