Landing Page

zoom-56127654-3Welcome to the Unofficial Chattanooga Race Page created by Endurance Nation. While one of the newest races on the calendar, Chattanooga has quickly gained a tremendous fan base among southeastern US athletes.

Endurance Nation had more than 40 athletes compete in Chattanooga in 2014, the inaugural year of the race. They join the more than 1,000 TeamENSTAREN athletes that finish an IronmanÆ every year. And now you have access to some of our fundamental race-specific information too.

Consider it our gift to you, a chance to peak behind the Endurance Nation curtain for free. We have tons of additional resources, race calculators, training plans and much more, for our members. You can explore all of those resources and our Team Coaching program, by creating a FREE Trial Membership.

Race Camp

Learn How to Race with the Recognized Experts in Long Course Triathlon Race Execution

Youíve trained months and months for your big day, building a big fitness vehicle. BOOM, the gun goes off and ìIím crazy fit! Iíve got this, right?î WRONG!
140.6 miles is too big of a problem for anyone to solve with fitness alone.

Join Coach Rich for a weekend of training in Chattanooga ó August 13-16, 2015. Nearly 30 athletes joined Rich for our inaugural camp on the course in 2014 and over 800 athletes having attended his other training camps over the years to learn from Rich, a recognized race execution expert. These days, a training camp run by another coach is usually nothing more than lots of miles, maybe some discussion, and not much else. And there are often informal training camps organized by fellow athletes on Facebook, etc, that are really nothing more than a large group of people meeting in a parking lot to go for a ride, run or swim. Our Endurance Nation training camps are over-the-top educational events, with Rich or Patrick bringing significant game to the task of teaching you how to race and train for Ironman triathlons effectively. They are also an unmatched opportunity to meet and network with your teammates and fellow triathletes who will be racing with you. RaceCampLearnMore

Not Racing Chattnooga? Hereís the full 2015 EN Race Camp Schedule

Lake Placid, June 11-14 2015, with Coach Patrick

Wisconsin, July 30-Aug 2, 2015, with Coach Rich

Florida, September 24-27, 2015, with Coach Patrick
Arizona, October 15-18, 2015, with Coach Rich

RaceCampLearnMore

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The Endurance Nation FirstTimeFinishô Guarantee

Train with Endurance Nation for a minimum of three months. Then if you start your IronmanÆ but donít reach the finish line, for any reason, we will pay you CASH for your next attempt at the distance, a $700 value.

Four Keys Talk

The Doubletree Hotel, Downtown ó Friday September 25th @ 10:30 AM
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What are the Four Keys of Long Course Race Execution?

Every year thousands of triathletes descend on a few key venues throughout the world to test their fitness against 140.6 miles. Each competitor arrives with their own goals and expectations, but they share a common constraint: they have just 17 hours to put countless months, miles, and hours of training to the test. The pressure is intense, and only the well-prepared can come close to achieving their potential.
What is a Live Four Keys Talk?

We give you our Four Keys of Long Course Race Execution, guidance that thousands and thousands have used successfully on race day. Over fifteen thousand athletes have viewed the Four Keys DVD, the ONLY race execution product in the triathlon market.
What about the Race Course?

We then drill that down, teaching you how to race every inch of your course, based on our venue-specific experience gained from having coached over 1,000 finishers per year, every year, since 2010.
RSVP to the Chattanooga Four Keys Talk Today! or Request a FREE Four Keys DVD

Tim Cronk, 9:57, 2nd AG, KONA!

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Quick Stats

Time 9:57:08 , Swim 53:16 , T1 5:11 , Bike 5:10:49 , T2 2:18 , Run 3:45:34 Ö. 2nd place M50-54AG out of 184 starters and 98th OAÖ. KONA Qualified for 2015 and this was my 4th KQ in 17 monthsÖ. The week went as expected in my race planÖ Last week training was less than ever, having only completed 4hrs of taper wkoís mon-sat pre-race. TrainingPeaks numbers were ATL 81 , CTL 143 , TSB +52Ö..
Race day

Up at 4am , eat , coffee , dress , drive 1 mile to parking garage near transition , body mark , prep bikes, get in line for bus to swim start , arrive swim start, get in line to porto-potty, then get in the long line for the swim TT start. Conditions for the day were about as good as they can get , it was overcast all day , almost no wind , and a light rain for about an hour on the run.
Swim ñ 53:16

No wetsuit and fast currentÖ.Water temp was 77Ö No wetsuit for podium/KQís but optional for othersÖ We were very far back in line and after the first AGíers went in at 7:30AM the line moved very fastÖ Ate a gel and finished perform when the line started to moveÖ carried morning clothes bag and handed off to volunteer near the startÖ They stopped all the wetsuiterís and put them in a separate line to enter the water after all the NO wetsuit peepsÖ. I got in the water around 7:50Ö. Jump in feet first as directed then start swimming, obvious current and speed , still swam hard with race pace effortÖ Following the buoys was very easyÖ Kept wondering if I would be better off going further out to catch more current? About halfway thru I realize I have not touched one bodyÖ Iím thinking can you do and entire IM swim and not touch someone? Answer is NOÖ But the contact I did have was very minimalÖ. Highly recommend this swim for anyone with anxiety of mass start , cold water , or contactÖ. Visuals of the surroundings was also enjoyableÖ Exited the waterÖ Time ??? No watchÖ Didnt look for a clockÖ Ran up the carpet from swim exit to transition. NOTE: by the end of the swim I was cold. They also found a dead body in the river on raceday that was unrelated to the race.
T1-5:11

