2010 Registration coming very soon

Tri for Our Veterans III will open registration in the next week. The 3rd annual race will take place on Saturday, May 29, 2010 in Sea Isle City, NJ.

Stay Tuned!

Athletes' Guide is posted; other news

Hello Racers,

Tri for Our Veterans has posted the Athletes' Guide. Download the PDF document by clicking HERE. The Athletes' Guide details the entire race and includes race maps, schedule, packet pick up information, and other pertinent information for you.

My advice-- open, print it, and keep it handy as the race is quickly approaching.

Other news:

1. Go WAWA! Thank you so much to Team Wawa. Their South Jersey Team was so very helpful to our race efforts. Wawa has sponsored the Finish Line drinks-- there will be ice cold Wawa juices awaiting you at the end of the race. Thank you Wawa!~

2. Giveaways: Polar insulated water bottles and long sleeve t-shirts.

3. Prize Packages: Winners will receive prize packs, filled with Oakley Sunglasses, Xterra Wetsuits, Xterra Transition bags, Hammer Nutrition items, beach towels, and 2010 Tri for Our Veterans comp'ed registrations (prizes vary).

4. Need a place to stay for the race? Rent a house by contacting Kevin Gillespie. Check him out at www.shorehouses.com

5. We are SOLD OUT folks, no waiting lists, no possiblilty of openings.

See you soon in Sea Isle!
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Race sells out; Team Semper Fi storms the beach in Sea Isle

Tri for Our Veterans is SOLD OUT. Sorry, we do not have a waiting list. In 2010, please be sure to register early! Our race continues to grow in popularity and we will have over 500 racers competing this year.

In other news, Team Semper Fi is again competing in the Sea Isle triathlon. Click HERE to learn more about their efforts and their schedule of events.

You can also watch a video interview of one of their members, Dan Lasko, by clicking HERE and HERE Dan competed in the inaugural Tri for our Veterans and was a driving force in getting Team Semper Fi to the beaches of Sea Isle. He also kicked butt at last year's Philadelphia Triathlon (look for his Philly Tri finisher medal in the video).

Lastly, we will be sending out the Athletes' Guide in a few days-- keep an eye out for the notice in your inbox.

See you in Sea Isle...just 29 more days...
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Softmart signs on has Gold Sponsor

Very exciting news: Softmart has signed on as a Gold Sponsor for Tri for Our Veterans!





Softmart is located in Downingtown, PA. They are a global provider of all things IT-- services, software, hardware, you name it, and they've got it! Last year, Softmart was kind enough to donated a number of items as prizes for our winning racers. They liked what was happening in Sea Isle and decided to sign on as a Gold Sponsor. Speaking of GOLD...Softmart is a Gold Certified Partner of Microsoft, which means they have demonstrated years of quality service and support to Microsoft's products and programs.

One of Softmart's largest customers is the US Military-- so the sponsorship really makes a lot of sense for them-- supporting those who served and continue to serve our great country!

RACE UPDATES

• We are just about to close registration. We have hit our maximum and await a few registrations from Team Semper Fi. If you know of anyone who wants to get it, they will need to register by Friday, May 1st, when we plan on closing the registration process.
• There will be no onsite registration.
• Racer Information Packet: This will be posted on Piranha's website in about two weeks. We will blast out an email to the registered racers when it is available.
• Giveaways: This year we have two awesome giveaways for our racers-- a long sleeve, high quality t-shirt (Carolina blue), and Polar Bear insulated water bottles (24 oz, red & blue).
• Volunteers? Interested in helping out our cause? email me at mcculleyfordham@hotmail.com
• First time doing a triathlon? No worries, we have you covered. An experienced triathlete will be hosting a 1st timers meeting on Friday, May 22nd (time TBD) at the registration site.

See you soon in Sea Isle City!

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Less than 100 spots left; Treats for Troops

Hey Racers,

Less than 100 spots left for Sea Isle's Triathlon! Please spread the word-- we will sell out in the next two weeks.

On another note, I am very pleased to announce a partnership with Treats for Troops. This organization collects various goods and ships them out to our troops in the field. The list is provided by our military and it is put to very, very good use. At our registration area, we will have a table set up for people who would like to donate the requested items. After the race, we will pack up the goods, deliver them to their Partner Representative in Ocean City, who will then have them shipped out to our troops in the field. Want to make a difference? Here is how-- bring these goods to the race:



