Wow! This race was surely a challenge. Not just the physical kind, but mental. 3 team Pinnacle members accepted this challenge with their support crews, whom I will refer to many times in this report. Mark Gurney and his crew Jack and Brother. PJ and his crew Stef and Bri, and Glenn and his crew Ryan Obrien. The race consisted of a 12 mile kayak, 90 mile road ride, 4.5 mile run, 4 mile hike up to the top of Mt. Washington.

At the crack of Dawn, we met at The Newcastle Commons with our kayaks to start the first leg of the Triathlon. It was 12 miles of kayaking on a kayak I have spent less than 45 minutes on. We put our kayaks in and got a feel for the water. It was a beautiful morning. Mark, Brian and I made a pack not to tell Glenn about the conditions of the water. (Mark flipped on his training ride and had to be rescued, and at some point we will crossing over one of the fastest currents in the world!) Of course Glenn hadn't been in his kayak until that morning.

The cow bell went off and quickly the group strung out, they did not pull away as fast as I thought the elite kayakers would, and I kept Mark and his titanium kayak in sight. We made it around the Island and then got our first dose of Fishing Boat waves. The Captains of these vessels didn't seem to care how close we were to them. I thanked my lucky stars I opted for the kayak skirts instead of the open bow, as waves splashed up and over the hull. So far the race was going great, I seemed to be about 15th out of 43 and liked my position. I was happy Gurney was in sight, but worried about Glenn behind. I didn't worry that much as I never turned around. I tried to put in a push in the guy in front who had me by 50 yards, so I put in 200 hard paddle strokes and moved up about 10 feet, so I kept my pace till the end.

Hopped out to be greeted by my support crew, who had everything waiting for me. I changed next to Mark, so I knew I had a decent paddle, he out-stroked me by about 2-3 minutes. I hopped on the bike and had trouble with the legs at first, as the kayak wasn't real comfortable for 2 hours. My legs kicked in quickly and the first 20 miles were on backroad neighborhoods, that I found fun. I was standing on the hills and working hard. I saw Gurneys jersey and caught up to him, we chatted to find out we were about 8th overall. That was a treat, at the time. We both decided to ride our own pace and if our pace happend to be the same, then so be it. I saw a flyer go past and decided to try and stay up with him. I followed him for 5-10 miles and decided he was a bit too fast for my liking, so I let him go ahead and found my own pace. It wasn't long before Mark reappeared and surged ahead. I had a feeling our support crew Both Jack and Stef and Bri were enjoying Mark and I's battle, although we weren't really battling. The lead women went by and I paced with her for another 5 miles or so. She was 54 and just completed Ironman Lake Placid the previous weekend. I pulled ahead on the climbs while she surged back ahead on the flats and downhills (go figure). Well apparently her cool down race, was too fast for me as she went ahead for good. I saw mark again whom informed me that we got "girled", of course we knew it woiuldn't be the last time. Mark and I leap frogged each other a few more times when I got a second wind. Miles 65-68 I tore it up, moved up 3 places to back under 10th. I paid for that surge as mile 68 gave me cramps in my legs and had to get off the bike and stretch for a couple minutes. I was saved when Jack (marks support) went by and got to grab a water. Brian was stuck in traffic just south of Kennet High School. I finished West side road and also got stuck 2 times at stop lights. Soon I found my self riding with Mark again, this time we stuck it out to the finish. The urge to draft was enticing, but illegal, so Mark and I stayed about 30 feet behind one another. Mile75-90 was absolute hell, the wind was right in our face and I felt like I was towing my twins bike trailer. A couple of downhill sections I noticed I was going 12-3 miles per hour, and was begging for the bike to end. It eventually did as Mark and I peddaled in together. It should be pointed out that my support crew was awesome. Not only did I have all I needed in terms of gatorade, food, moral support, Each time I stopped, I looked forward to Brian pushing me back up to pace, like a team car of the Tour de France. As soon as he let go, though, I felt like he was pulling me back with a rope.

