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Race Result
| Racer: |
Gwen Corley |
| Race: |
Sharkfest |
| Date: |
Saturday, June 28, 2008 |
| Location: |
San Francisco, CA |
| Race Type: |
Swim - Open Water (Other) |
| Age Group: |
Female 45 - 49 |
| Time: |
0:44:10 |
| Overall Place: |
223 / 632 |
| Age Group Place: |
7 / 33 |
| Comment: |
My little brother is a total swimmer stud |
Race Report:
This swim was planned almost a year ago and was eagerly anticipated by me and my 3 siblings. Oldest brother, Alan aka, Tiger, was gracious and generous by putting all of us up at the Argonaut Hotel for two nights. This meant that the cousins, four in all, would have a chance to hang out together and enjoy each other's company.
The youngest, Rob, aka, Robbie, was right down the hall from me and my 13 year old son, Matt. Robbie was accompanied by his lovely wife, Diane and daughter, Maggie. Maggie, age 6, was glued to Matt every chance she got. My sister, Bridget, aka, Gigi, was on the same floor with her partner, Colleen, aka, Leenee. My Mom and Step-Dad even turned out for the event. Lolly and T.J. If you are keeping track of the nicknames.
The morning of the swim was foggy and chilly. You could still see Alcatraz Island from Aquatic Park so the swim was on. A few years ago the fog was so thick that they had to cancel the swim. We got lots of tips from swimmers who had done this event multiple times. As we had our coffee and pre-race fare at Starbucks, Robbie presents us with the challenge, “So is it gonna be the big kids against the little kids?” My little sister, Gigi, was all over that one, while Tiger and I just conceded it on the spot. We knew Robbie had been training pretty seriously 5 times a week with his San Mateo Masters Club. Even without coaching Robbie was always more competitive than the rest of us.
We received pre-race instructions at Aquatic Park at about 7:45, walked/paraded down towards Fisherman's Warf to board the ferrys by 8AM. The mood was very festive and it was great to see all the different sizes and ages of swimmers. Results showed the youngest swimmer was 12 years old and the oldest was 78. We all went upstairs and watched as we approached Alcatraz and the other ferry. When it was time to go, Robbie, headed downstairs ahead of us to be in the competitive group. A few minutes later, I hit the water, just after Gigi, and Tiger was right behind us. We breast stroked to the kyakers who were corralling swimmers, got our bearings and before we could complain again about how cold the water was (57 degrees just for the record), the horn blew and we were off.
It was a little choppy at the start of the swim, then some mild swells. I didn't really notice any problem with currents. As we approached Aquatic park it was evident that the lead boat with the buoys that I had been sighting was now parked far left of the entrance to Aquatic Park. I made a quick adjustment and headed for what I thought was a green bouy. As I got closer to this green buoy it was apparent that it was a balloon tied to a swimmers leg. This explained why I was never able to catch up to the “buoy.” Once inside the breakers it was easy to sight the finish. I was so happy to get out of that cold water. Hot chocolate and clam chowder helped to take the chill off but I was the first to head back to the hotel and a hot shower.
Final results: Robbie took 3rd in his age group with a time of 32:40
Tiger was 20th in his age group with a time of 41:52
Gwen comes in 7th for her age group with a time of 44:10
Gigi took 11th in our shared age group with a time of 45:07
So the little kids, Robbie and Gigi, soundly beat the big kids, Tiger and Gwennie with almost ten minutes to spare!
Photos of everyone but me can be found here. And Robbie is the model for Brightroom for this event! WHOO HOO little brother!
Alan:
http://brightroom.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=37856&ID=52707516&FROM=pho
tos&BIB=415
Gigi:
http://brightroom.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=37856&PWD=&ID=52707574&FRO
M=photos&BIB=416
Gwen (booooo!, nopics!):
http://brightroom.com/choose_name.asp?EVENTID=37856&PWD=&LAST=corley&DIVISIO
N=
And Robbie gets a whole bunch:
http://brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=37856&PWD=&BIB=417
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