baby wipes
bar soap
batteries
beefjerky
body lotion
bubblegum
Campbell's Chunky Chili
Campbell's Chunky Soup
candy
candy bars
cereal bars
Chef boy r dee raviolis
chess set
chewing gum
chicken salad -lunch to go
cigarettes
coffee
coffee creamer
coffee sweetner
coloring books
crayons
cup of noodles
dental floss
deodorant
devil dogs
Dinty Moore beefstew
disposable camera
DVDs
ear plugs
envelopes
eye drops
foot powder
fruit cocktail
games
granola bars
hard candy
hot sauce
ibuprofen
insect repellent
jigsaw puzzle
lip balm
lollipops
macaroni and cheese
magazines
manicure sets
microwave meal
microwave popcorn
mouthwash
music cds
novels
peanut butter
peanut butter crackers
peanuts
pens
playing cards
poker chips
poptarts
powdered drink mix -individual servings
powdered Gatorade
power bars
puzzle books
q-tips
raisins
ramon noodles
razors
Religious Medals
rice krispie treats
Rosaries
salt and pepper
scapulars
shampoo
shaving cream
silly string
slim Jims
soap dish
tissues
toilet paper
toothbrush
toothbrush holder
toothpaste
tootsie pops
toys and games
trail mix
travel fist aid kit
t-shirts
turns
tuna fish in a pouch & Mayo
tuna salad kits -lunch to go
Uncle Ben's microwave rice meals
Vienna sausage
waterless hand sanitizer
white socks
writing tablets

People always ask me-- "How can I help?"--- let me count the ways-- you can race in the triathlon, donate goods to Treats for Troops, volunteer at the Race or simply make a donation.

Keep the Memorial in Memorial Day weekend! See you in 67 days!
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Race hits 80% of capacity

Hi Racers,

80 days to go before Memorial Day Weekend kicks off and Tri for Our Veterans II launches. With 80 days to go, we just reached 80% capacity for the race-- what a coincidence! We have over 300 racers signed up and more going into the system tonight (Team Semper Fi). Last year, we capped our race at 400 and we expect the same limits from the city.

If you know of someone interested, or, if you have not signed up for Sea Isle's Summer triathlon, do so now by visiting http://www.piranha-sports.com/Race54.aspx

We will sell out and we will NOT offer any type of registration during race week.

Other race updates:

1. Giveaway: Long sleeve t-shirt, light blue. I met with our supplier and love the design, quality of the shirt.

2. Giveaway II: Hoping to deliver a Coolmax visor to each racer. I tried one supplier, but everything has to make its way to Sea Isle on a SLOW BOAT from China. That will not work. I still have high hopes for a cool visor!

3. Medals for Mettle: The race registration area in Sea Isle will have a table from www.medals4mettle.org. This organization takes your old race medals, cleans them up, puts a new ribbon on it, and gives it to people fighting disease or other health related battles. Very cool idea and we are happy to extend an invitation to them-- if you have any medals you would like to donate, bring them to registration!

More to come...until then, See you in Sea Isle City!
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We are LIVE and OPEN for [holiday] business!

Friends, Family, and Competitors:

I am happy to announce the launch of Tri for Our Veterans II. The Piranha website listed us last night and we are open for registration. Click HERE to go to the web page and registration.

With the holidays approaching, we have a special one time offer available. Sign up by Christmas and receive the pricing from 2008! Keep this in mind when you are trying to figure out what to buy for friends and family.

Curious how Tri for our Veterans got its start? Click HERE for the story.

See you in 220 days!
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Date is set for Tri for Our Veterans II

This week, we received permission to host Tri for Our Veterans II (Thank you Sea Isle City). On Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 at 7:30 AM, the 2nd annual Tri for Our Veterans will kick off.

This summer triathlon in Sea Isle City is truly special-- the only American triathlon dedicated to our military veterans. Last year, we welcomed 400+ racers to the Jersey Shore and rasied $35,000 for two veterans' causes-- Sea Isle's VFW and The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.

In 2009, we plan to introduce a duathlon alongside our super successive triathlon event. Our duathlon will be a 2 mile run, followed by a 12.4 mile bicycle, and then a 3.1 mile run. The last two legs of this race followthe final two legs of the triathlon course.

Registration will open on/about October 1st.

Finshed...12 hours later

Yes, most of the racers finished 12 hours ago, but I needed a break before tonight's posting. After lunch, a 2 hour nap, dinner, and Rita's, I am finally able to type.

First, awesome job, racers. Check out the results by clicking HERE. We had very few problems, limited-minor injuries. Sea Isle's Beach Patrol rescued a few racers-- one person remarked that he had never did an ocean swim and was intimidated. The ocean was chilly, but calm.

Second, we raised almost $30,000 for our veterans' causes. This is really a tremendous feat for a first year event. THANK YOU! Besides raising a boatload of money, we also paid for the best timing service available (Go Piranha Sports), assembled a great racer bag (Polar Bottles), and handed out some outstanding prizes (iPOD, Swiss Army Watches, Gift Certificates).

