Polar Competes at Rockman Half-Iron

On Sunday, June 10, Laura Perez, Elisa Lee and I competed in the Rockman Half Iron Triathlon in Rockford. Congratulations to Laura on finishing third in her age group in a highly competitive field. Overall, the Rockman was a good race. It was a hot day and a challenging course. The swim was a mass start. While the course was relatively well-marked, being relentlessly attacked by seaweed made it difficult to navigate. The bike course seemed to be completely uphill, and the headwinds made for a long day. However, the large police presence made it easy to cross major intersections without incidence. Like the bike course, the run course was very hilly. The volunteers were extremely friendly and encouraging. Overall, everyone agreed it was a pretty good race for a first year event. My only suggestions for next year would be to order more drinking cups, include mile markers on the run, and, most importantly, provide finishers with T-shirts. I know it sounds petty, but after over five hours in the sun, I would have like to have walked away with more than a finisher bumper sticker and sunburn.