The Dana Place Inn was the next transition, as I threw on my running shoes and started the 8.5 mile trek up to the Top of Mt. Washington. The first 4.5 miles was mostly uphill, but really hot. I transitioned quicker than Mark, so I had a lead of about 1/4 mile. As I walked/jogged, Mark caught me and we chatted. We both tried running and he kept it going while I faded off a bit and walked some more. I waited patiently for the legs to come, they never did. We got to the base of Tuckerman Ravine Trail where I met Steve (father in law) for the hike to the top. I started fair and held a good clip up the Hermit Lake Shelters, I half expected to see Mark up ahead as I was moving pretty good. As soon as the real vertical came, I cramped hard. I only had 1.8 miles ahead of me and needed to do it in a hour to break the 10 hour barrier. Each step was excruciating, I tried to find the shortest steps possible. With each big step the Quads twitched in rebellion. Steve kept willing me on, without speaking words, he knew the road ahead would be tough. I checked my heart rate, and the steady thump, thump sounded a whole lot different. So I started to slightly panic. I made atop the headwall, and had .8 to go and kept trudging along. I got "girled" a few more times on the climb. I could finally hear clapping above and with the support of the downhikers, and Steve managed to pull myself together enough to get within ear shot of "go daddy go". I sprinted to the top (although to small crowd, it looked more like a really slow hike). Walked to the top with my support crew of Brian and Steve and tagged the top 10 hours and 34 minutes after I began.

I big shout out goes to Stef and Bri, for their great support as well as Steve and Jill, and of course the family for letting me sneak out to train.

Next years challenge looks to be a SOS (survival of the Shawgunks) 30 mile bike, about 17 miles of trail running interspresed with 3 lakeswims with your shoes on.........anybody interested? Also Team Pinnacle will be represented in the 24 hours of Great Glen 2006!

How about a race report from the support crew? Ok, you talked me into it. Here is the view from Brian and Stefanee, support crew for PJ.

Unlike Mark, PJ, and Glenn, our adventure started the night before the race. As we was transporting the gang to the pre-race meeting I got a little confused at the entrance of New Castle Commons and ended up going the wrong way on a one way road for maybe 20 feet. Luckily Barney Fife was right there to let me know about it. It was quite obvious this was the kid who was constantly picked on in school and was now seeking his revenge. But after his tough guy act he let me go and moved on to his next victim.

Race morning arrived and brought a wonderful day. The sunrise over the Atlantic ocean served as an incredible backdrop for the start of the race. At 6:00 AM sharp the race started and the kayaks paddled out of sight. All the support crews meandered to their vehicles to head to the bike transition, it was obvious by the pace that everyone knew there was no hurry to get there. We left New Castle and headed into Portsmouth with about 15 other support crews in tow, I guess they thought I knew what I was doing. After three laps around downtown Portsmouth I actually caught up with the car at the end of the line! We finally found our way out, and nobody followed us the rest of the day. After a Dunkin Donuts stop we arrived at the bike transition and got every setup with plenty of time to spare. After hanging out on the bridge for awhile the first kayaks come into sight and its time to get back to work. Our focus during the transition was on PJ, but the process seemed to go smoothly for everyone and the pedaling had begun.

After getting the kayaks loaded we headed up the road to find our riders. I was amazed how far they had gone in what seemed like a short time to me. I was starting to get nervous when Glenn came into sight, then not much longer I found our guy, PJ, and Mark riding close together. For the next couple hours we played leap frog with the bikers with everything going smoothly. We gave nicknames to all the racers we would see evertime we moved ahead. There was hip rocker, wobbly dude, fast chic, to name a few. At one point we had very fortunate timing as we passed Mark just as he was making a wrong turn and was able to correct him. Then came RT112 in Conway, and our support came to a screaching halt in gridlocked traffic. Luckily we were able to get PJ some supplies at this point, because we were not going to see him again for a while. I know nobody plans on doing this race again anytime soon, but I've already found a way around Conway that dumps you right onto west side road. We ended up making contact with PJ again in Jackson, this would be the last contact until the hike/run transition.