Thirdly, we really pulled together the community of Sea isle City. I was shocked to see more than 120 volunteers show up for the meeting on Friday night-- only half of which had signed up before the meeting-- the others heard about it through word of mouth. People simply wanted to help our veterans-- THANK YOU! The City of Sea Isle was so supportive-- we just could not have done it without their support.

Lastly, I am working on a collage of photos. I will work to post them soon and you are free to download them (yes, free pics!).

I am exhausted-- went to bed at 1030 last night and up at 330. Most of the night, I did not sleep and woke up thinking about the race (I honestly counted bike racks 6 times in my head). Though tired, this is one of the most fulfilling experiences I have ever been apart of (behind my family events-- witnessing the birth of my 3 children, getting married, etc.). Thank you all for the many compliments-- we all did something special today-- we recognized the role of our military and its veterans, something every American should do. I know during my next race, I will surely recall the image of Team Semper Fi members crossing the finish line with a smile on their face as inspiration. Man, the Marines in Sea Isle are athletes-- they kicked butt out there today. Despite some of their injuries, they out kicked a majority of the age-group participants!
(Dan Lasko, I will be emailing you for swim tips-- your time was amazing).

Thank you all for reading this blog over the past few months, for supporting this race, and for keeping the Memorial in Memorial Day. You helped your fellow Americans today-- those brave souls who put on a uniform to protect our many freedoms. Thank you!

See you in Sea isle City...2009!
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Weather plays its part

Race day is one week away. The initial weather reports are coming in...drumroll...SUNNY AND 70!

So much planning has gone into this race, but you cannot order nice weather, especially not with my track record for making Sunday mass (give me a break-- I endured 16 years of Catholic school).

The water temperature continues to creep upward too. Current ocean temperature is 59 degrees. I am headed to Sea Isle this afternoon and will be swimming either today or tomorrow. Count on a 1st person report in the next 48 hours.

The water bottles were received today-- all 15 cases were shipped to my house (instead of the VFW in Sea Isle- YIKES). They are really sharp. T-shirts and beach bags arrive on Thursday morning and the race bags will be assembled on Thursday night. I have lured some friends into helping with some cold beers at the VFW. Let me know if you are thirsty!

Remember, if you still want to race, show up at the VFW in Sea Isle on Friday night and you will most likely get into the triathlon. Wait until race day and you are rolling the dice.

See you in Sea Isle City!

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Water temperature on the rise

9 days until the race...a few updates:

Weather report: Initial reports from AccuWeather call for sunny, 71 degrees. PERFECT!

Water temperature: Nasty storm last week, but water temperature is rising. A balmy 59 today, should get to 63 by race day. Does anyone know how to boil the ocean? Honestly, for the 1/4 mile swim, you won't even feel it. I was in a race two weeks ago and the lake was 66 degrees. It felt fine (I did have a short wetsuit on).

Registration: A number of emails about this topic-- yes, we did close the online registration. If you show up on Friday night at the VFW in Sea Isle, 4-830PM, you will most likely get in. On race day-- rolling the dice.

Check in & Packet pick up: Bring a photo ID! If you are a USAT Member, bring your MEMBERSHIP CARD.

Race day essentials: Helmet, swim goggles, towel, sunglasses.

Athletes' Guide to the triathlon: Click HERE.


See you in Sea isle City!
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SELL OUT expected by the weekend

Sell out. wow. I am very excited to announce we will most likely close online registration this weekend due to a high volume of racers signing up in April-May.

We will donate more than $20,000 to our two veterans' causes. Very cool. I am hoping to hit the magic number of $25,000. We'll see.

Less than 20 spots left. We will probably allocate 12 slots for race day-- first come, first served. No water bottle or beach bag, but a very cool t-shirt.

Currently, we have more than 325 racers lined up for the triathlon. The Military Division constitutes more than 10% of the registration list. OOHRAH!

See you in Sea Isle City...

39 spots left..REGISTER NOW if you want to race

Very exciting stuff happening with the race. For one, our sponsors have greatly expanded and we now count a number of new companies as sponsors for Sea Isle City's summer triathlon-- Tri for Our Veterans. South Jersey Gas, Kix-McNutley, The Lobster Loft, and The Commodore Club. Very cool.

Secondly, we are now projecting a total amount of $25,000 to be split between our two organizations-- The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund and Sea Isle's VFW project to rebuild the town/s Veterans' Memorial. This is beyond my wildest expectation-- I was hoping to raise a total of $15,000.

Thirdly, we only have 41 spots left in the race. I decided to cut the registration off at 350 and expect to sell out by the time the race goes off. 350...huh, I can remember cracking 20 and getting excited! Thank you, to all who have registered. For a race to hit these numbers in its 1st year is amazing-- it just doesn't happen. THANK YOU RACERS! Click HERE to register.

Finally, we have posted the Athletes' Guide for the race. Click HERE to review the guide. It has some very, very important information, including maps, schedule of events, parking, and check in procedures for racers.

