Wow! A lot has taken place since the "hot fest" in Austin, TX! From burning hot Austin, I found myself traveling locally to the land of Indiana. Not only Indiana, but Hammond, Indiana. What is really in Hammond Indiana anyways??? Well, not much......A nice casino, some production plants, and a chain of gas stations called Luke. But neither of these are reason that I have made the trip to beautiful Hammond, Indiana. No, the notorious Leon's Triathlon! Let me give you some background information on how Leon's Triathlon came to be:
Leon Wolek was an endurance motocross racer in the 70’s, competing in races that averaged 200 + miles per day. He was also an avid hockey player. It was through motocross that he met the legendary motocross racer, Mark Barnett. He put Mark through endurance training at the Indiana Dunes National State Park. Mark went on to win many National motocross championships.
Because of Leon’s endurance training, he found dehydration to be a major concern. The sports drinks that were available in the market didn’t agree with his digestive system, so he set out to develop his own product. Eventually his drink was used by many pro and college teams along with the Chicago Black Hawks and the 1980’s “Miracle on Ice” Olympic Hockey Team.
In the process of promoting his drink he attended many sporting goods trade shows across the country. There he built an extensive network of relationships. At the trade shows he met many representatives of companies involved in sports including triathlons. Because Leon enjoyed endurance sports, he decided to start participating in triathlons.
One of the relationships he developed was with Billy Meistrell Jr., son of Bill Meistrell, one of the founders of Body Glove. Body Glove was one of the first companies to produce wetsuits and one of the first to design triathlon wetsuits. He worked with Body Glove and became involved in the designing and development of wetsuits that were used in the sport. They traveled throughout the US supporting and participating in the National Triathlon Series. They listened to athlete’s feedback regarding wetsuit design and event production.
Leon realized that with his triathlon relationships, and his passion for the sport, he would be able to create a tremendous triathlon event. Thus, Leon’s Triathlon was created.
The first Leon’s Triathlons were held in Leon’s hometown of Hobart IN, at the Isaac Walton, just off of I-65. The Wolek family attended many triathlons with Leon as a participant. While attending the events, they promoted Leon’s Triathlon. Leon’s Triathlon grew year after year until it outgrew the Isaac Walton. Fortunately, they were invited by Mayor Tom McDermott Sr. to host Leon’s Triathlon in Hammond at Wolf Lake to accommodate the continued growth. The family worked very closely with the Cities, Counties and State to set the standard in the sport.
Leon and his family noticed that all of the major events focused on the pros and not the amateurs. They thought the amateurs needed to be showcased, so they pioneered the First National Amateur Championship, which to this day continues in the sport. They also hosted one of the First Military Championships in the sport. Both were televised on ESPN worldwide and had Military flyovers after the singing of the National Anthem. Because of its completely closed course, the closing of a six-lane freeway, and all three events starting and finishing at the same staging area, Leon’s Triathlon came to be known as the fastest triathlon in the world.
Because of economical development and political changes, there were some challenges that resulted in the racecourse logistics. The Wolek family felt it was time to retire the Leon’s Triathlon’s.
Throughout the next 15 years people wrote, called and emailed asking when Leon’s Triathlon would be back.
Leon finally decided to request a meeting with the current Mayor of Hammond, Tom McDermott Jr. Because of the support from his father, Mayor McDermott Sr., his son grew up knowing all about Leon’s Triathlon. Like his father he gave his support and after a 15-year hiatus, Leon’s is coming back.
“We plan to continue exactly where we left off, providing triathletes with an experience they won’t soon forget!”
Race day had start as any other race that I have been in so far. Wake up real early, get to the race transition, and mentally prepare to fire on all cylinders. The swim took place in Wolf Lake Park where the route would go out and come back into the shore, the bike would stretch out 40k on an abandoned highway, and the run course would be another out and in 10k. Conditions were ideal for racing. The weather forecast projected to be sunny and a high of 85 degrees (another hot race for this triathlete). But showing up race-day, there were overcast skies and what was suppose to be a full of sun day, turned into shady skies.
The swim was one of my fastest times posting a 0:23:00 swim. Felt very streamline through the water and felt that I was gaining on the lead group. The last portion (200 yds or so) was so shallow, that I could run the rest of the way in. Advantage? Not sure. Made for a strange swim finish. Out of the water running like a gazelle, I raced to my bike. Helmet, shades, bib, check! On to the bike course. I fled the transition area like a bat out of hell. Soon on the bike I would see the lead race from the opposite direction. Had to make up some ground. In this portion I posted a 1:11:00 bike time, but honestly felt that the course was much longer than the 40k standard. The course was fairly clean and clear of all hazards, as is usually the case when racing in an Elite wave. In these waves, you tend to get out early and avoid all participants for the first lap or so. Coming in I felt it in my legs, distance was definitely long. I made it into T2 and was off on the run. I made sure to have negative splits, pushing every mile. This seemed to push me toward the upper part of the field. I ended the run with my fastest run split yet of 0:42:00 for a 10k.
I finished the race with a 2:19:00 time, a new PR for myself. When coming to the finish line, I couldn’t help but hear the rumors about the bike course being 3-4 miles too long. The rumors were true. With that said, I would have posted an even faster time of somewhere in the 2:10:00 time frame, blowing my PR time out of the water, dropping 9 minutes!!! I knew this season was going to be a great one.
Reflecting back on this race, I couldn’t be more than happy with how things turned out. It had seemed that everything had come together. Transitions were fast. Splits were fast. Course was fast! Crossing the finish line, I was overwhelmed with the outcome. I have come so far, and through support and hard work, I couldn’t have gotten it done. Another, great race to add to the books. I feel the podium getting closer and closer.
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