 Started in 1997, the Savannah Triathlon Team was formed to raise awareness of the sport of triathlon and to create both a social and competitive atmosphere for triathletes in Savannah. That mission has been a great and ongoing success as the team continues to grow and members take on more and more challenging races. We welcome all abilities and offer motivation and many opportunities to get started or improve on your triathlon skills. Everyone from experienced Ironman triathletes to the complete multisport novice can find a home in STT. We invite you to come join us at the pool, on the road or at the track. Failing that, join us for breakfast after our Friday morning swim, and make some new friends. The training, racing, and social opportunities, the coaching, and especially the members themselves, make this among the best participant-run athletic clubs in the area. If you think your training and racing would benefit from a stable of consistent training partners, from planned swim, bike and run sessions, and from some seriously expert coaching, you're right, and this is your team. Not a member? Annual membership in STT is only $25.00! BENEFITS OF JOINING
WORKOUTS Swimming: Many of the area triathletes practice with Savannah Masters, an organized swim team for adults. Savannah Masters, a USMS-affiliated team, caters to triathletes, fitness swimmers and competitors. It is open to all adult swimmers ages 18 and up. Beginners are encouraged to join the team! Location: All workouts at Chatham County Aquatic Center, 7240 Sallie Mood Drive, next to Lake Mayer. Schedule: Mornings: Monday through Friday* 5:30-6:45 a.m., Saturday 7-8:30 a.m. Evenings: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 6-7:15 p.m. Wednesday-Dryland practice 6-7 p.m. Swimmers may attend any and all of the 10 workouts offered each week. All swimmers pay monthly dues to Savannah Masters and register annually with USMS. Bike & Run: Bike and run workouts are typically scheduled at morning swim workouts by various team members. Also, check the web site Message Board for run and bike workouts and other team opportunities. MORE ABOUT STT STT is open to triathletes and aspiring triathletes of all levels, and has been since its inception in 1997. As broad as this statement sounds, it's true: everyone who has joined and stuck with it has improved significantly. And while the group certainly has its "hardcore" members -- Ironmen and women, sponsored "elite" athletes, people who actually have a shot at winning when they line up on the beach -- the heart of this outfit is the journeyman age-grouper, out to enjoy himself or herself and meet personal goals. If your goal is to improve in one or more of the tri-disciplines, here's the scoop: Actually, it's impossible to discuss STT without simultaneously discussing the Savannah Masters program. The two share membership to the extent that, at any given morning swim workout, maybe 20 out of 30 swimmers are our triathletes. The others, the swim specialists, are de facto STT folks, who may not bike or run, but aren't above coming with us to an open water race, or swimming a relay leg at any of various races. Bike: Some members of the club ride with the Wheelmen, the established local cycling club. Others prefer smaller groups, with less drafting, to say nothing of those pleasant solitary rides. Since 1999, there's been a tradition of longer weekend rides starting in Rincon, Georgia, in neighboring Effingham County. The standard loop we ride is a rural, flat to gently rolling 67 miles, though certainly there are shorter and longer options. Depending on who is training for an Ironman any given summer, there may be more riders needing big mileage on the weekends, or less. In season, it's not uncommon to find a couple of folks willing to "brick it" with you to run after riding, to help get you ready for your Iron or half-Iron race. Unlike the regimented swim workouts, the bike training is highly individualized, and varies significantly from week to week, and athlete to athlete. In season, however, there always seem to be enough folks up for a ride, that you can find someone else of your own ability to grind the gears with. Local bike retailer Quality Bike Shop sponsors STT and has hosted seminars on bike maintenance and repair, given us discounts on gear, and kept us in energy bars on our road trips. They are good to us, and we try to reciprocate. Quick plug for the guys at QB: they are the only place in town that carries a good selection of tri-bikes in house, not to mention tri-apparel. They understand bike fit, and will not sell you a bike just to sell you a bike. We have been very pleased with them. Check them out. Run: The club includes an very broad spectrum of running enthusiasm and talent. Training with us are a college cross-country coach (herself a collegiate All-American), and others who ran competitively in college and high school, or who have flourished on the road race circuit. There are also those who grew up swimming and never ran a step until they decided to branch into triathlon. It's been rewarding to watch them develop legs and lungs after a life of fins and gills. There are even a couple of club members who simply won't run, ever, no matter what, but who enjoy swimming and cycling, and hanging out with others that share these interests. Many STT folks are also members of the Savannah Striders, the excellent local running club. STT has made it a point to show up in force at the Tybee Marathon and Half-Marathon each February (a fine opportunity for an early-season long run), as well for the Savannah River Bridge Run and for the local 5K circuit. As with the cycling, you can nearly always find someone else in the club who needs a long run to get ready for a Fall marathon or Iron race, or who wants to meet in Daffin Park or at Lake Mayer for a tempo run, or who needs an interval workout. Lately, those in search of speed work have been going to the track at Savannah State on Thursday nights for free group interval workouts coached by Robert Espinoza, an avid runner and owner of the local running store. Races: In the last several years, the club has grown tremendously. Club members have made races into excuses for road trips. In particular, the jaunt to Panama City, Florida, each May for the Gulf Coast Triathlon has become something of an institution: swim, bike, run, dance. Even the short drive to Charleston has become an excuse for an overnighter. STT usually sends fifteen to twenty athletes to each of the four summer Charleston Sprint Triathlon Series races. Whether you join STT or not, you are urged to enter one of these Charleston events, which need to be experienced rather than described. A relatively small field, capped at 300, keeps these races intimate, yet surprisingly competitive. STT has built a strong relationship with the Charleston Triathlon Club, and we do our best to be competitive at these events. STT has recent overall winners on both the male and female sides. Club members compete at all levels and distances. We have one sponsored pro triathlete on our roster, a runner who has been sponsored by Powerbar, and rookies who hope to complete their first sprint-distance race soon. In the off season, we have members who run marathons, even ultras, who compete in adventure races, and who mountain bike or paddle. Also, a few of us see nothing reprehensible about an honest-to-god off season, wherein we don't do much of anything. To each his own. Members: Quite apart from the training, there is a powerful social aspect to this group. Having grown from a handful hardcore members in the beginning, STT has grown to include folks with diverse interests, backgrounds, and careers away from the sport. The youngest members are college students. The oldest are Mike and Iris Dayoub, who dominate the 65-69 age group at the races. There are artists, builders, banker-types, soldiers, lawyers, government employees, nurses, doctors, a vet, a writer, teachers, full-time moms, and grad students. It seems to be a good mix. For those who can make it, Friday breakfasts at the Midtown Deli in Chatham Plaza, immediately following swim practice, have become a tradition. It's a chance to catch up, to plan weekend training, or just visit and goof off. If you're new to the area, or are already here and are looking for training partners, coaching or motivation, check us out. We'd love to meet you. |
