Race Report Contributor: Kanako Inuyama
Synopsis: This is a small race, with about 400 triathletes competing in four events: Sprint, Olympic Distance, Aquabike and Tinman (70.3 distance). This event started before the triathlon became fashionable and this year marks 41st year. It’s a relaxed, inexpensive yet challenging race.
Event Name, Location: 2023 Tupper Lake Tinman, Tupper Lake, NY, USA
Date: June 24, 2023
Briefly describe the overall venue & course:
Bib-pickup was in the Tupper Lake Memorial Civic Center (hockey arena). Start, finish and T-zone are in the Tupper Lake Municipal Park. On the race day, large parking space is available in the park. Swim is in the Tupper lake, Bike is out and back course with rolling hills, and Run is on grass, paved roads and trails (plus mud and puddles in rain).
My Race Experience:
Tupper Lake is a small town in New York State, about 200km south of Ottawa. This was the Saturday race so I went to work on Friday morning, left Ottawa around 2pm, drove through the U.S border in Ogdensburg and arrived in Tupper Lake a little after 4pm.
Bib pickups are available on Friday from 1pm to 8pm, as well as on the morning of the race. After receiving a bib, stickers for bike and helmet, T-shirt, and a meal voucher for local restaurants, volunteers helped me with body marking on arms and right calf. Expo has only one vender, where we can buy small forgotten items such as gels and tire tubes.
It rained heavily over the night but stopped for a few hours on race morning. I arrived in Tupper Lake about one hour before the start, received a timing chip and walked to the T-zone. Then I was shocked to find that the area I was supposed to leave my stuff was flooded. Instead of placing shoes, socks and gels neatly on the ground, I threw stuff in the garbage bag and gently placed it in the puddle. While waiting for my 8:12am start, I met up with Maureen and we gave each other a big hug and wished each other good luck.
Following the Sprint and the Olympic Distance athletes, 6 athletes at a time set off in 5 second intervals for the swim start. I love the rolling swim start as it is very safe without getting hurt. Water was calm and the temperature was about 71°F (22°C). Swim course was simple: we swim out, turn right and return to the shore. Rick Hellard advised me that there might be too much glare to see buoys when swimming back to the shore in the sun but we were lucky that it was cloudy. There were no wetsuit peelers at the swim finish.
Bike course was a simple 90km course, out to Cranberry Lake and back. It was not closed to traffic and we rode in the bike lane so passing was stressful. There were many rolling hills, but even I, who am not a strong cyclist, can climb most of hills using momentum, so it is a challenging but fun course. However, I saw quite number of people dropping chain on climbs, so it is a good idea to practice shifting to small/big rings (gears on your left fingers) comfortably.
My bike’s crank is 50/34 and cassettes are 11/32 (Cogs: 11-12-13-14-16-18-20-22-25-28-32), and I didn’t use the biggest gear as there were no punchy hills like the Pink lake hill in Gatineau Park or the Duplessis hill in Mont Tremblant. I used tubeless tires. I usually ride at 80psi but since it was raining heavily, I dropped the air pressure to 75psi. Although I felt a little rolling resistance, the good grip gave me a great stability to go downhill so I was able to ride with confidence.
Due to the rain, the road was slippery condition but I was impressed that there were no puddles on the bike course as roads near Tupper Lake were quite slanted toward the ditch. I took gels every 15km but couldn’t finish drinking a 500ml bottle during the 90km ride.
After biking and on my way to the run start, I was happy to spot Dan Roy. Thank you for cheering us on in the rain. I love RunK2J and K2JFitness shirts because they really stand out!
Run course was well marked. We ran the first 9km on the paved road, 2.5km on a muddy trail, 6km on rolling hills, 2.5km on a muddy trail again and the last 1km was on submerged grass. There were plenty of water station but I didn’t use them as I was still traumatized from stomach issues during the IMMT event last summer, so I carried my own water and gels. I had a good run but walked most hills. At the finish line, it was great to hear the MC calling my name with a “You are a Tinman!” announcement.
After receiving a medal and a towel at the finish line, I picked up all my soaking belongings and muddy bicycle at the T-zone. It was so nice that the distance between the T-zone and the parking lot was close. Put the stuff in the car, changed clothes and headed to the award ceremony to see Maureen. While waiting, I had a nice chicken and veggie post-race meal under the roofed pergola. Maureen had a great race, placed second overall for women, but she didn’t show up for the award ceremony.
While I was eating a meal and chatting with some strangers, I heard the MC calling my name. I learned that I finished at 5:59:58 and won the AG 50-54. I was thrilled to receive a beautiful wooden plaque but having a Personal Best was the greatest feeling. I am happy to prove to myself that I can still improve.
Would you do this event again?
Definitely as I enjoyed the bike course; however I will watch the Canada/US dollars exchange rates carefully.
Would you recommend this event?
Yes to someone who likes small race. It is less intimidated than Ironman events.
Closing thoughts. Any hints for others planning to do this race? Where to stay? Things to bring? What to wear? :
Tupper Lake is a small town with few accommodations, so I stayed in a motel in Saranac Lake, about 30minutes away by car. I think Maureen stayed in Lake Placid, where is not far from Saranac Lake. Lake Placid is a beautiful town with many choices for nicer lodging.
Other Venue Info:
Overall Venue Rating: 4 – Great
Rate the course: 4 – Great
Please rate the aid stations: 5 – Amazing
What was provided at the aid stations?
Bike course had 5 aide station with water, powerade and gels. Run course had 12 water station with water, powerade, Coke, Banana and Oranges. Volunteers were very helpful.
How was the weather?
Unfortunately it rained a lot on the race day but the cooler temperature (22C) was refreshing. [EDITORs Note: we were volunteering at IM 70.3 at Tremblant, which was cancelled at 6:40AM on race day due to smokey air conditions, so a rainy day may be nicer than sending everyone home without a race! Well done in tough conditions.]
Run K2J 