Back in 2023 my training partner, Steve Montgomery, and I were in the US for the Kessler Foundation 10k race. While there, many of the other wheelchair racers we met recommended the Triple Crown series of races. These take place over a week or two at the start of July. We decided then that we would love to be able to complete these races in 2024.
With support from the race organisers, we flew out in early July. We felt ready and excited about having just over two weeks to focus on our training and a series of three races.
Training Camp
The first part of our trip was a Cedartown race camp. This was organised by Krige (A previous US Paralympian and medal winner). This was based at a school campus near Rome in Georgia. It took place over 3 days, offering a chance to meet other athletes and train together. We were invited to take part in some technical and knowledge sharing sessions where best practice was discussed. Never one to step fully away from work, I also enjoyed an open forum event here. At this, I was able to show interested parties the new Active Hands hard racing gloves including the quad (reduced hand function) version.
This race camp also included chances to train together on the roads and an informal track meet. Steve and I have strong memories of the loud sounds of the cicadas everywhere we went. We also couldn’t escape the high heat (low to mid thirties C) and 90% humidity! We made sure that our training was always very early morning or in the evenings. But it was still roasting for 2 British lads not used to the heat. We met some great people there and the camp was really well organised.
Following the three day training camp, our first race was Cedartown 5k. This wheelchair-only race is set in a tiny town in Georgia. It is a big event for the locals, who all come out from their houses to watch. It was an evening race but was still roasting hot. Many of us, especially the quads, suffered badly in the heat and humidity. I was second place quad and was happy with my performance. Steve was 3rd in the grand masters.
Race Two
Next up in our racing series was Peachtree. This was a completely different race. 50,000 runners and it goes through the middle of Atlanta and past the Shepherd Center hospital site. The race is a 10k, starting at sunrise. Unlike most 10ks I’ve competed in, the route for this one was very straightforward – basically go straight for about 9k one left turn then 1k straight to the finish. Some fast and long downhills then some long climbs particularly past the Shepherd Center, although the crowd support was great. This race had many more wheelchair racers than Cedartown (about 60 to 80) and 6 quads. I came in 3rd quad which I was happy with. Steve had a great race and was first in the grand masters (of the Triple Crown racers). After the race all the racers are invited to go to the Shepherd Center to have a brunch, meet current in-patients and get their race results. We had 2 nights in a very nice hotel in central Atlanta then it was back to Rome for us – driven by Krige.
We had quite a bit of time between Peachtree and the final race, so we were put up at a hotel in Rome, Georgia. This was really helpful and a massive thanks to Krige and Caron Schabort and family and all the series organisers for helping us with this. During our time there, Steve and I went out early morning training on the lovely quiet roads around Rome with Krige and his son Daniel. We really loved the long rolling undulations of the quiet roads and we really benefitted from the training of going out most mornings then meeting with various members of the local community and race organisers socially in the evenings.
Sharing the Work of Active Hands
I was also very keen to use these days between races to share the work of Active Hands. I arranged to go back to the Shepherd Center and meet with some of the therapists working there to demonstrate some of our products. This was really productive. Over the space of a lunchtime and afternoon many OT’s, physios, patients and others came along and were really impressed by our products.
Particular favourites were the Soloc Belts as they gave independence to those with reduced hand function who struggle to use a lap belt independently, the Flexi Phone Holder – they had similar ones but patients found it really hard or impossible to attach or release their phones independently, the Hook Aids for independent, two-handed gym use and many of the smaller items such as the Nimble and the Palm Peeler. We are hoping to start a relationship between the Shepherd Center and Active Hands. We want to supply them with some products they currently don’t have but are keen to have available for their patients.
Completing the Triple Crown
The last race of the series was the Boilermaker 15k up in Utica in Northern New York State. This is another large race with 10s of thousands of runners and a good number of wheelchair racers too. The course has a pretty tough reputation. We managed to get a bus to drive around the course the day before and it certainly looked pretty challenging. The first 4 miles were mostly uphill with some really tough and steep climbing. Then came some very fast, steep and winding downhills which I wanted to go carefully on. I only needed to finish to get 2nd place in the quad Triple Crown and it was the type of course that needed careful racing. A lack of concentration could easily result in hitting the hills too hard and burning out. Or I risked going too fast on some of the downs, resulting in a crash: potentially injuring myself or damaging my race chair. It was probably, mile for mile, the toughest course I’ve raced. But I was happy to get round safely to secure my second quad place in the series.
Trip highlights include the fast straight downhills of the Peachtree race, the early morning training in Rome, the enthusiasm for Active Hands products at the Shepherd Center… and the flight home. Our flight into JFK was delayed due to bad weather and we missed our connection. We got a bit messed about between airlines working out whose responsibility it was to rebook us. But we eventually had a very lovely upgrade to Virgin Upper class for the final stretch home, which was amazing and a great end to a fantastic and very productive trip.
Rob Smith