A LIFE CHAPTER NOW CLOSED

Groovy October 2007 a the age of 32.

Although inevitable and expected, the loss of a great friend is never easy. Today I find myself shedding tears of sorrow and relief at the news of Groovy's passing this past weekend.

The story began the summer of 1989 when I was working at a hunter/jumper barn in Crescent, Iowa. One day I needed a horse for an event and the barn owner was gracious enough to lend me one from the stable. As luck would have it, the horse I was suppose to take was missing a shoe and unridable. "Groovy" had just arrived that week and supposedly experienced so he was loaded in the trailer and off we went. Since I hadn't ridden him before, I didn't know what to expect but quickly found him very energetic, willing, athletic and an absolute blast to ride. We did have trouble turning and stopping (which some observers found unacceptable) but I fell in love with the big, bay, thoroughbred gelding with soft brown eyes and a huge heart who hadn't been treated very nicely in his past.

Shortly thereafter, Groovy became mine and over the next 14months countless hours drifted in salute to the tranquil bond we shared. We were a dynamic duo earning each other's trust and developing a friendship that time will never erase. Memories of sailing over large jumper fences, racing effortlessly through a cross-country course, carefully brushing and grooming the powerful 16.3 body with a face brush because his skin was too sensitive for anything else, feeling protective as he was chased by another horse since he didn't want to fight, seeing the joy in his eyes at the sight of a carrot, watching his zest for life that always created drama, and other momentarily forgotten moments will always bring a smile.

As fate would have it, my dreams of having Groovy in the same city never materialized as I pursued a career in sport. I will forever be grateful for the loving care my parents gave to him for 20 years and the opportunity to spend time with him in short interludes. Each visit gave us a chance to re-aquaint and we always maximized the moments not worrying about the future. During the past 2 years with his advancing age, I began to feel as though our time was limited and each moment could be our last. Almost defiantly, he always assured me that he wasn't ready to go and valiantly faced the elements until I could return. However, this past spring was different, and he didn't fight the good-bye. As I walked out of the barn I knew that the next step we took together wouldn't be in this life. Last week, he finally showed signs of fatigue that couldn't be overlooked and on Saturday he was laid to rest.

Groovy- Thank you for the many gifts you unconditionally gave in this life. For those, you will forever be missed and never forgotten. It is a relief to know that you that you will not be pained by the physical limitations of an aging body and the high energy of your spirit can now roam free. May God Bless your continued journey.

An Amazing Summer

It has been an incredibly busy summer for the IconOne team.

CAMPS
The USAT National Select and PanAmerican camp (June 29-July 5th)was a fantastic success as was the 3rd annual USAT National Skills camp (July 6-10) that hosted a record 29 athletes. Mark your calendars, 2010 USAT National Select and PanAmerican Camp is set for June 28-July 4th. 2010 USAT National Skills Camp July 5-9. More information available on http://www.icon1multisport.com/ begining December 2009

STRAWBERRY FIELDS YOUTH/JUNIOR ELITE CUP
A total of 9 IconOne Team Members took to the beaches of Oxnard California for the beginning of what would be the best youth/junior elite racing to date in the United States. Competition was outstanding in both the men and women's division and IconOne was well represented. Results

Junior Elite Men
9th Keith Yoho
12th Ben Steavenson
13th Daniel Vertiz
20th Hunter Overly
Junior Elite Female
5th Alexandra Weber
7th Maggie Pickhardt
Youth Elite Female
9th Savana Overly
10th Audrey Manchester

Photo of Junior Elite Females finishing their swim with the dolphins.

Thanks to Ann Ross for the fantastic picture!

SPRINT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Only one week after Strawberry Fields, Daniel Vertiz, Hunter Overly, Savana Overly, and Mike Overly participated in the USAT National Sprint Championships in California. After record breaking waves struck the beautiful California beaches, the swim was cancelled and the event became an 800m run/ 12 mile bike/ 3mile run. Even with the change to a duathlon, Daniel and Hunter couldn't be detered from a top performance. Each finished 4th and 8th respectively. Unfortunately Savana was involved in a bike incident that left her unable to finish. Fortunately her father, Mike was very close behind and stopped to render aid to his daughter. Both are fine and once again we are ever thankful for quality helmets.

