First Spamtown Triathlon was a success

Published 11:45 am Tuesday, July 30, 2013

 

The YMCA of Austin hosted its first sprint triathlon July 20. It included a 500-yard swim and a 13-mile bike ride, which took competitors past Todd park, the Old Mill and down old Highway 16. The last leg of the triathlon is the run, which was a 5K (3.1 miles) — on the trails through Austin.

The triathlon has been an ever-growing sport, which has short races (Sprints) which was the Spamtown race. Olympic distance races, half Ironman distance or the full Ironman: 2.4 miles open-water swimming, 112 miles biking and ending with a Marathon.

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Front Runners USA was the official timing company for the race. Our top two finishers were 18-year-old Luke Wass from Rochester who has done several triathlons, finishing as a top 19 and under contestant with a time of 1:06.59. From Austin, Sawyer Myers, 16 , finished second overall with a time of 1:11.30. Sawyer is a swimmer for the Austin High Packers and the YMCA AquaPack team and participates on the track team. Sawyer plans to be a contestant in the Des Moines Hy-Vee Triathlon in September. Nicole Shute was the first woman to finish and was fourth overall with a time of 1:16.20. Nicole will also be in the Hy-Vee triathlon.

The youngest contestant was 13-year-old Tasia Martinson, and Abby Schamenel was the oldest participant at 63. The Y has already set the date for 2014 triathlon — it will be July 19. Start training now — it’s a sport giving you well-rounded discipline in a variety of areas and is a great accomplishment being a finisher. Hope to see you next year at the Spamtown Triathlon for more information contact Cindy or Kristi at the Y 433-1804.

Art and Science Camp

YMCA of Austin hosted its first Art and Science Camp. The kids took part in the camp for four days from 8 a.m. to noon. The Camp theme was rainbow colors — the 30 participants each day did science experiments, learned mixing colors, made slime and flubber, easy tie dye t-shirts and even snacks were related to colors — fruit skewers, fruit loop bracelets and more. Talking with the participants ages 4 through 11 they loved every minute of camp and look forward to Art Camp next summer.

Erin Mikels led the camp; she is an art teacher with the Blue Earth School District and loves what she does. Check out our Sunday Art Workshops this school year. The classes are $5 a class or all 18 for $80. The classes are for pre-K through sixth grade, and the class is held on Sunday afternoons at the YMCA twice a month from 1 to 2 p.m. starting Sept. 15th.

Don’t overlook this fun opportunity to learn and enjoy Art and creativity. Registration is now open at the YMCA of Austin just stop at our Front Desk – or sign up on line at ymca-austin.org.