Grim Reaper Fitness, a Bloomington-based, multisport training and racing club, has won a USA Triathlon (USAT) Mideast Region Club Racing Series championship.
Grim Reaper Fitness, which finished 2nd at USAT Club Nationals in Chicago this August, was formally recognized Monday as the Division III champion in the five-state USAT Mideast Region. Individual club members earn points for participation and performance, and points are also awarded based on club participation and distance traveled.
“When we created this club, we envisioned a dedicated group of people training and competing together,” Grim Reaper owner and founder Erik Rankin said. “For our first-year club to have that level of success, is a testament to that. We lifted together, biked together, swam together, ran together, suffered together, and raced as a family. And everybody contributed.”
Grim Reaper captured the Division III title by more than 900 points, taking members to 22 race over the course of the seven-month season. Division III included clubs with 29 members or less, while Division II was for clubs with 30 to 88 members, and Division I for 89 members or more. Despite the size difference, Grim Reaper finished 3rd overall, just 35 points behind the Division II winner, and 140 points behind the Division I and overall champion.
In addition to it’s 2nd-place finish at USAT Club Nationals, held in conjunction with the Chicago Triathlon in August, Grim Reaper was recognized as the top performing Mideast Region club at that event. The club received the same Mideast Recognition at the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Triathlon Series stop at Chicago in June.
“I believe with the support our athletes get at home from their families and the support of our great sponsors and race directors,” Rankin said, “That we experienced the first of many championship seasons.”
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