S-O-A-S SPELLS SUCCESS!

The triathlon season is in full swing and we’ve had so many athletes racing every weekend it’s over-the-top inspirational for us here at SOAS HQ! Their stories, results and photos pour in, and whether they’ve won a title or toughed it out through a treacherous day, one theme is totally clear–these women LOVE the sport. And it goes beyond racing–they find so much pure FUN in their swim, bike and run training, and how being a part of our ambassador team has led many of them to find new training partners (or partners in crime for post-race antics).

Case in point–a group of our girls in the Boulder/Denver area (most of whom met merely a month ago) have fast-formed friendships over race start lines and happy hour “recovery” sessions, the common bond being Team SOAS. They’re discovering other random details in common, too–for example, Whiting and Holly (both transplants to Boulder) share an east coast boarding school background, and many of our Colorado ladies share mutual friends (the real sort, not simply the Facebook variety), yet never knew one another until now. These connections are not all that surprising; there’s just some sort of kismet that brings SOAS ladies together, bonding us firm and fast.

This is all part of the overall triathlon experience that informs our definition of success–it’s not just about the actual act of getting sweaty, but about the fun we have before, during and after doing it. But we’re also incredibly proud to tip our hats to some of the traditional types of success our ladies have logged of late. Here’s just a sampling of some of their amazing age group performances–these are all from the past two weekends alone!

•      Felicia Walker, 1^st at Solana Beach Sprint
•      Kim Allender, 1^st at Summit Lake Optimist Sprint
•       Julia Polloreno, 2^nd at Solana Beach Sprint
•     Jessie Stevens, 2^nd at Rolf Prima Tri at the Grove
•      Linda Matheson, 2^nd at XTERRA Les Bois 
•      Jen Garcia, 2^nd at Evergreen Sprint
•     Stephanie Gibson, 2^nd at Top Gun Sprint
•      Hilary Germsheid, 3^rd at Ironman 70.3 Calgary

That's a whole lot of SOAS on the podium–congratulations ladies! Plus we had a number of other fabulous performances, including:

•     Lori Sherlock punched her Kona ticket at Ironman Lake Placid
•   Ben Bambauer, 9th overall at the Loggerhead Tri
•  A six-pack of finishers at the grueling Ironman Boulder: Liz Larson, Whiting Leary, Sara Randolph, Nikki Makris, Erica Harshaw & Beth Broome 

But wait, there’s still more to celebrate–it’s time to honor all of our team members that marked a birthday milestone in July. Here’s at look at who they are, and the quotes that keep them humming happily along:

Cheers to all of you!

- The SOAS Crew