Again, thank you for reading my blog, for racing and for helping out our veterans! See you in Sea Isle City!

EXTRA, EXTRA: Triathlon breaks 200 registrations

200 registered racers for the triathlon. Remember, first 300 racers to register receive the best race swag on the Jersey shore-- Polar water bottle, t-shirt, and beach bag complete with race logo.

Tell your friends and sign up today by clicking HERE.

Swim Portion of the Race

No, this is not a picture of the start of the race!! Sea Isle's Polar Bear Plunge last week was amazing. There were so many people lined up on the Promenade and countless more in the water. We had a table and handed out information about the race. "The Swim" usually dominated the conversations, so I thought I would take some time and discuss it on the race blog.

First, the water will not be as warm as August-- pure and simple. However, it will be warmer than the Plunge. The anticipated temperature is 63-65 degrees and wetsuits are encouraged. Click HERE to visit our sponsor, XTERRA, for rentals. Now, keep in mind, this is a very short swim (400 meters) and most people will be out of the water within 15 minutes. In fact, the average time in the water for triathlons in Wildwood and Avalon was roughly 14 minutes. The winner of Avalon completed the swim in 7:53 minutes and the slowest time on record was 19:06. Plus, most competitors will run into and out of the water-- so there goes 100 meters. Last thought-- 10-15 minutes in 65 degree water or a year long tour of Baghdad. Hmmm...

Secondly, we are taking a number of safety precautions. Sea Isle's Police Department is in charge of the Beach Patrol and we are working with them to secure plenty of lifeguards for the race. We expect to have a team of guards in the water, on surf boards, in kayaks, and in rowboats. The City is also closely coordinating with the State Police Marine Patrol and the Coast Guard. We will have plenty of protection for our racers. If ocean conditions imperil our athletes in any way (i.e. rough surf, weather), we will yield to the Beach Patrol for a decision to cancel the swim and replace it with a 2 mile run.

Finally, the course is very simple and will not take you far off of the beach. We will start in a runners' stance and athletes will run into the surf and swim out 100 meters to a posted buoy/flag. Racers will then make the turn around the flag and swim with the current to the next flag, 200 meters away. The last segment is to swim 100 meters to the beach. This is a fairly easy swim and with a little training, you can easily complete it.

Personally, the first time I competed in a race (Avalon), I was terrified of the swim and did not practice AT ALL. Half way through, I switched from freestyle to breaststroke and completed in 10 minutes. I would not suggest this regimen, but my point is-- YOU CAN DO IT!

I will give segment updates like this for the bicycle and run portions in a few weeks. Check the registration page on Piranha by clicking HERE to check out the race maps.

New Developments, 110 days to go

Sorry for the delay in blogging-- just got back from a week in warm weather on business. Luckily, my company has a number of athletes employed and my team is stocked with triathletes. During the work week, I was lucky enough to run in warm weather and swim off the beach in Ft. Lauderdale. On Friday, I swam 1.5 miles in the Caribbean and capped the trip off on Sunday by running 13 miles on the deck of a cruise ship as it plodded past Key West....which got me thinking....Tri season is rapidly approaching. I wish you all the best in your training over the next few months.

Recent developments:

* I am very thankful for my friendship with Chuck Brodsky, founder of the Nation's Triathlon in DC. If you have been reading since the beginning, you know that Chuck and I worked together at a small DC software company, ran our first marathon together (Philadelphia) and he has been so helpful in my efforts to launch Tri for Our Veterans. Now, Chuck has gone well beyond the call of friendship and my race is featured on The Nation's Triathlon website. Click HERE to check out his site. He is almost sold out, so if you want to race in our nation's capitol this September, sign up now.

* New sponsor: XTERRA Wetsuits is sponsoring the Tri for Our Veterans race. How awesome is that!! Xterra has a phenomenal reputation in the tri-o-sphere as the best wetsuit, bar none. And now they are a major sponsor. More details to come. In the meantime, if you need a wetsuit for the race, click HERE.

* 110 days and counting-- as I have stated a hundred times, this race is a complete NON PROFIT and all monies go to the local VFW in Sea Isle and The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. Please do us a favor-- if you want to sign up, don't hesistate...sign up NOW by clicking HERE. If you have already registered...thank you...but your mission is not over. We need more participants to raise enough money for our noble veterans. Pass along the details about this event to your friends, family, and fellow competitors. We have a team relay, which allows three people to join up and take a stage each-- and if they cannot find a swimmer to do the 400 meters in the ocean, email me at mcculleyfordham@hotmail.com and I will find one for you!

This race is going to be fun, well organized, and will surely make you proud to be an American. Plus, I am working on some great swag, like a beach bag, cool tee shirt, and, of course, a water bottle. Stay tuned, register, and get back to training.