Lums Pond
by Joe Kasimer

Lums Pond remains a premier event, a longish sprint featuring a 19.5 mile bike with a 1/2 mile swim in the lake and a 3.1 mile run through the woods.  It is a USAT sanctioned event and the Eastern Sprint Championship, which means you always see some awesome bikes and top competitors.  This year registration swelled to around 900, a bit too big for the facility in my opinion.  Many more first timers than I can recall the previous two times I participated in this event.  However, the race continued to be very well run despite the large registration and heat.

 

The water temp was a disgusting 87.  A lot of weak swimmers this year it appeared. 

The bike ride was excellent-- some gentle inclines, minimal traffic and lots of volunteers and police on the course.  I averaged 17.7 on my bike odometer-- good for me in the heat.  The run was mercifully out of the sun for the most part, but leaving in the 5th wave (age gets no respect) it was pretty warm by 10 am.

 

All in all, a fine experience and I saw the most awesome collection of bikes that I have seen in some time.  Several went by me like I was standing still.........I would recommend the race, but better to do events earlier in the summer or in September.