Whether you are a seasoned professional or looking to do your very first triathlon, you will not want to miss The Pittsburgh Triathlon Club’s Spring Training Workshop!

Special presentations from:
Chad Holderbaum – USA Triathlon Coach & Top 100 Ironman Hawaii Triathlete will be discussing “How to Develop a Fueling Strategy for Olympic, Half Iron and Iron Distance Triathlon”,
“Renew your Health in 2012 (and get faster in the Process)” by Kim Schwabenbauer, Registered Dietitian, and Lone Serenity Multisport Massage, Gregory Babiak, will be presenting “Pre-Event, Post Event, Rehabilitative and Maintenance Massage!”

Don’t miss this exciting workshop brought to you by REI, Friends of the Riverfront and the Pittsburgh Triathlon Club.

The Pittsburgh Triathlon Club (PTC) was started about two years ago. Its mission is to help foster the growth of multisport in the Greater Pittsburgh Area by supplying an open, supportive, educational and healthy competitive environment, and bringing together triathletes of all skill levels and capabilities. Since its inception, the club has grown to over 250 members, with more than five USAT certified coaches, registered dieticians and pro/elite athletes, as well as many newcomers to the sport who have gotten “the tri bug.”

When the USAT National Challenge Competition (NCC) was announced in late 2011, PTC looked at the competition as an opportunity to bring members together not just to raise miles, but to raise awareness for causes near and dear to the club. PTC decided to hold three events, a Swim-a-Thon, Bike-a-Thon, and Run-a-Thon, over the course of the three month period during the NCC.

The PTC Swim-a-Thon was held December 17, 2011 at the Greater Pittsburgh Aquatics Club. Over 35 members came out for the “100 x 100” relay. Teams were made up of one, two, or four people, depending on what their training called for at that point in the season. To count the laps, PTC members used pennies, pins, and other counting devices. Fresh holiday cookies were made, and the joyous holiday spirit was in the air. Quoting our president, Chad Holderbaum: “What an awesome morning at the PTC 10k swim challenge. Great work everybody. I believe we raised $300+ for the Greater Pittsburgh Aquatic Club swim team not to mention all the canned goods for the food bank! Very proud of this club!” All canned goods and non-perishable items were donated to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

In January, with over 40 members in attendance, the PTC Bike-a-Thon was held on Saturday, Jan. 14, at the spin studio at Pro Bikes, a local bike shop in Pittsburgh. At first many planned to share the four hour time slot like the swim-a-thon, but the spirit and enthusiasm was so high that most members rode for two or more hours solo!! Some of this included taking breaks to chat with other members or refuel. PTC not only rode all morning and counted up the miles on their bike computers, but also donated over 20 large bags of clothes, which were distributed to local charities throughout the Pittsburgh area including Goodwill and Community Human Services, a non-profit organization with a mission to enhance people’s lives and strengthen communities by delivering comprehensive services that maximize the health and well-being of those it serves in South Oakland and the greater Pittsburgh area.

The Run-a-Thon was held at Schenley Oval Sportsplex at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh on Feb. 26. This time PTC raised money for Running for Laptops (RFL). RFL’s mission is two-fold: to support the education of at-risk students and provide the rest of members with a fun, organized way to team up with our friends, families and colleagues to stay fit. RFL runners are training for their first 5k or their 10th marathon — some are even 5k walkers.

While RFL is a fundraising program, RFL runners do not typically think of themselves as fundraisers. The minimum commitment is $100, so they only need to find five friends or family members to support them with $20. This is made even easier because people “get” what they are trying to do and like the fact that their donation will have a direct and immediate impact on the life of a student. PTC raffled off water bottles and RFL sport hats. PTC members paired up and walked, jogged and ran, so there was a distance and speed for everyone in attendance.

These three events show the commitment of PTC members to the multisport life and how a greater cause can bring people together to have a good time raising fitness as well as awareness and commitment to charity. PTC coordinates monthly group swims, bike rides, and runs depending on the season. As these three events were such a success, PTC plans to continue its commitment to charity and will foster this through incorporation into the group multisport activities year round.

It was amazing to see many PTC members ride farther than they had ever ridden before—what an accomplishment, and for so many good reasons including charity and wellness! Special THANK YOU goes out to Pro Bikes for all their help and allowing us to use their cycling studio!!! It was a great time—thanks to all that contributed.

Don’t forget to log ALL these and other miles for the USAT National Club Challenge! Participants log their miles swimming, biking and running over the course of December through February. There are some awesome prizes for the club that finishes first in their Division each month and overall! For more information visit the club challenge site. If you haven’t signed up yet, email the club at pittsburghtriathlonclub@gmail.com with your name, age and USAT member number. You can also email Bergin Smith at bergin.smith@gmail.com or Kamden Hoffmann at Kamden30@yahoo.com for more information.
Stay tuned for next month’s run-a-thon…more details to follow shortly!

