May 06, 2008 12:04 am Dan Guttenplan It's not every day two Newburyport men move a local sporting event to Amesbury because the rival town makes for a better host site. But credit Newburyport's Robert Connery and Andy Hawkes for doing the right thing. Amesbury will host its second consecutive Powow Triathlon July 12. This year's host location confirms a permanent change for a race that originated in Newburyport in 2005 and moved to Amesbury last summer due to construction at the original starting point, the Cashman Park boat ramp. Officially, the race will stay in Amesbury because the Cashman Park starting point is no longer an option, according Connery and Hawkes, the race co-directors. Unofficially, Amesbury simply offers a better atmosphere for a triathlon. "It wasn't a matter of choosing one town over the other," Connery said yesterday. "We had to decide where it works best. Newburyport has a very full plate with Yankee Homecoming and all of the other races. Amesbury was gracious enough to work with us." It's a perfect fit for Amesbury. First, the city can offer a far better swimming leg than Newburyport. Instead of swimming a half mile in the Merrimack River, triathletes log that distance in Lake Gardner. According to triathlete trainer Heidi Thompson, who owns Heat fitness company in Amesbury, the difference in water temperatures is significant in July. She estimated Lake Gardner is roughly 70 degrees Fahrenheit as opposed to 60 in the Merrimack River. "And the fog can be brutal for swimmers in the Merrimack River," Thompson said. "It's the difference between wearing a full-length wetsuit in Newburyport to wearing a standard tri-suit in Amesbury." Pair that advantage with Lake Gardner's family-friendly atmosphere, and the move was a no-brainer for Connery and Hawkes. During the first two years, the Newburyport race saw spectators spread along Merrimack Street as swimmers got lost in the fog. In Amesbury, spectators lined sandy shores of Lake Gardner and never lost sight of the competitors. "The tides played a huge role in Newburyport," Thompson said. "The second year, the tides made the water very choppy. Last year in Amesbury, we had kids playing on the beach and athletes raving about the fan-friendly atmosphere." Consider the move a huge plus for Amesbury, which doesn't host a multitude of road races and sporting events outside of the high school realm. Newburyport has Yankee Homecoming, the Hangover Classic, the Turkey Trot, Trav's Trail Race and many other road races. The closest thing Amesbury has to a road race is the Pat Polletta Classic, which is named after a former Amesbury High coach, but is actually run in Salisbury. In a show of how much the race meant to his town last year, Amesbury Mayor Thatcher Kezer stood at the finish line and urged athletes to spend the day in Amesbury and explore the sites. Male winner Dean Phillips of Wenham planned to do just that as he celebrated in the sand with his wife and three children. Kudos to two Newburyport men for allowing the people of Amesbury to recreate that scene this July. Dan Guttenplan is the sports editor of The Daily News. E-mail him at dguttenplan@newburyportnews.com.
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Photos
Ethan Saulner of Salem, Mass., emerges from Lake Gardner during the first leg of the third annual Powow Triathlon last year. Race co-directors Robert Connery and Andy Hawkes realized the lake's shoreline serves as a perfect vantage point for the spectators and will again hold the event in Amesbury this July. Staff photo