Pittsburgh Triathlon Club

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