 Are you wondering how to train during the winter months? Whether you are a seasoned professional or looking to do your very first triathlon, you will not want to miss The Pittsburgh Triathlon Club’s Winter training Workshop!

 Special presentations from: Dr. Suzanne Atkinson – Level 2 USAT coach, Chad Holderbaum – USA Triathlon Coach & Top 100 Ironman Hawaii Triathlete and an endurance athlete’s guide to nutrition by Beth Shutt, Registered Dietitian!

Don’t miss this exciting workshop brought to you by REI , Friends of the Riverfront and the Pittsburgh Triathlon Club.

Also, don’t forget to register for the GNC Pittsburgh Triathlon & Adventure Race presented by PNC being held on Sunday, July 29th, 2012.

And if you are a PTC Member, check the Members Only Section of this site for the PTC Only Discount Code!!!

Hope to see everyone there!!!!

REI Pittsburgh – Settlers Ridge

600 Settlers Ridge Center Drive

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  15205

(412) 747-1180

Current Standings:

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Aloha Pittsburgh Tri Club Members:

Come celebrate another successful year of triathlon in Pittsburgh at our annual Kona Viewing party on Saturday, October 8, 2011, 4:00 pm at Top Gear Bicycle Shop. The PTC has four club members racing at the big show so please come out and show your support as our athletes take on the big island.   Come cheer on our President, Chad Holderbaum, Chris Nocera, Beth Shutt, Kim Schwabenbauer, Jeremy and Jocelyn Cornman and Joe Vallese!!!!!  

We’ll be grilling burgers and hot dogs among other goodies for all PTC  members that join us. Please RSVP via the E-vite you were sent last week so we can get an accurate head count.

We will have multiple TVs streaming the live video feed from Hawaii.

If you have any questions, please contact us at info@pittsburghtriathlonclub.com

Mahalo,
Jill Schapiro
PTC Vice President

At our August Triathlon club meeting, Sarah Schreiber was elected Club Secretary.  Sarah’s role will be an integral part of the club in the future as we continue to grow!  If you see Sarah please be sure to welcome her into this new role.

Our next PTC Club meeting will occur this Sunday beginning at 1:00 PM at Top Gear Bicycle Shop in Wexford.  Our meetings typically last around an hour and this is a great place to meet fellow Triathletes in the Pittsburgh area.  Also, be sure to keep an eye on the PTC Website Calendar as the colder months begin to roll in for our organized group bike trainer and Computrainer sessions.

As a reminder, our open water swims will continue as long as we have daylight and as long as the weather cooperates.  Please be sure to check out the Forum on our website for more information and water conditions as we do not announce whether or not the swim is “on” until the day of the swim.  Kamden Hoffman, our PTC Training Coordinator, is also in the process of setting up the next PTC group run on Thursday, September 15th. The run will start at the Over The Bar Cafe on the Southside.  All abilities are welcome and there will be multiple distances with happy hour to follow!  For information regarding the run, please visit http://pittsburghtriathlonclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=533.  Some of the other upcoming events where we have PTC members participating in are the Portage Lakes Triathlon, Savageman, Ironman Wisconsin, Rev 3 Half Iron at Cedar Point, Crooked Creek Triathlon, The Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Vegas, The Nations Triathlon….the list goes on and on!  If you have a race coming up and would like to see if any other PTC members are going to be at the race, simply visit the PTC Athlete Race Calendar at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsG_QYTCtlqrdEhiWjYzaF9LREo0YXFGVjdJeEZWR0E&hl=en_US&authkey=CL6twv4P or visit our Facebook site or the Forum.

We are also in the planning stage for our 2nd Annual Ironman World Championship Kona Viewing Party!  The party will occur on October 8th so please mark you calendars.  Once the meeting location / time details are finalized, we will be sure to relay that information to you all.

Over the month of August we also saw the club grow to 224 members!  We began the year with a goal of growing the club to 200 and as you can see, we far exceeded our expectations!  We will open 2012 membership enrollment most likely in December of this year.  If you are not yet a member of the club, you can join today at a pro-rated rate which will get you membership through the remainder of 2011 as well as membership in 2012.  If you joined the club late in the year for 2011, we plan to send you all a discount code for next year.   We will send out an email to all all late season members also in December with additional details.  To join the club simply visit http://www.active.com/triathlon-membership/pittsburgh-pa/pittsburgh-triathlon-club-annual-membership-2011 .

One more thing I’d like to mention is the upcoming Pittsburgh Great Race.  The PTC has again partnered with Running for Laptops!!!  If you are running the Great Race, why not also run for a great cause!  As part of the team you will receive a Free Brooks running shirt and you get to see the students receive their laptops at the post-pre race student reception.  For additional details, please visit either www.runningforlaptops.org or visit http://pittsburghtriathlonclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=516 for details about the charity and fundraising details.

