The Frederick News-Post Online - Frederick County Maryland Daily Newspaper
What’s it like: Grandmother of eight tackles off-road triathlon
This is one in a series of stories that goes behind the scenes to explore the unusual, memorable, quirky things people do -- and go through -- in the course of their lives.
Danielle Ranno, a 34-year-old New Market resident, nurse and mother of three, was surfing the web not too long ago and found what she thought would be a fun event for her and mother do together.
Danielle figured her husband, Paul, could watch the kids Sunday at the Rocky Gap lake beach while she and her mom, Lynne Collard, 59, tackled the XTERRA-
series off-road triathlon at the gorgeous state park in Flintstone.
Three-quarter mile open water swim, 14-mile mountain bike trek, followed by a 5-mile trail -- just a nice, girls-only, summer day kind of thing.
Collard, a grandmother of eight, beat her daughter by 20 minutes, finishing in 3:24:59.
"I passed her on the first loop on the mountain bike trail," Collard said, smiling shyly. "I told her 'Keep going.' 'Way to go.'
"She told me, 'I don't know about this sport of yours.'"
Except for chasing her four kids, Collard didn't work out regularly until she was in her 40s. But she set her goals high, completing the Marine Corps Marathon at age 45 and later completing the Columbia Triathlon. She became a personal trainer, and ultimately fell in love with mountain biking as she turned 50.
Now nearly 60, she hardly fits the stereotypical gnarly mountain biker demographic, but she rides almost every day either at Gambrill State Park, the Frederick watershed or northern Montgomery County parks.
"I'm making up for lost time," Collard joked.
Her youngest daughter, Gabrielle Dunn, 30, a planning director for Frederick city, often serves as her mountain bike partner. Collard's oldest daughter, Nicole Kunkel, is biding her athletic time as she raises five kids. Her 27-year-old son, Christian, the youngest of her children, works out but does not race.
"We're all kind of crazy," Collard said of herself and her daughters. Of her son, she said, "We'll get him to something soon."
At the Sixth Annual XTERRA EX2 Off-Road Triathlon at Rocky Gap, Collard was the oldest woman competitor by five years. With three men, she tied for oldest competitor overall -- and her times were right the mix with the guys.
She and her daughter described the course as tough, but fair.
Danielle lost a toe clip on her mountain bike, yet was able to continue despite being a relative novice to the sport. The mountain bike segment included a few "rock gardens" as they're called in the sport, as well as a challenging climb up "Evitt's Revenge," wide fire roads, smooth grassy sections and lakeside single-track.
The 5-mile trail run included rooty trails, open flats and a big stone-faced climb.
"The run was like a rock scramble," Collard said. "There was one stretch where it was like climbing over a building -- on all fours -- not a lot of running going on. It was a challenge."
"I took a spill running," Ranno said, chuckling. "What run, anyhow? I was rock climbing."
Both agreed that simply getting outdoors -- breaking the fitness center routine and testing themselves -- was the best fun.
"The gym does get a little boring," Ranno said.
"The way I look at it," Collard said, "is you can go to a gym every day, but you still need to take it outside and see what you can do. And it gives you
something to look forward to."
At the finish Sunday, Collard was greeted by her son-in-law and Danielle's three little ones, Noah, 9, Sidney, 5, and Delaney, 2.
"I figure it's good for them to see their grandmother rockin' the bike out here," Collard said. "I guess I'm not the usual grandmother sitting in the rocking chair -- although that's a good thing, too.
"They still call me 'Old Grannie' anyhow. Even when they're rootin' for me. They yell, 'Go Old Grannie.'"
What’s it like: Grandmother of eight tackles off-road triathlon
This is one in a series of stories that goes behind the scenes to explore the unusual, memorable, quirky things people do -- and go through -- in the course of their lives.
Danielle Ranno, a 34-year-old New Market resident, nurse and mother of three, was surfing the web not too long ago and found what she thought would be a fun event for her and mother do together.
Danielle figured her husband, Paul, could watch the kids Sunday at the Rocky Gap lake beach while she and her mom, Lynne Collard, 59, tackled the XTERRA-
series off-road triathlon at the gorgeous state park in Flintstone.Three-quarter mile open water swim, 14-mile mountain bike trek, followed by a 5-mile trail -- just a nice, girls-only, summer day kind of thing.
Collard, a grandmother of eight, beat her daughter by 20 minutes, finishing in 3:24:59.
"I passed her on the first loop on the mountain bike trail," Collard said, smiling shyly. "I told her 'Keep going.' 'Way to go.'
"She told me, 'I don't know about this sport of yours.'"
Except for chasing her four kids, Collard didn't work out regularly until she was in her 40s. But she set her goals high, completing the Marine Corps Marathon at age 45 and later completing the Columbia Triathlon. She became a personal trainer, and ultimately fell in love with mountain biking as she turned 50.
Now nearly 60, she hardly fits the stereotypical gnarly mountain biker demographic, but she rides almost every day either at Gambrill State Park, the Frederick watershed or northern Montgomery County parks.
"I'm making up for lost time," Collard joked.
Her youngest daughter, Gabrielle Dunn, 30, a planning director for Frederick city, often serves as her mountain bike partner. Collard's oldest daughter, Nicole Kunkel, is biding her athletic time as she raises five kids. Her 27-year-old son, Christian, the youngest of her children, works out but does not race.
"We're all kind of crazy," Collard said of herself and her daughters. Of her son, she said, "We'll get him to something soon."
At the Sixth Annual XTERRA EX2 Off-Road Triathlon at Rocky Gap, Collard was the oldest woman competitor by five years. With three men, she tied for oldest competitor overall -- and her times were right the mix with the guys.
She and her daughter described the course as tough, but fair.
Danielle lost a toe clip on her mountain bike, yet was able to continue despite being a relative novice to the sport. The mountain bike segment included a few "rock gardens" as they're called in the sport, as well as a challenging climb up "Evitt's Revenge," wide fire roads, smooth grassy sections and lakeside single-track.
The 5-mile trail run included rooty trails, open flats and a big stone-faced climb.
"The run was like a rock scramble," Collard said. "There was one stretch where it was like climbing over a building -- on all fours -- not a lot of running going on. It was a challenge."
"I took a spill running," Ranno said, chuckling. "What run, anyhow? I was rock climbing."
Both agreed that simply getting outdoors -- breaking the fitness center routine and testing themselves -- was the best fun.
"The gym does get a little boring," Ranno said.
"The way I look at it," Collard said, "is you can go to a gym every day, but you still need to take it outside and see what you can do. And it gives you
something to look forward to."At the finish Sunday, Collard was greeted by her son-in-law and Danielle's three little ones, Noah, 9, Sidney, 5, and Delaney, 2.
"I figure it's good for them to see their grandmother rockin' the bike out here," Collard said. "I guess I'm not the usual grandmother sitting in the rocking chair -- although that's a good thing, too.
"They still call me 'Old Grannie' anyhow. Even when they're rootin' for me. They yell, 'Go Old Grannie.'"
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