In the Bitterroot
Athlete Valley
June 2008

It’s All About the Kids…

Being the supplier for the Bitterroot Swim Team’s (BST) swimsuits, I recently attended their picture-taking event at the Aquatic Center. It was like a family reunion for the kids and parents. The parents were visiting, the kids were running around and playing after their pictures and all had a good time. The children, ranging from five-year-olds to senior graduates were all happy to see each other, embracing, laughing, smiling, and expressing their excitement for the swim season. The parents have a great time too, camping out with each other or staying in hotels while visiting distant towns. These kids are dedicated and love the whole experience. Some train twice-a-day five days per week with swim meets every weekend throughout the summer.
June 28th and 29th will be the big swim meet in Hamilton at the Aquatic Center. The team would love your support if you stopped by and cheered the kids on. http://www.bitterrootswimteam.org/index.html

Local Events

Looking at my picture files, I see that we had floodwaters, the Tour of the Bitterroot, a Rock Climbing Social; and some adventurous swimmers took to the Como waters (56 degrees). We also had the PTA Fun Run on a cold and windy June 7th (Josh Alexander placed first, Steve Gideon 2nd, and Noah 3rd) in the 10K; the Governor’s Cup (Howard Recht ran a 3:54), and Heidi and Quintin Apedaile participated in a cold and windy Half Ironman in Burley, ID doing very well. Donn Livoni also placed first in his age group of 19, in the Boise, ID Half Ironman and qualified for the 2008 Ironman World Championships in Florida in November. Jeremy Oury participated in the Alcatraz Triathlon (2:36:02) finishing in top 8% out of 1,223 men. Ten of us from Hamilton participated in the inaugural open water Kalispell Triathlon on Father’s Day. It was a picture-perfect day and a good challenging course. Bob & Beth Fischer, Justin Yetter, Stan Doran, Claire Checroun, Susie Thomas, Max Stamper, Lisa Kersher, Greg Bremer and I all ventured up to the Flathead Lake area. The swim was at Foys Lake in a scenic neighborhood. The top finishers were Beth Fischer at 1:23:31 and Justin Yetter at 1:13:17. It was a picture perfect day. More pics will be in the gallery via Sharon Stamper’s photos of Triathlon. http://www.summithealthcenter.com/events/triathlon/results2008.htm.

Training Schedules

The swimmers have begun regular swims at Como, the Saturday runs have been shifted to Como for June, July and August, and bikers are still trying to get a few organized rides. To assist your workouts for the outdoor season, here is what is going on:

Steve Gideon is leading track workouts in Hamilton on Mondays at 5:45. Tuesdays and Thursdays are Como Lake swims at 6:00 pm. Wednesdays we will begin group bike rides starting at Antara Sports at 6:00, July 2nd. And Saturdays we will have a group run/walk at 8:30 at Como Lake and a swim at 9:30 approximately. If you would like to carpool to Como, meet at Antara Sports no later than 8:00am on Saturday mornings. And remember, we are looking for kayakers and canoers to guide the swimmers’ passage back and forth across the lake. Call for questions or details. Sundays Jim and Steve ride usually about 45 miles on Sunday, meeting at River Rising at 9:00.

I plan to get this posted on my windows at the shop to remind you all. Runs will resume in September from the shop. Looking to do a paint job myself.

Store Update

Summer Sale starts Monday, June 30th. This is a great opportunity to save on performance and casual wear. "A recent ballot to vote in the Ravalli Newspaper ended June 18th…Could have said – Best Men’s/Women’s Clothing…Antara Sports, Best Place to Meet Men/Women/Friends…Antara Sports. Athletes are up on the walls…presentations on hold until Sept. The Relocation Guide will have a nice color ad with the three athletes featured. Radio ads on Dave Norman’s Oldies 106.7, and Valley FM 107.9. Here is the clip:

Have a great summer.