We met Steve at transition 2 and gave him all of PJ's supplies, this would come back to bite me later. We watched PJ and Mark go through the transition then headed to the Great Glen Trail Center to meet up with the wives and get a bite to eat. I thought we would have had plenty of time to stop and eat during the bike leg, boy was I wrong! Next time bring more food in the van. After eating we went back to make sure everything was going smoothly. Mark and PJ were just departing Pinkham Notch and heading up the mountain and Glenn was about half way between T2 and Pinkham Notch, all was going well from our view. All we had left to do was head to the summit and wait.

The drive up the auto road was beautiful, perfect weather for viewing. The temp had dropped to 48 degrees at the summit, not too bad once you adjusted to it. We watched a few finishers, some looked good, some not so good. At about 4:00 PM Mark came into view to loud cheers from the small group gathered at the exit of the trail. My only job at this point was to document the event with pictures. It was incredible watching each one of these guys dig down for that last little bit of energy to reach the summit. As soon as PJ finished he wanted a gatorade, of course I gave everything I had to Steve including the gatorade. This was a mental mistake on my part not being better prepared for post race support.

This was an incredible event to watch, everyone of these racers are awesome and crazy at the same time. Hell, it took me a couple of days to fully recover from this event, hard to imagine what it was like for them.

Great job everyone!
 
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Jack here. Support crew for Mark. When Mark first asked me to be his support for this race, I immediately said yes. Big mistake! Mark never mentioned how much work it would be.

Mark picked me up on Friday for the ride over to Portsmouth. When we arrived, we thought that we would drive part of the bike course so I could get familiar with all the turns. However, my navigating skills were somewhat challenged. At one point Mark asked if we were lost. "Not lost Mark, we're still in New England aren't we?" Although he didn't say anything, I could sense that Mark was thinking I wouldn't be where he needed me when the time came. This did nothing to alleviate Mark's already high nervousness for the upcoming race. I kept telling him to relax, to no avail.

After wandering around southern Maine, we decided to head to Portsmouth for the pre-race meeting. Speaking of the meeting, I couldn't help but notice that all the race participants actually look normal!

We awoke at 4 AM and headed to start. I wasn't in the best of moods because our hotel room did not have any coffee. Once the race started, the kayaks quickly paddled out of sight. At this point, my only thought was coffee! I followed Brian and Stephanee figuring that they surely knew where we were going. After riding in circles through Portsmouth a couple of times, I realized I was mistaken. Eventually, we found the right road and headed towards the transition area. Along the way, Brian pulled into a Dunkin Donuts! It was the best sight I have ever seen. After getting the coffee, we made our way to the kayak/bike transition area.

Mark was first out of the water (for Team Pinacle), quickly followed by PJ. I was quite impressed with how well they both did at this point. After loading the kayak, I took off in Mark's truck. Like Brian, I couldn't' t believe how far along they had gone. I was starting to get nervous that I would miss Mark's first water replenishment stop. It didn't help matters that I was following someone who absolutely refused to go faster that 20 mph. Eventually, I was able to catch up to Mark. Throughout the remainder of the ride, I would leap frog Mark and get out the truck to hand water, food, gels, etc. I kept passing PJ and would yell encouragement or ask if there was anything he needed too. Mark and PJ seemed to be enjoying themselves at this point.

I made it to the bike/run transition point and waited, and waited and waited and waited. I began to worry that something had happened. I didn't know about the terrible head wind. I couldn't feel it from the comfort of the truck. Eventually Mark & PJ arrived together. My attention was focused on Mark. I didn't see PJ leave first.

I got Mark out of the transition area and began to gather all his stuff. Actually, I just threw it in the back of the truck. Once done, I pulled out of the transition area and headed for the Mt Washing Auto Road.

I am not afraid of many things. My children being abducted, clowns, flying monkeys, just normal fears. I must state now that unlike Brian, I was absolutely terrified by the drive up the Auto Road. It is the steepest, most narrow stretch of road I have ever seen. There is not (in my opinion) enough room for two cars to pass, however, it is a very busy road. I was hyperventilating and sweating. My heartbeat was probably higher than Mark & PJs combined. If I could have turned around, I would have left Mark to find his own way down. (Sorry buddy). Eventually, through much difficulty, I made the summit. To add insult to injury, I had to park facing out away from the mountain. I couldn't wait to get out the truck!