Congratulations to the heart that I've seen from all IconOne athletes. You are all inspiring leaders and winners both on and off the podium.

Finally I can't help but leave with a top 10 list of things that the team has learned this year.

10- Don't buy a carbon bike frame if you intend to race criteriums/draft legal/elite triathlons. They are fragile and very expensive to replace if broken in a crash.
9- I can't have enough replacement frames laying around for those athletes that crash!
8- Future team training will include a session on applying temporary tattoos/decals.
7- Body surfing! (can be the extra push needed to come out with the lead pack in the swim)
6- Our bilingual abilities improve for 2 weeks out of every year
5- IconOne parents are the BEST! We can not thank you enough for the opportunities you give to the young athletes.
4- Watch out for parked cars when riding your bike. Especially the big red trucks!
3- Team Time Trialing is a lot of fun!
2- Having and seeing the big picture makes it easier to deal with injury.
1- Never, never, never practice flying mounts/dismounts in baggy shorts. You could wreck 30minutes before your race, break a wheel, have to get a new wheel, earn a trip to the med tent, sacrifice all chance of warm-up, and be very lucky to race at all!

PR results at the Capitol of Texas Triathlon

The picture says it all about the performances Monday. What an amazing day! Every athlete who competed for IconOne either stood on the podium and/or set a very significant PR. Congrats to the Champion in each of you.

complete results
Sprint Distance - Podium Sweep!
Keith Yoho - 1st OVERALL athlete. He will represent the USA at the World Championships in Gold Coast, Australia September 13th, 2009.
Daniel Vertiz - 2nd OVERALL athlete by only :01 and fastest 5k run split.
Hunter Overly - 3rd OVERALL athlete and completed the red, white, and blue IconOne podium.
Alexandra Weber - 1st overall female and 6th OVERALL athlete. She also represent the USA at the World Championships in Australia.
Audrey Manchester - 1st AG <14. Definitely a very strong performance.
Savana Overly - 3rd AG <14. Way to hang tough after the challenge of T2
Jennifer Kennedy - 2nd AG 30-34 in only her 2nd triathlon!
Mike Overly - 5th AG 50-54. Fantastic race.
Sandy Overly - 5th AG 45-50. She represented her ladies team of Multisport Maniacs very well. Good Job!


Olympic Distance
Mark Saroni 13th in the Invitational wave. Compared to 2008 he went 2x the distance with faster splits.
Shirley Gonzalez 14th AG 35-39. She set a PR by 10min and was the 6th fastest bike split of the day.
Shelley Probber 10th AG 50-54. She also set a PR by 9min. The old PR was set in 2006 proving you can get faster at any age!
Tammie Manchester 1st Athena achieving the goal she set out to accomplish.

First Tri
Mason Riley - 13th OVERALL at the age of 12!
John Riley - He doesn't want comment but did say he is ready for a new bike:-). Gotta love it!

2009 PanAmerican Championships

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

IconOne Athletes represented the United States very well this past weekend. Alexandra Weber, Ben Steavenson, and Keith Yoho all traveled for the first Junior Elite International event of the season.

The morning was very windy with air temps in the low 60s. The Jr. Elite Women were first and Alex stepped onto the pontoon ready for a great day. She finished 12th with a fantastic run.
Jr. Elite Women Results. Her next event will be this weekend at the Capitol of Texas World Qualifier.

Shortly, the men took to the pontoon. Ben & Keith dove off into the murky water. The swim was a bit of a disappointment for both but Ben worked his way up the field with a strong bike/run for 21st. Keith did fantastic in his first triathlon in 1.5yrs, his first ever draft legal event which just happen to be an international championship! Not bad for the former swimmer.
Jr. Elite Men Results

All 3 are looking forward to upcoming races and continued improvement this season.

Athletes given All-American Honors

ALL AMERICANS

CONGRATULATIONS to all IconOne athletes who have been honored by USA Triathlon for the accomplishments during the 2008 season.

