We’re really excited that the Scheels Du, our first multisport event of 2010, has finally arrived. Here is an update on the Scheels Du at Jordan Creek – hosted this Sunday, May 16 at Jordan Creek Town Center (Mall) in West Des Moines.

First things first, let me give a big thank you to Scheels for being such a great sponsor of the event. Scheels, along with our other great Series sponsors have really stepped up to support this event. It shows in the overall numbers of athletes on-board this year…nearly 100 new folks registered for the race.

1. Packet pick-up will be held between 1 and 4 pm on Saturday, May 15 – at interior Scheels entrance (located near the kids play area inside the mall). There will be no registration on race morning.
2. Download the Athlete Guide at www.FlatlandSeries.com. The link is located at the top of the page.j
3. The race will start promtly at 8 am.
4. We’ll host a post, post race party at Legends Bar and Grill (50th and Mills Civic Parkway) after the race with $2 bottles of MGD 64. I love their hamburgers!
5. By the way – did I mention MGD 64 will be giving away an amazing prize package to the 64th male athlete and 64th female athlete to cross the finish line?

Official Race Day Schedule
06:00 am – Packet pick-up opens
06:15 am – Transition opens
07:15 am – Packet pick-up closes
07:45 am – Transition closes
07:50 am – Welcome / Course Talk / National Anthem
08:00 am – Kaboom! Race begins
10:30 am – Awards Ceremony

Email questions to info@flatlandseries.com

Be sure to support the sponsors of the Flatland Series: MGD 64, Jason’s Deli, TYR and Action Accents, Elder Corp., Hands on Sports Massage, and Zoom Performance.

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Owner Cindy McGuire, and two additional massage therapists, provide outstanding services for individuals or athletes who have specific injury-related needs or maintenance work at their beautiful facilities in Urbandale.

If you believe you don’t need the help of a sports massage therapist – think again! No matter whether you’re an elite level athlete, or an everyday pro, sports massage therapy is essential to optimum performance.

By getting sports massage work done on a regular basis, a Hands on Sports therapist can help find problem areas in your muscles before they become a problem and take you away from your training.

3 Elements Athletes Should Build Into Their Training Plan:

Orthopedic and Deep Tissue Work: This fine tuning work should be done on days when you have the ability to recover, so a light or off training day works best. Do not schedule an orthopedic session a couple of days prior to a race. It will feel like you’ve had a workout and you need a little time to recover.

Pre-Race Sports Massage: This is pre-race flush work, getting your muscles loosened up, stretched and ready to go.  This is the work that helps your taper feel even better, helps eliminate the heavy leg feeling.

Post-Race Sports Massage: This is the recovery element, help your muscles come back after a hard race so they are ready to go for the next phase.  Work should be done 2-3 days after an event.  If you have access to massage therapist at an event, get the work done half hour post race.  Your muscles will recover even faster.

Of all the professional athletes the therapists have worked with; the most common thread is their ability to know their bodies. These athletes are always learning, asking questions. When racing and training at an elite level, it’s important to make sure that your entire team is working with you to help you become the BEST!

You can reach Cindy, Riley and Heidi at www.handsonsportsmassage.com or by phone at 515-276-4263.

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Maybe you’ve heard – maybe you haven’t – the Flatland Series is entering into the kids triathlon market.

Saturday, July 10, 2010 – the Flatland Kids Triathlon will host 200 of the fastest kids from across the United States in four elite, draft-legal races. The USAT Flatland Youth Elite and Junior Elite Cup will be the only national Cup race in the US this year to be held prior to the Youth Triathlon Championships hosted in San Diego in August. If you’re familiar with ITU-style racing (the pro race at Hy-Vee) then you’ll understand the dynamic, fast-paced, high-energy race we’ll be hosting. We’ve already had registrations from California, Texas, North Carolina, Colorado, Illinois and elsewhere.

It’s a great opportunity for our own hometown elite youth triathlon team (Z3) to race in here and a great chance to showcase our city.

Additionally, we’ll host an age-group (draft-free) race for local and regional youth who want to get their “feet wet” in triathlon.

We hope to host at least 500 kids overall – maybe more if the word spreads.

Best thing about the race…it’s at Gray’s Lake. It’s true! We’ll host the race in and around Gray’s Lake Park in Des Moines. We’re thrilled to partner with the City of Des Moines to bring triathlon back to Des Moines!!!

For more information please visit www.flatlandkidstri.com.

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The second race in the 2010 Flatland Series is the Scheels Du at Jordan Creek.

May 16 is the date.

8 am in race time.

Scheels Du is the perfect beginning to your multisport season – it’s flat (except for two hills) and fast!

And – there’ll be no need for wet suits. It’s a 2-mile run followed by an 18 mile bike followed by a 2.5 mile run. You can take a look at the course here!

We’ll finish the race with a great post-race party by Jason’s Deli. They’ll be providing all racers with great recovery food since they’ve agreed to be the sponsor of the Flatland Multisport Series recovery zones.

Even if you missed the cheap pricing cut-off – there are still some great combo deal packages that put together the Du with Copper Creek and more.

Register today! We’d love to see you there!

BTW – a huge thank you to our race sponsor Scheels for all they have done for the Du, and all they do for racing in our community.

If you’re interested in volunteering – we’ve got a job and t-shirt for you! Email info@flatlandseries.com to get on the list.

Remember to support Flatland Multisport Series sponsors:

Jason’s Deli

MGD 64

Action Accents/TYR

Zoom Performance

Elder Corporation

Join our Facebook page @Flatland Multisport Series

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Starting today – you can register for the four remaining races for $204! It’s not quite the 20% we originally posted – but still – a discount nonetheless.

