Men have a higher fatality rate than women for every one of the top 10 leading causes of death:
1. Heart disease (78% higher)
2. Cancer (34% higher)
3. Injuries (150% higher)
4. Stroke (12% higher)
5. COPD (43% higher)
6. Diabetes (23% higher)
7. Pneumonia/flu (48% higher)
8. HIV infection (318% higher)
9. Suicide (205% higher)
10. Homicide (253% higher)
The results – men die an average of 5.4 years sooner than women.
Stay aware. Stay healthy.
There are a number of really cool triathlons that take place in the Great Lakes, but the gold standard in my opinion is the Great Lakes Escape Triathlon. It’s held in early September in Marblehead, Ohio (near Sandusky) and it’s designed to give you an experience similar to the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon.
The overwhelmingly awesome highlight of the Great Lakes Escape Triathlon is the swim start. You board a Jet Express ferry which takes you out in the middle of Lake Erie among the Lake Erie Islands. You then jump into the open water along with a few hundred other intrepid souls and do a 1.5K point-to-point swim to the beach:
The swim alone is worth signing up for this event. If you’re not a runner or a cyclist, you can recruit a couple of friends and register as a relay team (with you doing the swim part, of course). But if you are into triathlons, this is an awesome Great Lakes destination event. Check it out!
If you really want a “signature event” to cap off your summer, it’s hard to beat the Alcatraz Challenge, which takes place in San Francisco Bay on August 23, 2008.
I did the swim/run in 2006, and I can tell you that it is an exceptionally well organized event and a total blast to do. I even tied a waterproof disposable camera to my wetsuit lanyard and got some fantastic “water level” shots:
But you had best act soon – I just checked out the registration page, and they already have over 330 swimmers signed up! From what I recall, they typically limit it to around 600 swimmers. So check it out before it’s too late!
If you’re currently planning your endurance sports season, the 2008 Golden Gate Bridge Swim is one event you might want to consider. It’s organized and conducted by Pedro Ordenes, an open water swim veteran/legend and one of the neatest fellows you’ll ever meet. Pedro coaches swimmers of all levels and regularly organizes Alcatraz crossings in the Bay area.
I did this event in October of 2007, and it was a real blast. There were only about 30 swimmers, so it wasn’t a “mass of lemmings” scenario in the boat or in the water. As a result, I was able to really get to know all the swimmers, most of whom are local residents who train with Pedro. They are a really fun group of people, and that more than anything else made this one of the cooler events I have ever done.
Here’s a video clip of the event (and you can see yours truly at 2:18 – showboating as usual):
So if you’re looking for a great event to keep you motivated this summer, you can’t get much better than this! But since it’s limited in swimmers, I’d look into registering within the next 60 days.
