Grim Reaper Fitness

10k & 15k Trail Run An unseasonably warm November morning with some spotty rain and wind lead to a fun and challenging final Reaper race of 2013.  Grim Reaper Fitness was happy to sponsor the Abe’s Trail Trek put on by our good friends Tri Harder Promotions.  Steve O’Connor and his family do a great job promoting central IL races.  Thanks Steve! GRF had 6 athletes competing on race morning (2 in the 10k and 4 in the 15k).  This course … [Read more...]

Georganna's recap of her first 1/2 ironman: Reaper training and the payoff. After beginning the summer with a 400-mile bike tour with my brother and a friend, I decided that this was going to be the summer I did a half ironman. After all, I’d gotten a good start to my bike miles, right? I wanted to build on that base. I’d never hired a trainer before so I wasn’t sure what I was in for when I chased Dave Quinn and Rudy down on Constitution … [Read more...]

This race was originally run at Farmdale Recreation area, but had to move the race venue due to the Government situation. The race directors and CITRA Central Illinois Trail Runners Alliance volunteers did a great job with such short notice moving the race the Jubilee Park. This was to be my redemption race after breaking my foot in last year's Farmdale race at mile 4. First DNF ever. Going into this race with mental images and that sudden … [Read more...]

Athletes competing: Tim Auth, Matthew Cuttell, Coach Jason Sturdyvin, Coach David Quinn, Coach Erik Rankin, Rosie Fasching, and Nate Fillers. A slight cool morning greeted over 500 age group and collegiate athletes on the campus of the University of Illinois at Champaign to close out the 2013 triathlon season. The race consisted of a 300m pool swim (in a gorgeous outdoor 50m pool) followed by a 14.4 mi bike and a 5k run. The race started … [Read more...]

The XTERRA USA Championship is the culmination of a series of more than 50 qualifying events across the US that award points to the top athletes in XTERRA's eight regions. It is held in the beautiful mountains of Ogden Utah, in the resort of SnowBasin. Romanie went for the experience and scenery. The swim was swimsuit legal with a water temperature of 62F. It was a group start with all age group athletes starting at the same time, leading to … [Read more...]

This was the 3rd annual event organized by the Shady Hollow Trail Runners (SHTRs) and has been more and more successful every year! This year the SHTRs offered an Ultra and 1/2 (44 miles), Ultra (32 miles), and 1/2 Ultra (16 miles). Coach David Quinn and Romanie both raced the shorter 1/2 ultra portion of the event today and both had a great race. The weather was perfect (cool, but not too cool), the trail was dry and fast, very well marked by … [Read more...]

This race was a first time XTERRA experience for Grim Reaper Athletes Tom Keller and Romanie Walter. Preparation for this race was not extensive, and the goal for both athletes prior to the start of the race was to ride steady and rely on their endurance more than their mountain bike skills. The swim was swimsuit legal with a water temperature of 72F. It was a group start with all 80 athletes starting at the same time in a little pond. Next … [Read more...]

In 2012 this race was cancelled due to effects from an Atlantic coast hurricane. The race director rolled over race entries to the next year. To be honest, many of us had forgotten that we even had this race as a possibility. Two Reapers decided to take the Great Illini up on their challenge and wish we had stayed home in the air-conditioning. People often attempt to look at race results from previous years to get an idea of how the course … [Read more...]