Long haul from the swim , top 10ish time, felt smooth
Bike ñ 5:10 for 115.5 miles

Goal was NP172-174 Ö Stats AP 171 , NP 175 , VI 1.02 , IF .76 , TSS 297, w/kg 3.2+ for the ride. On Garmin Connect here. The mount line was a Zoo. The first 5 miles of the bike are admin out of town on rough roads with lots of turns , was very crowded , people passing on left and right, bottles everywhere, couple of crashes , surrounded by bikes (this was direct result to starting late in the swim as I talked to someone who went first in the water and did not experience this). After those first 5 miles it calmed down and the pavement is really nice. But it stayed very crowded for my entire first loop and was impossible to find clean space. On the surface my stats look pretty good and my results would indicate this but I was not happy with how I rode and not sure I could have done it any differentlyÖ I burned a lot of matches on the first half , passing people and groups and then having to hold that power to stay in front of themÖ As a result I ended up riding a higher first half power than I would have liked along with a higher VIÖ But if I didnít I would have been swallowed by the groups and been forced to drop back and there was an endless stream of riders behindÖ So passing required more watts. Anyway the 2nd loop was completely clean and had no issues but I could feel the work I had put in on the first half and rode a lower power than plannedÖ The last five miles I purposely mailed it in for recovery for the run and went into an easy spin mode. Left shoes on the pedals. Smooth dismount.. Had trouble handing bike to a volunteer even though they were not busy. Nutrition was 4.5 bottles perform , 1 cliff bar , 6 cliff blocks , 1 cliff gelÖ. NOTE: took me about an hour to warm up on the bike from the swimÖ. Its a fast bike and the elevation maps make it look worse than it isÖ.
T2- 2:18

Very smooth and closer to a top 5.. as planned socks and shoes , go bag in mouth , put race belt on and watch while movingÖ took care of the items in the go bag on the courseÖ
Run- Goal was 3:40-3:45, Actual 3:45

On Garmin Connect here Tough courseÖ Hard first mileÖ then hard 4 miles in the middle and another hard 4 miles at the endÖRan by RPE , sipping gel from a flask every 3 miles with water, drinking perform the 2 in between , switched to coke and salt stick at mile 20Ö. Settled into pace after the first couple miles but had a slow fade in the second half very similar to my bikeÖ. Still kept the pace spread pretty close with the fastest couple miles around 8min and the slowest around 9:20Ö I donít think I had any really high or really low points but more like a slow bleedÖ Was mind over matter to keep moving forward and not slow down (that much)Ö.. At the beginning of the second loop I was waving at Coach Rich and Eric and coming up on a confusing divide on the course to finish and second loop , I went the wrong way cause I couldnít see the second loop sign and no runners were visible , I had a feeling it was wrong and I was screaming is this the second loop? They kept telling me to keep going, after 50 yds downhill a guy finally figures it out and chases me down to ask me? As I turn around to back up Coach Rich is coming to the rescue on his renta bike LOLÖ Anyway burned a match there and wasted 30sec? Bottom line pretty happy with result on that course! If it was hot that would be a death march for most!
Mental Game:

Again no major highs or lowsÖ But more about just performing what I know I can and not accepting anything lessÖ Kinda like doing a 2 x 20′ FTP last week and while your doing it this week about half way through your wondering how your going to finishÖ but somehow you just do! It takes an effort but it really is mind over matter!
Notes and Misc:

Met a whole bunch of new EN peeps , some at the team dinner, some on the course during the day , and some after all was said and done! Even got to hang out with the Bad Cop Coach Rich a bit! Mariah did an awesome job as our team captain. As a result IMCHOO had the feel of an EN focus race! Couple stories from the course: I wore a new custom EN tri-suit from Blueseventy but designed and screened by Andre at Kiwami. Andre had put my name CRONK across the butt and I wasnít sure I liked it at first and then said the hell with keep it on thereÖ. So around mile 50 after I was just about tired of burning matches and fighting on the bike , a 27yr old guy pulls up along side me and says CRONK your amazing you been pulling 40 guysÖ I go I dont care as long as they aint in my AGÖ.Actually had a couple similar conversations with a few other closer to my AG. Made me feel a little betterÖ Then on the run a 25yr old passes me at mile 3 and says nice work on the bike , Your 52? shaking his headÖ. Then at mile 5 a 29 year old guy passes me and says nice work on the bike, I couldnít hang with you on the second lap! Heehee earning a little respect from the young studs! Quick Edit forgot to mention: Having a few short conversations with KORI and DINO on the bike! And Watching Mark Roberts go by me like I was standing still up Barton Ave Monster hill at mile 24 was just a thing of beauty! My Heather completed her 4th IM with a 13:44 and a 19 min PRÖ Unfortunately due to the layout of the course our paths did not cross Ö I had to wait for hugs and kisses until the finishlineÖ Couldnít be more proud of her! Chattanooga is a great place to race! Highly recommend it!

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