We had a great gang of 30 members and coaches out for the annual Team Triumph St Paddy's Day Fun Run/Walk. What a blast to get out and run, walk, smile, eat and socialize together!! For many this was the first time they have met in person after two years of either listening to their voices during the cycling classes or seeing each other on Zoom. Congrats to everyone for completing their planned distances and speeds! It was lovely to have Darius and Dorota's baby Sofia join us and complete her first Team Triumph event! Thank you to Gabi for getting the event organized. We look forward to the next one! Thanks a million to Martin, our Director of Logistics and Humour, for cheering everyone on at the turnaround point. During the yummy brunch at the Canal Ritz we presented the prestigious Athlete of the Year Award followed by the draw for the winning team of the KM Challenge! Every year we present a trophy to the Athlete of the Year. Usually the award goes to an athlete who competes on the international stage at a world championship event. This year again, without any world championships, we had no athletes to choose from but it couldn't be a better year to select an athlete who has worked so hard to come back from a traumatic event in the military which lead to PTSD and struggles with addiction. Congratulations to Gabi Porter for completing an Ironman in Maryland, having stayed in a tent the nights before and covered in jelly fish stings after the swim! You are a true athlete, hero, an inspiration and a JOY to have in our club! Thank you to everyone who has donated to the Royal Ottawa Hospital so far. We are all so grateful to have had our wonderful triathlon community to help support us all both physically and mentally, especially over the past two years. Some in our community have found it more difficult than others and need more support, and we are forever grateful for places like the Royal Ottawa Hospital and other mental health facilities for their care. 
I love the accountability and the structure of the Virtual 70.3 Half Ironman training program. I don't think I would have gotten this far without the program. The accountability is huge for me!
Deborah Jackman
My coach Kevin Willis is amazing. His swim practices have been a real game-changer for me. A great communicator regardless of your swim level. The whole club is supportive of everything you do. You don't need to be an Ironman to benefit from their programs. 5 stars all around!!! - Denise Pittuck
I just wanted to thank you and your team (Gabi! Brenda! Maggie! Dawn!) for making last weekend's event so amazing. I had tried to do a try-a-tri on my own last summer, and the experience was night and day.
Even though I didn't make every virtual session, I felt so prepared... I knew where to go for information, and I knew I had a team of people (coaches and our beginner tri group!) who were all there to support me.
It was interesting to watch Eric train on his own (without access to the TrainingPeaks workouts and without the weekly meetings to ask questions and learn more about proper form and race-day stuff). When we left on Sunday, he looked at me and was like "we're DEFINITELY doing the training with Julia if we decide to go for the olympic distance, right?".
So glad to have found this club and looking forward to many more triathlons in the near future!!! Tai Teleso
