Penscola Beach Triathlon | Santa Rosa Island Triathlon

Individual Race Photos by Brightroom

Brightroom is the official Race Photographer of the Santa Rosa Island Triathlon and will be taking individual shots of each triathlete. You can go to their site and give them your race number and they will notify you when the pictures are ready.

Lisa, The First Time Triathlete

triathlete-at-dawn Jason and his wife Lisa have a blog called Running the Race. After the SRI Tri last year, Jason wrote about Lisa’s first Triathlon. This year, Lisa accomplished another sort of event, she had a baby. Congratulations, Lisa and Jason!

Jason wrote…..Last Saturday, October 4th 2008, Lisa accomplished something that no one else I know has done…finished a triathlon. It was a “Sprint Triathlon” which meant it was 1/3 mile swim, 18 mile bike ride, and a 3.1 mile run to finish it off. The triathlon was held at Pensacola Beach and it was an absolutely beautiful day for one. The only other time she did an “open” water swim the water was really rough, but on this day it was as calm as I have ever seen it. Lisa had been sick leading up the race and she still had a nasty cough the day of the race…but if you know Lisa you know that she wouldn’t let a cough keep her from meeting her goals. The swim was her hardest event. 1/3 of a mile does not really sound like it would be hard to swim. However, seeing how far they had to swim; there is no way I could have swam that far. I was getting worried about her though as I was waiting…..read more on their blog….

lisa-in-transition-for-sri-tri

2005: Lindsey Ellis, with Cerebral Palsy, completed the SRI TRI

Four Years ago, with no use of her legs and limited use of her arms due to cerebral palsy, Lindsey Ellis completed the SRI TRI.

This is a story by Julie B. Connerley printed in September 2005 in the Gulf Breeze News .

More than 900 athletes are registered to compete in the 10th annual Santa Rosa Island Triathlon this Saturday beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Pensacola Beach. Among them, mostly seasoned amateurs, some world class professionals, and always a new slate of “first timers” including a very special young lady named Lindsey Ellis.

Anyone who participates in triathlons will fondly recall his or her first competition. For Lindsey, 18, this event will be especially memorable because she has cerebral palsy and could not fulfill this dream without the help of many others.

It is Lindsey’s competitive spirit and joy of life that set the wheels in motion after she was introduced to running by her aunt, Wendy Ellis, about five years ago. Ellis, 44, has been teaching physical education in the Escambia County school district for the past 20 years. She has been running competitively for the past nine years and invited Lindsey along one fateful day.

With no use of her legs, and limited use of her arms, Lindsey concentrates on using her abdominal muscles to keep her upper body in the proper position as her aunt pushes the wheelchair along. After that first race, Lindsey was hooked and asked her aunt when was the next race and could they do it faster next time!

Lindsey’s family lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but whenever possible, aunt and niece have raced 5-k runs together. When Wendy was approaching 40, she set a goal of competing in her first triathlon by her birthday. She trained hard and that effort did not go unnoticed by Lindsey who decided she wanted to compete in a triathlon too!

Last year, Lindsey informed her aunt that she had written to Oprah Winfrey asking help to purchase the special equipment needed for them to participate in the event. That letter was an eye opener for Wendy.
“I had no idea how serious she was about wanting to do a triathlon,” said Ellis. “It was so inspiring to hear her determination that I immediately began looking for a source of funding to help us with the expenses.”

She found the financial resources through the BALANCE BAR Grants Program. Started in 1992, the Balance Bar company produces snack-type food bars based on the 40/30/30 nutrition philosophy for providing sustained energy and hunger management. Read the rest of this entry »

Pre Race Pasta Dinner not to be Missed

pasta_dinner The Past Dinner will be held over at the Bimini Beach Bar just north of the Portofino Boardwalk on the ground level of Hemingway’s at Quietwater beach on the Sound. The Hemmingays/Bamboo Willie’s company is hosting it. The prices can’t be beat, Adults eat for $6.00, Children under 12 are only $3.00. Plan to come out between 5 and 8 PM Friday bring the family! Stop over at the Hampton Inn and get your dinner ticket in front of the Expo while you go to Packet Pickup.

First Time Triathletes

windfeather The SRI TRI is known for being a great race for beginning triathletes. The distances are manageable, the course is flat, the water is warm and welcoming. We tend to have a large number of newbies. There is a local training group, The Mere Mortals that gets a lot of people ready to do their first Tri. Tri Gulf Coast keeps their schedule for them. Check it out if you are in the panhandle.

To help our newcomers, we will have a meeting for them on Friday evening before the race, at 6:30, on the back deck of the at the Hampton Inn. Come meet us and get your questions answered.

Sponsor: Carrabba’s Italian Grill

Carrabba’s is preparing and serving up their amazing food for our post-race award party. It is not to be missed! They serve fresh, flavorful Italian dishes prepared from the finest ingredients sourced from around the world. The Santa Rosa Island Triathlon is proud to have their sponsorship and it really shows in the care they put into our event that their specialty is providing warm hospitality and authentic Italian dishes for special occasions. And this is one very special occasion! Thanks Carrabba’s!