Tom Barrett's Friends' blogs

'Oympic Family' sections

August 27, 2012 by Ron Andruff   Comments (0)

I was reflecting back on the London Olympics this past weekend and recalled one of the most amazing aspects - that I personlly experienced when I attended the Beijing and Vancouver Games - is being a member of the so-called 'Olympic Family'.  I'm not speaking about the T3 car service that you may have heard about, which enables you to go the queue of Official Cars, climb in and have the driver whisk you through special traffic-free lanes to the next sport venue on your list of events you... Read full post

Ironman training

August 26, 2012 by Lars Nordhild Rønning   Comments (0)

Was showing off my new Evolution Running & Triathlon tri gear today! 181.5K (113 miles) and 1,615 meters (5,300 feet) of climbing. "Spring Onion" sportive course + out and back. Quite windy. 6.16 hours; felt like headwind all day although that's probably not possible given it's a looped course... Guess I am still a bit tired after Norseman and Challenge Copenhagen. Very hungry now, and all I've got in the kitchen is porridge oats, 2 apples and High5 Protein Recovery! I sure am happy I don't... Read full post

Congratulations to our two new Koguma Dojo Sempais, Djordje and Daniel!

August 22, 2012 by Ron Andruff   Comments (1)

sports, clubs, fansites

The following email came from our Dojo Daisempai, Howard Turoff:
This email is to formally announce that heretofore Nidans Djordje Djokovic and Daniel Montenegro shall be referred to in class as Sempai Djokovic and Sempai Montenegro.  This is in recognition of their outstanding service and loyalty to Koguma Dojo, and in appreciation of all the assistance they have provided to both Sensei Anderson and myself over the years, and especially the past year.  
 
Congratulations to... Read full post

Race report - Challenge Copenhagen 2012 - only 8 days after Norseman - 10.49 finish time!

August 13, 2012 by Lars Nordhild Rønning   Comments (2)

By luck (or accident?) I ended up with 2 Ironman distance races within only 8 days... I had signed up for Challenge Copenhagen 2012 last year, but was later also lucky to win in the ballot and got an entry to Norseman... I did Norseman last weekend and felt fine and had recovered only a couple of days afterwards so I decided to give Challenge Copenhagen a go yesterday. Loved the swim – took my time and really enjoyed it. Clear water and lots of space, the bike went really well until 140... Read full post

Losing to win - Olympic Badminton

August 7, 2012 by Ron Andruff   Comments (2)

sports, clubs

Now well into the London Olympics, the world is learning a lot more about Olympic sports - and their specific rules - than it knew before the Games began late last month.  Take badminton for example.  While the rules say you have to win every match, in point of fact, Olympic athletes and coaches are looking for any available advantage, including throwing a match to save energy or to face an easier opponent in the next round.  "It's perfectly legal, but morally indefensible", said... Read full post

Race report - Norseman 4 August 2012

August 6, 2012 by Lars Nordhild Rønning   Comments (0)

Norseman 4 August 2012 race report
Lars Nordhild Rønning
My fascination with Norseman began in 2005, back in the days when I was running Active Sports and was the distributor for Xterra Wetsuits in the UK and Scandinavia. I had just completed my first Ironman – Ironman Lanzarote – and saw the most amazing pictures from a crazy, cult-like race in Norway called Norseman.
After Lanzarote in May 2005 I decided to register for Half-Ironman UK and Norseman, both to take place in... Read full post

The Norseman

August 3, 2012 by Ron Andruff   Comments (0)

This Iron Man triathlon is insane.  Here it is right from the site:

About Norseman Xtreme Triathlon

Norseman is the world’s toughest long-distance distance triathlon. It is also the most northern, taking place at the same latitude as Anchorage in Alaska. The race is a travel through some of the most beautiful parts of Norway. It is not a normal circuit-race as it starts in a fjord and finishes at mountain Gaustatoppen at 1,850 meters above sea level. Total ascent is 5,000... Read full post

Empty seats at the Olympic Games?!

July 30, 2012 by Ron Andruff   Comments (0)

The issue of host country residents not getting access to Olympic Games tickets and then seeing lots of empty seats in the stadium during the events is really a vexing issue!  Last night there were rows and rows of seats occupied by British Armed Forces - and I commented on that to my wife - to watch the gymnastics program.  Today I read in the Reuter's feed that those troops were actually security personnel (remember the scandal about the contractor who was unable to meet the... Read full post

IOC banning personal hotspots

July 25, 2012 by Ron Andruff   Comments (0)

Interesting Tech Crunch report on London Olympics and the IOC re its "draconian" ways...http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/25/no-wi-fi-please-were-british-olympics-will-ban-personal-hotspots/ . The IOC is on track for another $4-5 billion for the next Olympic cycle, so one doesn't have to look very far to see how protective they are of every square inch of the Games... 

An artifact or a Payday

July 23, 2012 by Ron Andruff   Comments (0)

Interesting article in the Sunday Times sport section on monetizing memorabilia that museums have been holding for athletes.  I am a strong believer in seeing former pro athletes posting their boxes and boxes of personal memorabilia (that are currently gathering dust in basements or garages around the world) here in their own pages of lifedotsport.  There are just so many things that players keep and that fans would love to see and talk about... If only the players would photograph... Read full post