Hello again, and welcome to yet another installment of my monthly guide to the most well-organized, multisport madness you can find in the region!  I hope your season has been going well, or at least close to what you expected or hoped for.  If it hasn’t – fear not!  There’s still plenty of time to find that elusive good day and have a race or two (or more) before the summer is out.
 
We’ll start off with a race that borders on the definition of a classic in these parts, the Wilkes-Barre Triathlon on August 4^th in Wilkes-Barre, PA (http://www.wilkesbarretriathlon.com).  This is one of the oldest races in the country – it celebrates its 21^st anniversary this time around.  The race director (Jim Harris) and his staff know what they’re doing from top to bottom, and it shines through.
 
WB is an Olympic Distance race, (1.5k, 40k, 11k) with that extra KM from the Columbia Triathlon Bike Course now showing up to make the run a unique 11 clicks.  It doesn’t sound like much, but you’ll feel it when you get to it!  The race also utilizes a very unique setup (almost Kona-esque) in that it’s a two transition area race.  The night before you’ll rack your bike at Harvey’s Lake, and then race day you’ll set up T2 near the finish line before taking a bus to the swim start and T1.  Sound confusing?  Don’t worry – it works.
 
Race morning you’ll want to show up at the Lake Lehman campus of Penn State nice and early (about 6:00am) so you have plenty of time to set up your T2 (at a reserved space, of course).  There will be a long line of yellow school buses waiting – once you’re ready to go, hop on the bus, Gus!  It’s about a 15-minute ride to the lake.  You’ll carry your stuff in a small plastic bag that was given to you at check-in for your wetsuit and pre-race clothes. 
 
 SWIM: The swim is a simple out-and-back 1500 Meter swim on Harvey’s Lake – no currents, and almost no waves (most of the time).  When you make the turn back for home, you’ll be able to sight on the tall, white flagpole all the way back.  How’s THAT for a buoy of choice?  (Note – I haven’t raced WB since 1998, so if the flagpole has been removed…umm, well…it USED to be there!)
 
At T1 you’ll do the usual dance of joy with your wetsuit (“grunt, oof, urg…bloody PAM…”), and then stuff it.  Stuff it?  Remember that bag I mentioned?  You’ll just put everything in that bag for the volunteers to truck back to the finish.  Make sure you get it all in there!  Take a second or two to make sure it’s in there well, and leave it.  NOTE – your wetsuit and cap will be WET (duh) so it’s a good idea to have another change of clothes for when you finish later in your car or somewhere.  Just a tip from someone who hates to drive home damp!
 
BIKE: The bike is rolling with several false-flats.  The first few miles are downhill and fast, followed by a sharp hairpin up a considerable climb.  From here you’ll enter into a false flat that seems to go on for DAYS (I think it took me two days in 1997, truthfully).  Once you get over the faux plane, you’ll start the ups and downs along the last 12 miles – serious fun!  There’s even a chicane at the bottom of a downhill in a quick up/down flick that can be taken by the daring in the aerobars – whee!
 
You’ll climb behind Huntsville Lake (nice view!), and then approach the Lake Lehman campus and T2.  You’ll approach T2 from a totally different direction then you left on the bus – so you might be surprised that you’re there when you get there.
 
RUN:  Following a quick and easy T2, you’ll take off into the fields of the campus (a farming college of Penn State).  The course is shaped like a big lollipop with the first and last mile sharing the same road.  It’s a sand/gravel road to start as you pass through the horse farms, then you’ll drop steeply downhill (and back uphill, then back downhill again) to pavement.  You’ll run along Mountain View Road  - so you can imagine since it’s called “Mountain View” that it’s, umm, not exactly flat.  There are some ups, downs, ups, downs, ups, and downs.  It’s a tough run course, but compared to Columbia it’s not quite as bad. 
 
However, if you find yourself wondering, “Is this thing uphill back to the start?” you’re not alone.  My friend Mark Markley tagged the run the M.C. Escher 11km when he ran it in 1997, because he said, “How can a course go uphill back to the start?”  Hang in there – you’ll make it!
 
Just when you think you should be finishing your 10K…THAT”S when you remember that this is an 11K run – so just think about how much longer you’ll get to celebrate your approach of the finish for the 4 minutes (or 5, or 6 if you’re like me) you’ll be on that extra KM?
 