I was on the plane reading my latest issue of Triathlon Life magazine and psyched for a great weekend of racing at the PanAmerican Champs. Suddenly I was distracted by the accumulation of outstanding achievements by IconOne athletes published from last year. The feats of 2008 deserve their own Blog post and an expression of my pride and gratitude for their contribution to the team and to the sport. To all those reading this, these athletes are outstanding individuals on and off of the course. It is my absolute pleasure to support each of them.

Kate Ross

• All-American Junior Elite and 2008 Junior Elite Female Athlete of the Year
• All American Age-Group W18-19

Ben Steavenson

• All American and 2008 Junior Male Athlete of the Year

Mark Saroni

• All American Age Group M18-19

Hunter Overly

• All American Age Group M15 & Under

Daniel Vertiz

• All American Age Group M15 & Under

Kailand Cosgrove

• Honorable Mention Age-Group 18-19

Weekend Race Report May 10, 2009

I hope all Mother's Have a wonderful, blessed day!

We had a great day of racing at the Rookie Triathlon.

Results

Carl Hutcherson completed his first triathlon and we are especially proud that he lost 60lbs enroute to this remarkable achievement. Way to go!

Hunter Overly mixed it up with the Pro/Elites male & females and finished 16th in a very competitive field. Fantastic for only being 16yrs!

Savana Overly smashed her goal of breaking an hour and finished 3rd <19>

Mike Overly finished 5th AG50-54

Sandy Overly finished 2nd AG 45-49 and her women's team of Multisport Maniacs showed what a fantastic coach she is!

Even Closer to home, Shirley Gonzales is showing great form and finished in the pack at the University Oaks Crit. She was racing the Men's Cat5s!

Results

Weekend Race Report May 3, 2009

Coldsprings Road Race
Results
Keith Yoho made a great introductory appearance at the finishing 3rd among the Cat5 field.

Skeese Greets Women's Triathlon
results
Jen Kennedy completed her first tri by finishing 4th AG 30-34. She had the fastest swim time of the day and rocked the transitions.
Shirley Gonzales took a minute off of her bike AND run splits to finish 5th in the AG 35-39.

CB&I Triathlon
results
Audrey Manchester convincingly won the U19 division and was 13th women's overall.

Vancouver Marathon
Shelley Probber ran a PR but didn't qualify for Boston. Bummer

CATCHING UP

What can I say? I'm behind but that doesn't mean the team hasn't been

performing and movin' on!

Lots of exciting news.

• Huge Congrats to Alexandra Weber (13) and Mark Saroni (64) who put in phenominal efforts at Collegiate Nationals last weekend. The water was a brisk 53 degrees and wind was a force to be reckoned with. You can watch their performances on a very cool new website http://www.zumtri.com/ Keep in mind that the site has overlapped ALL waves so what you see what would have happened if they started everyone all together.
  Yes, I was supposed to be at this event but instead I spent all weekend at San Antonio's Airport, never left, caught a cold and my computer got a virus. Not a whole lot to brag about there.


• Audrey Manchester rocked the Female U19 LoneStar Triathlon Festival in Galveston. Results


• Kate Ross is a member of the USA Triathlon Trade Team that received lots of goodies from their supporters. Video of the most recent camp in COS.


• Kim Oerkfitz completed her first ever 1/2IronMan at the inaugural New Orleans 70.3.


• Several athletes have had top performances at their respective district track meets. Congrats to all of you!

Next Up:
Check out IconOne on Twitter!
May 3, 2009
Shelley Probber runs the Vancouver Marathon. The goal? Qualify for Boston!
Jen Kennedy will conquer the Skeese Greets Women's Triathlon. This is her first adventure into multisport!
May 10, 2009
Good luck to all who are doing the Rookie Triathlon. Carl Hutcherson (truly a Rookie!), and the Overly family
May 16, 2009
Pan American Championships in Oklahoma City. Good Luck to Alex, Kailand, Ben, & Kate
May 25, 2009
Cap Tex Triathlon in Austin. Alex, Hunter, Daniel, Keith race to receive an ITU World Championship Qualifying spot and a chance to go to Gold Coast Australia.