LOST TRI

Although LOST Swimming is an open water swim team, the majority of the members in the group also participate in other sports.

Peter Von Euw, Alex Mcmillin, Rob Kent, Heather Fuhr, Deanna Solomon, IMLP 2003
Peter Von Euw, Alex Mcmillin, Rob Kent, Heather Fuhr (the winner!), Deanna Solomon, IMLP 2003… where it all began!

In fact, the original core of the group started as a  running group that ran out of the Running Room in downtown Oakville from the days the Running Room opened in about 1997.  Rob Kent, Alex Mcmillin, Peter Von Euw and several others from the early days are still part of the group, but things changed one Wednesday night in the fall of 2002 when, over a pint or two at the Queen’s Head, Rob asked Alex, and then they both convinced Peter, to do Ironman USA in Lake Placid!  Things have never been the same since.

This was the best thing that ever happened to the group and it grew organically.  We all moved from being just runners, to being cyclists and swimmers too!  The great thing about all this was the people that we rolled into the group and soon we had lots of swim, bike, run and triathlon friends.

It was this indirect route of getting back into the water after a 17 year break (1988 Olympic Trials until 2005 English Channel swim) that lead Rob back to swimming… and starting LOST Swimming.

One of the best things about triathlon is that it forces athletes to participate in sports that they normally wouldn’t.  And fortunately for LOST Swimming there are lots of triathletes that are now interested in open water swimming.

 

LOST Triathletes at IM Louisville in 2009! (back: Carla, Patty, Cathy, Alexis, Jenn, John, Joanne, Peter, Tim, Paul… front: Bill, Nicole, Melanie, Eileen, Rob, John, Maisey) (click to enlarge)

As a result, LOST Swimming has a very close tie to triathlon and all the triathletes in the Oakville and Burlington area.  In fact, Rob used his persuasive powers to enlist 25 people, including 12 Ironman rookies, to join him and Joanne at Ironman Louisville in 2009.  Natural attrition due to injuries and conflicting schedules whittled that number down to 15 people by race day… but nonetheless, The LOST TRI group was born!

The LOST Triathlon group is not a formal club, but a casual group of triathletes that train together at various times and locations in Oakville and Burlington.  

 

 

Most importantly (at least for the purposes of the swimmers in the group!) is LOST Swimming!  We meet every Saturday at 8:00 am in downtown Oakville, at the foot of Navy Street, by the Lighthouse Pier at the mouth of 16 Mile Creek.  

Many Losties continue to compete in Triathlons and Ironman and use LOST Swimming as their main open water training.  For more info on how to train for the bike and the run with other Losties, or how to represent LOST TRI at a race, feel free to contact Rob Kent – the more the merrier!

David, Scott, Brett and Cousin Al!