Water Temp: Monday Oct 17 : 79 Degrees!

http://www.sommersports.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1116

Edited by TriComet 2005-10-17 12:52 PM

I figured as much!

You guys realize, of course, that there's a hurricane headed into the Gulf.

*doesn't look like it will affect Clermont*

That being said...if I don't finish I'll have a damn good excuse.

No racing for me.  I avoid swimming like the plague and I've had a few injuries that have slowed down any running.  Maybe next year :-) 

That being said, I'll be out there cheering you all on.  Throw a cooler of beer in the back of the truck and make it a day.

Thanks Brett! A little rain during the run would be great!

Peter - aka # 1412

October 19, 2005

This has to be just a bad dream

That's what I thought when I woke up this morning. When I went to bed last night the weather was certainly on my mind. The giant Great Floridian machine had been running for the past week and was moving full speed ahead, The bike racks are up, fencing pulled tight, the changing bag holders in alignment and everything is running ahead of schedule for this weekend's big dance.

As I was laying in bed half asleep I heard something about Wilma being the most powerful hurricane ever. I thought my mind was just playing games with me. When I fell asleep she was barely a category one storm. As I drifted in and out of sleep I heard it again. I quickly jumped out of bed and turned on the weather channel and went online to check-out the weather sites. I could not believe what I was seeing, Wilma was a cat 5 storm with the lowest recorded pressure ever!!! What is up with that? This has been a challenging year for us, especially following last year's crazy hurricane season. We have had our share of weather issues this year as well, but in late October the odds of a major storm hitting Central Florida are almost nil.

It is only appropriate that if a storm was going to play with my mind it would be named Wilma. Growing up with a name like Fred, especially in the "Flinstones era", I was used to comments like "where's Wilma" and being called "Freddy Flinstone" by my childhood friends.

Wilma was certainly on my mind yesterday. After a few weeks without any storms, the media was in hurricane hype withdrawal. Once Wilma was named, the media's weather hype machines cranked up to top speed. As a result the emails and phone calls started pouring in. You cannot blame the athletes, many are already in transit to Clermont with the biggest travel push taking place on Thursday. When you are traveling half way around the world or across the country to race in the shadows of a powerful hurricane, you have to be concerned.

Unfortunately there is not much we can tell everyone except to stay tuned to our website for the latest up to the minute information. The absolute last thing I want to do is cancel the race. This is our 15th birthday party for the GFT and we have been working hard to make certain it is the best race ever.

The trouble with hurricane forecasting is that the forecast storm paths are not very reliable a few days out. It will be a tough day for us because we will have to spend a great deal of time on contingency planning and dealing with tons of calls and emails related to the weather. This is time and energy that was already allocated to other aspects of the race. Unfortunately all we can tell everyone is to stay tuned to our website for details. No decisions will be made today (Wednesday). For right now the race is on as planned and I'm looking forward to greeting the athletes at tonight's Welcome Reception.

If the storm heads our way, we'll notify everyone of our plans on Thursday afternoon. We have a meeting already scheduled with our emergency services team and local police. Whatever decision we make will most likely be made at that meeting.

Stay tuned...

From the GFT website:

Hurricane Wilma's Impact on the GFT

10/19/2005 -

We are constantly monitoring hurricane Wilma as she prepares to enter the Gulf of Mexico. The safety of the athletes, volunteers and staff are our highest prriority on race weekend and that will play strongly in any decision we make. We have a meeting planned for Thursday afternoon with our emergency services team and various law enforcement agencies. Following that meeting we will have a plan of action for the weekend. Please monitor the Great Floridian website for updates.

Based on my current observations of the proposed track of Hurricane Wilma, it is highly unlikely Wilma would cause the GFT to be canceled. The most likely scenario would be that the FULL GFT course would be shortened slightly to get all the athletes off the course before late night. Please visit the Great Floridian website often for updates.

C'mon ya'll!!  We'll have a little race, a little hurricane party, it's ALL good!!

Edited by G8RSAX 2005-10-19 2:39 PM

Can't wait to meet you all and watch from the sidelines!

Jessica

Another challenging turn of events for Fred...3 races this year in Fl they've been dealing with TS/Hurricanes.

Anyway... I'm packed, I'm pumped, let's get it on!

BUZZ OFF WILMA!

Looks like it's a go!!   WOO HOO!!  Can't wait to see ya'll there!!

Great Floridian on as planned!

10/20/2005 -

Based on the current weather models, the Great Floridian is on as planned, and at the published distances!!! The only catch is that if for whatever reason the storm does something crazy and South Florida is told to evacuate, we may have to make changes. That call will be made at 5:30pm on Friday, following a emergency services briefing by the Governor. We will also have a couple of minor course changes within the City of Clermont on the bike. A special thanks goes out to all the city and county officials for allowing us to proceed ahead. Please remember that the safety of everyone is my top priority and we maintain the right to make course changes at the last minute if conditions merit.

Went out to Clermont for a while to cheer.  Decent weather here today so hopefully everyone is hanging tough.  I didn't have too much time to spend so no real updates.  Can't wait to read the race reports.