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Putting their undefeated streak at risk the Kenosha
Drivers Club traveled to Burlington with only two
members of their legendary triathlon team. Missing
team member Jim Strouf let the team down once again by
accepting overtime and refusing to even search for a
short trade for the morning. Thus proving that the
all mighty buck rules our American sub-culture.
Strouf normally would take part in the run portion of
the triathlon anchoring the event. When asked why
he didn't try to get a trade he said, "Forget you guys,
I don't even like running. Besides I'm tired of
riding on Chris and Brian's coattails. Maybe
someday I'll be good enough at something to win on my
own." Without Jim, Chris or Brian would have to do two
of the events. After a lengthy discussion team
trainer Dan Allemand made the call. "It didn't
really matter if Jim was there or not. He was
never really that good. I decided to have Chris do
the swim and the run. With Rumme doing the bike on
the second leg Chris would get a rest in between his
events." said Allemand.
Hannes led off with the 400 yard swim with a time of
5:54 tagging off to Rumme for the 7 mile bike. The
bike has traditionally been the strongest event for this
undefeated team, and Saturday was no exception.
Rumme completed the bike in 11:54. "That guy from
the Drivers Club rode that stationary bike so fast I
thought it was going to burn up." said Stacy, one of the
event timers. With a comfortable lead going into
the run Hannes turned in a respectable 12:47 two mile
run to lock up the championship. "That run was
better than anything Jim ever did, and with me being so
fast on the bike I didn't give him much of a rest."
Said Rumme.
Without the help of several teammates and fellow
firefighters the team would not even have made the
event. The check in time was 7:30 AM, and the
teams shift did not end until 7:15. "It took
several trades and some juggling of schedules to make it
all work. This team owes a great deal of gratitude
to myself, of course, and also Steve Ledding, and Keith
Aulds. It was because of myself and those two
other guys that the streak is still going." said
Allemand. Aulds had the same take on the
situation. "I do think those guys should put my
name on their medal. If it weren't for me the
streak might be over. Now I know how those guys
playing with DiMaggio felt." When asked how he
felt about Strouf backing out Aulds replied, "Who hasn't
been let down by Jim.? Seriously, the only sure
things in life are death, taxes, and being let down by
Jim Strouf."
Although Allemand was happy with the results, he was
only cautiously optimistic for the rest of the season.
"This was alright for the first triathlon of the season,
but if these guys don't watch out this amazing streak
could end. There is already talk of a team being formed
specifically to take us down at the YMCA triathlon in
June."
Next up for the team is the Parkside Triathlon in
April. |