We hope to see you all on Sunday and thanks again for making the PTC the premier triathlon club in Pittsburgh!!!

Regards,
Chad Holderbaum
Pittsburgh Triathlon Club President

Did you know that the PTC has a Facebook page?  If you’re on Facebook, be sure to become a member today by visiting the following URL!  http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_90501125746

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The PTC would like to continue to thank all of our sponsors for their support!

Top Gear Bicycle Shop
Xterra Wetsuits
Rudy Project
E-Gel
Beaker Concepts
Infinit Nutrition
BikeTek
Dr. Webb Chiropractic
DeNovo Chiropractic
Fleet Feet Pittsburgh
Human Vortex Training
Coach Chad Multisport Coaching
Fuel Your Passion
Cornman Multisport Coaching
Steel City Endurance
The Athlete’s Eutrophia
MoJo Running of Pittsburgh ]]> http://www.pittsburghtriathlonclub.com/news/ptc-update-september/feed/ 0 http://www.pittsburghtriathlonclub.com/local-events/july-update-from-the-ptc/ http://www.pittsburghtriathlonclub.com/local-events/july-update-from-the-ptc/#comments Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:15:30 +0000 chad http://www.pittsburghtriathlonclub.com/?p=665 Hello again Pittsburgh area triathletes.  We have some exciting news to report on now that our hometown Triathlon is just a couple days away.  First and foremost, I’d like to mention that the PTC has grown to over 200 strong and continues to grow by the day.  Simply amazing!

Second, I wanted to make mention of some of the upcoming events and races that are occurring over the next couple of weeks.

Our next Open Water Swim will occur this Friday evening at 6:15 p.m. (water conditions permitting).  The club will meet at the Three Rivers Rowing Association dock on Washington’s Landing/Herr’s Island. 300 Waterfront Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.

WTAE Channel 4 News will be on the scene and will be doing a short news segment on our club and the growth of triathlon in the city of Pittsburgh.  This is fantastic news for our club and for our sport!  The broadcast will air through the weekend leading up to the Pittsburgh Triathlon which takes place on Sunday.  If you are interested in being part of the broadcast, we ask that you wear your PTC gear and apparel to the open water swim.  They would also like to film a group of PTC athletes running and cycling, so if you’d also like to be part of that (which will occur either before or after the OWS), please bring your running and cycling gear with you as well!

As most of you already know, this weekend is the SOLD OUT Pittsburgh Triathlon and according to our latest head count, the PTC has over 100 club members competing in the race!   The PTC will be providing free beverages (water / gatorade) to all PTC club members through out the weekend.  We will also have a tent setup at the Expo on Saturday which runs from 10am – 2pm.  There will be a 45-60 minute triathlon informative clinic starting at 1:00pm, so come on out and get all your triathlon questions answered by Coach Chad (yes that’s me)!  Immediately after the race, we plan to celebrate our accomplishments with a cook out and BBQ!  We also have free PTC water bottles to hand out to all club members and free PTC t-shirts for the first 100 members that stop by the expo on Saturday.

The other BIG local race that is right around the corner is the Janney North Park triathlon which is directed by one of our very own club members, Matt Meehan.  The race takes place at the North Park Swimming Pool on August 7th.  To register for the race, simply visit the following URL.  http://www.ymcaofpittsburgh.org/locations/baierl-family-ymca/

Matt is a good friend of the club and is a pioneer to the sport of triathlon here in Pittsburgh.  His first triathlon was actually the 1983 North Park Triathlon and he has been competing across the globe ever since.  Matt could not agree more that this is an exciting time for the sport.  One reason for this excitement is the growth of the Pittsburgh Triathlon Club.  There have been other triathlon clubs in this area in the past but never anything near the size of what the PTC is.  Last year, the North Park Tri saw 398 athletes cross the finish line.  In the hope of attracting more top athletes to the race, the North Park Tri will now be rewarding the top athletes with prize money.  As always, the race is a good one for the novice triathlete due to it being a pool swim and the run being contested on the trails, which provide some relief from the heat.  We hope to see you all this coming weekend at the Pittsburgh Triathlon and again on August 7th.  If you have any questions about the North Park race, feel free to contact Matt by email at (meehanma@upmc.edu).  Also, if you can’t compete, they’re always looking for volunteers!  Also, if you have a kid between the age of 7-15, have them give triathlon a try on August 6th.  Click here for more information.  http://www.pittsburghhabitat.org/tri/race-info.html

I wish you all the best in your training and racing as the season begins to wind down.  If you have any questions or can think of ways to make OUR club better, we’d love to hear what you have to say.

Regards,
Chad Holderbaum
Pittsburgh Triathlon Club President

Did you know that the PTC has a Facebook page?  If you’re on Facebook, be sure to become a member today by visiting the following URL!  http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_90501125746