T3:  The post-race food has always been great at Wilkes-Barre, and there’s a special bonus I’ve always liked – the gym is open so you can take a shower!  Nothing like leaving a race clean and goofy, with a full tummy to boot!  Go home happy.
 
If you can’t make it to Wilkes-Barre, there’s the YMCA Lake Norman Triathlon on August 24^th at the Lake Norman YMCA in Cornelius, NC.  The field is already full for this one at press time, but there are still 25 “Charity” slots available for $150 each – see http://www.set-upinc.com/ for the details under the Lake Norman information link on the left side of the page.
 
After some time as a baby of the Charlotte Triathlon Club, this event is now under the umbrella of the folks at SetUp, Inc., and is the 11^th race in the North Carolina Triathlon Series.   This is another race for the sprinters out there, clocking in with a ½ mile swim, 18.6 mile bike (30K), and 3.1 mile run (5K).  This race has been around since 1995, and has become a favorite for the Charlotte tri scene, rivaling The Latta Plantation Triathlon in how fast it fills up.
 
The swim start is located near the YMCA in man-made Lake Norman (created in 1963 with the completion of the Cowans Ford Dam).  Unlike Wilkes-Barre, this is a single transition area event (and since it’s a sprint – they’d better be good transitions for you!).  The swim proceeds clockwise around a cove keeping the buoys to your right the entire way.
 
From there it’s a quick jog to the Transition, and then off into the rolling hills around Lake Norman.  The course is made up of three long stretches only interrupted by 8 turns in 18 miles, so tuck in and let it fly!   The best of the best can cover this course in 40-45 minutes.
 
The run is a loop course, but the only shared portion comes in the first and last ½ mile, so it’ll be tough to see where the people your chasing (or being chased by) are hiding.  The entire course stays in downtown Lake Norman before heading back to the YMCA and the lake, and has as many turns as the bike – so pay attention to your volunteers (and thank them, of course).
 
Lastly, for those of you that just haven’t been in the pool enough this season, Lets take a look at the Lighter Than Air Duathlon, on August 25^th at 8:30am.  This race (in it’s 12^th iteration) will be the host of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Duathlon Sprint Championship, so if you want to improve your rankings in the region (and in the USAT National rankings as well), this is a good place to do it!
 
The distances are a 3-mile run, a 20-mile bike, then and a torrid 2-mile finale.  The entire race takes place within the confines of the Naval Air Station at Lakehurst, New Jersey, and takes it’s name from the historical significance of Lakehurst as the main base for the “Lighter Than Air” phase of aircraft development (blimps and zeppelins) in the 1920’s and 30’s.   You’ll notice that immediately as you arrive on the base – the retired hangars are impossible to miss and can be seen for miles.  Do you know why you can see them for miles?  Because there isn’t a hill for miles, either.   This is the Jersey coast – the nearest hills are almost all the way back in Philly.
 
This race is pancake flat – only the wind will be your challenge on this day.  I’d love to be able to tell you more about the course, but I wasn’t able to find a map anywhere (which makes sense – this is an active Naval Air Station most days of the year).  I can tell you that the route consists of two scenic running courses and two bike loops past historic hangars and airstrips.  (At least, that’s what http://www.lin-mark.com tells me).  I know – that might be perhaps the lamest course description in human history, but I’ve tried Google, Altavista, Askjeeves, and even my mom (she didn’t know either), so you’ll have to trust Lin-Mark on the scenic part. 
 
There will be assigned rack spaces, and there will also be a race-morning bike inspection on-site, so be early, and make sure you’ve got those end plugs in place!
 
Registration is still open as of press time, so get yourself signed up, and have at it!  That way you can tell me just what the heck it really looked out there, and maybe next year I can actually add some details.
 
Good Luck!
 
Bob Mina is the monthly columnist for Xtri.com – The Home of Draft Free Triathlon Coverage on the web.  If you were offended, bored, or put off by any of the above material, whatever you do don’t go to http://www.xtri.com and click on the link for “Hurricane Bob” on or about the last Tuesday of every month.  He can also be reached at bob@bobmina.com - complaints are welcome; compliments are encouraged.