After waiting for a while, Mark eventually made his way to the parking area. The crowd cheered his arrival. He proceeded up the remaining 200 yards to the summit accompanied by Brian and me. Mark hugged the cross at the top and I feared he would never let go.

Once Mark regained his composure, I bought him a Coke and told him to never, ever ask me to drive that road again. Then I told him "job well done." I also asked him to never ask me to drive up that dam road again!

Ryan here, kayak transport turned support for Glen. Unlike the other support teams I had no idea what I was signing up for, my task as it was explained to me by PJ was to come pick up PJ & Glen's Kayaks and return them to Newport after the transition, but it quickly became apparent, Glen needed me more than that.

After race start, I only had one thought, food and enough of it to last me a while. After circling on the tail end of the wagon train for a while in Portsmouth, I found my break in Kittery, ME where 2 of the largest bagel egg McMuffins I've ever had, and a few extra bagels for the road awaited me.

With food in tow I headed for the 1st transition point where much to my surprise I had managed to beat Brian Stef, & Jack by a small margin. With help from Brian & Stef I was able to get all of Glen's gear ready to go for the bike, and then the only 20 minute quiet time of the day was upon us.

Soon enough the wait was over and we all sprung into action. Since you've already heard from the others I'll just tell the Glen story. Having seen Mark, then PJ come out of the water I expected Glen any moment, and soon enough that moment came. Thank you so much Jack, Brian Stef for help with Glen and the kayaks, couldn't have done it without you. Being at the transition point was very exciting, racers coming and going, support staff hussle and bussle, and spectators cheering everyone on, I totally missed the train leaving the station. In the short several minutes it took me to get Glen's kayak tied down after he'd left on the bike, everyone had left and it was just me, a couple of cops, and like one or two support crews pulling out.

Suddenly a little panic crept in that I had really dropped the ball taking too much time, so the race was on to catch Glen, after driving as quick as I could for nearly 15 miles, (much like the other support crews I quickly realized where the term chase vehical comes from). I finally got just far enough past Glen for the first of many water/food stops to come. After that is was a challenge for several miles to get far enough but not too far ahead of Glen to stop and cheer him on. Several times I stopped and missed cheering Glen on as I was buying more water or reading the map or just trying to get ready, Glen passed me by without me knowing it for a couple of minutes. It's amazing how quick those road bikes can go, you think you're serveral miles ahead and within minutes they're past you. Unfortunately Glen had a flat during one of these Ryan blunders, but fortunately another support vehical was there to help out the situation. Generally I found all of the other racers & support staff to be very friendly and helpful. Soon I got into a rhythm and things improved from there, except Conway, I got stuck in traffic there like everyone else.

Next came transition 2. I started to see a pattern appear, when Glen got out of the kayak he was so glad to be rid of that boat, I think his elation for the boat pailed in comparison for how happy he was to be rid of the bike. I was so focused on getting Glen out of transition 2 and wanting to scout out the next 4 miles, I left his bike at the transition (dumb ass). As I passed Glen he was looking worse for wear at this point but seeing him quickly reminded me I forgot his bike so back to get the bike I went. I'm kind of glad this happened because I was happy to see Glen running and with a smile again as I went back by (or was it a little later I forget).

On to the hike. Looking a little used and abused at this point, Glen pushed on. I think he only needed to stop briefly 3 times during the hike a testiment to his stamina and determination to get to the summit. At this point and the pace at which Glen was pushing up the hill, I was pretty glad I hadn't done the 12 mile kayak or the 90 mile road ride before. Turkermans Ravine Trail to the summit of Mount Washinton, what more do you have to say (4.2 miles, 4,288 ft gain in elevation, and proably 2000 of the ft in the last mile), what a way to finish off a triathlon. Glen, PJ, and Mark all did awsome!!!

It was a fun day, I'm glad I was there for Glen, I'd do it all over again in a second, but this time I'd be a little more prepared.

Cherry Support Member,
Ryan O'Brien