Grizzly Triathlon

Grizzly Tri Race Report- by Julie Zickovich

The Grizzly Tri is know as the Montana World Championship. It is the largest triathlon in the state drawing a racer attendance of ~450. This year it filled in something like 12 hours. The race is staged on the U of M campus with the swim being held in heats in the Grizzly pool. The ride is a 20k out and back towards E. Missoula and the run is mostly on trail along the river, with one big hill.

This was my first year doing the event and was a little nervous not knowing what to expect. I think the nerves led to a weakened immune system because Friday I was achy and had a sore throat, plus my arch was sore from pulling it on a run the week before. However, once I got to the pool and started watching the heats my nerves faded a little bit and I kind of forgot about being sick. It is a really fun event with lots of spectators and other racers.

I really worked on my swim over the winter so my heat started pretty late. At noon we got in the pool and we were off. Swimming 20 laps in a pool gets pretty boring, but I drafted my other 3 lane mates and saved a lot of energy. The ride was good. Hard to settle in in only 20k. Then as I dismounted I ate it on top of my bike. The run hurt for every reason a run in a triathlon hurts plus all my other issues. I definitely lost time there. Oh well. Overall I came in 14th. 2nd in my age group and was only a minute off my goal time. Next year maybe I will try the elite heat.

The womens and mens elite heats were really fun to watch. There are some very very strong Montana women out there. Good job all of you.

Thanks for reading - Julie