Race Coverage

Time to Set Higher Goals...

Friday, 27 October 2017 23:10

ED. Maddy grew up in St. Cloud, and since leaving the state to attend Grinnell College she has developed into one of America's top amateur triathletes. Next year, she'll race as a professional.

By Maddy Pesch (peschmaddy.wordpress.com)

ROTTERDAM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS RACE EPORT - I have been back from the Netherlands for a month now, and I’ve been busy reflecting on my experience there, planning for 2018, and settling into my new jobs working in the fitness and triathlon industries in Madison!

So many of my experiences this season were once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, but Rotterdam was the greatest of those. It is an incredible privilege to compete internationally, and I wanted to let every moment sink in and make the most of it. My trip would not have been possible without the support of all of my family and friends who believed in me and contributed to my Go Fund Me campaign to help me afford the trip.

My partner, Ben, traveled with me to the Netherlands. We began our trip with four nights in Amsterdam, visiting places such as the Anne Frank house, the Rijksmuseum, and the Van Gogh Museum in between my training sessions. We traveled to Rotterdam a few days before the race, and I continued my race prep by familiarizing myself with the course, despite...

some pretty formidable weather. My biggest race prep day was also my birthday, September 14th! During swim practice, it poured rain and the large canal became very choppy due to the wind. The waves magnified as they bounced off the sides of the canal. Still, after a half hour of battling in the water, I persisted in my plan to join in on a team ride of the bike course. Due to the wind and rain, I could not practice in my aero position, and was nearly blown over several times by gusts as I climbed across the architecturally famous bridges of Rotterdam. Despite the struggles, I managed to embrace the adventure and gain confidence for race day through it. After all, everyone has to manage the same weather conditions on race day, and now I had practiced in and persisted through the worst case scenario!   READ MORE