That’s the Scheels Du (May 16), Copper Creek Tri (June 6), Big Creek Tri 30 (Aug and Spooky Cross (Halloween). Believe me – you won’t find a better deal.

To register – go to www.flatlandseries.com and select one of the remaining races (click on the logo) and then click register. When you hit the registration site just click the button for the entire series – and you’re set!

Thanks for your support of the races!

Oh yeah! Since we had such a bad turn out last time – the next 25 people to register for the entire Series will get one of those sweet Copper Creek Tri Zoot backpacks!

And, one more thing – become a fan of our Facebook page @Flatland Multisport Series. When we receive 300 fans we’ll give away a free entry to the Series!

It only took about 30 days – but we finally did it. The Flatland Multisport Series Facebook page finally hit 200 fans! Thanks for your support if you became a fan

And – if you haven’t become a fan then you missed out.

I’ll be posting the 3 winners of the $50 Gift Certificates I promised I’d give away today!

When we reach 300 fans I’ll give away a free entry to the entire Flatland Multsport Series!

Don’t forget to get registered for the races – you can by reading the post below – or visiting www.getmeregistered.com and searching for the races.

Red Flannel Run is just around the corner!

Happy New Year!

First, thank you for being a part of this crazy thing we call the Flatland Multisport Series. We really enjoy the races and hope you do to. Registration for the Flatland Multisport Series, and its races, will open January 1, 2010. We’re looking forward to 2010 and seeing you all cross those finish lines!

Registration for all Flatland Series races will be hosted by GetMeRegistered.com.

I have provided links to each race below. At each race registration page you’ll note there are no silly extra banners or ads to sift through. That’s why we chose GetMeRegistered.com. It’s just so much simpler (is that proper grammar?).

Flatland Multisport Series:

You can register for the entire Series at the registration page for Scheels DU at Jordan Creek, Copper Creek Tri or Big Creek Tri. Cost for all 5 races is $225. It’s a bargain. I might also suggest you all considering getting an annual USA Triathlon membership. When registering, you’ll note Annual USAT members receive a $10 discount off the race entry fee! If you’re going to race more than 3 times this year – it really pays off. Visit USATriathlon.org.

Combo Deals:

There are several combo packages listed on each registration page that are for two or three races with a nice discount.

The Races:

Red Flannel Run – Saturday, February 13, 2010 ** Click Here to Register **

Red Flannel Run is a great annual Des Moines race. It’s hosted by the Riverfront YMCA (downtown) and all proceeds benefit YMCA programming. There is both a 5K run and a 5 mile run. This year athletes get a great looking moisture-wicking race shirt and other great goodies.

Scheels DU at Jordan Creek – Sunday, May 16, 2010 ** Click Here to Register **

Start your tri season off on the right foot – do this “dry tri”. Scheels DU at Jordan Creek features a 2 mile run (2 – 1 mile loops) followed by an 18 mile bike followed by another 2 mile run (2 – 1 mile loops) with a .5 mile trip around the Jordan Creek Town Center Lake. It’s a great event – and thanks to Scheels it will be even cooler! We expect to fill to capacity quickly at this event!

Copper Creek Tri – Sunday, June 6, 2010 ** Click Here to Register **

The folks from Pleasant Hill are geared up for another great Copper Creek Tri. This race is a great warm up for the Hy-Vee Tri. The 750M swim is in one of the cleanest lakes in the state (visibility was over 7 feet last year) while the 20K bike covered some scenic hills and valleys and the 5K run sauntered throughout the Copper Creek Golf Course community adjacent to the park. We nearly sold out last year – make sure you don’t miss out on the great shwag this year. Last year we gave away awesome Zoot backpacks, Headsweats hats and eco friendly waterbottles. You won’t be disappointed this year!

Big Creek Tri 30 – Sunday, August 8, 2010 ** Click Here to Register **

Big Creek Tri 30, Iowa’s oldest triathlon, celebrates it’s 30^th year in 2010 – and is the USAT Midwest Region Championship Race.  It’s a 1500M swim followed by a nice out-and-back 40K bike followed by a 2-loop 10K run. It’s going to be a heck of a party – so don’t miss out!

Spooky Cross Cyclocross – Halloween 2010

If you’ve never done cyclocross you’re really missing out! Spooky Cross cyclocross is a real treat. It’s the hardest 30-45 minutes on a bike you’ll experience – but the brewski’s afterward more than make up for it. Spooky Cross is held at Living History Farms as close to Halloween as possible. Registration will open Fall 2010.

(applause, applause, applause)

Just a quick note to congratulate Chris Keenan – from Ames – who is the 2009 Wildcard Athlete of the Year.

Chris joins Jason Maurice (2009 Male Athlete of the Year) and Erin Anderson (2009 Female Athlete of the Year)!

Chris was drawn out of a pool of athletes who earned more than 75 points racing at Flatland Series races in 2009.

The entire gang receives free entry to all 2010 Flatland Races and $500 as a reward for their hard work!

We’ve set all of our dates (and pricing) for 2010…

February 13 – Red Flannel Run

May 16 – Scheels Duathlon at Jordan Creek

June 6 – Copper Creek Triathlon

August 8 – Big Creek Tri 30th Anniversary & USAT Midwest Region Championships

October – Spooky Cross

Cost: $225 for 5 races – you do the math. It’s a great deal!

Registration opens January 1, 2010.

Happy Holidays!

May 16 will be the Scheels Duathlon at Jordan Creek

June 6 will be the Copper Creek Sprint Triathlon

August 8 will be Big Creek Tri 30 – 30th Anniversary and USAT Midwest Regional Championships