A former newspaper reporter who has lived in Franklin for nearly 40 years, Marjorie is active in several Franklin and Hales Corners organizations.
On Sunday I attended my first triathlon. It was held in Pewaukee and attracted over 1,500 athletes and at least that many non-competitors who came along to cheer the others on. I was there with my husband and son to support family friend Nancy Gritt, a high school teacher and coach from Green Bay.
It was a perfect day for the competition – sunny and not too warm. Before the race began, each competitor came to the “Body Marking” area to have their assigned numbers written on their arms and legs for easy identification. They also wore ankle bracelets which held microchips to record their time down to the last nano-second. Try to imagine 1,500 adults in swimsuits (and an occasional wetsuit) waiting for their turn to take the initial plunge of this three-part timed competition.
Spectators crowded around the starting area on the beach at Pewaukee Lake but eventually followed orders to move back and make room for the athletes. A little later they were asked to move again, so as not to block the path of emerging swimmers making the transition to their bicycles. Dogs on leashes, babies in strollers – everyone was well behaved and good-natured; the enthusiasm was contagious.
I caught sight of one well-known face among the competitors. Charles Benson of Channel 4 News Team was there to raise money for the MACC Fund. He completed the triathlon in one hour 25 minutes 30 seconds, just a minute behind his teammate, Courtny Gerrish. (See the team’s report at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19781549)
At 6:30 a.m. when the first wave of athletes plunged into Pewaukee Lake for the quarter-mile swim, most spectators wore sweatshirts or light jackets, though we had heard that the water temperature was warmer than the air. There were more than 30 waves of athletes sent out, one after the other, with about 50 competitors in each. Nancy was in the second wave, having earned some status from previous competitions. Meanwhile, volunteers prodded the onlookers off the road which would soon be filled with bikers. Like the first amphibians who emerged from the seas to explore the dry land, these swimmers hurled themselves out of the water, racing to the transition area where each bike had its designated slot to avoid confusion and delay that would necessarily result from an unfocused athlete scratching his head and wondering, “Now where did I leave my Trek?” Hurling themselves onto their bikes, the contestants began pedaling at high speed for 15 miles around Pewaukee Lake.
Our son Matt had been assigned to count the number of bicycling women who reached the point where we stood, so when Nancy sped past he hollered out, “Number 12”. As far as we could tell, she was still Number 12 as she sped past us on foot about an hour later, but a couple of the women who started in later waves (and came in after Matt finished counting) completed the triathlon in less time. Nancy finished 15 in a field of 556 women. Her time – better than last year, she said – was one hour, 16 minutes and 59 seconds. Those microchips are amazing: Nancy’s microchip broke down her times swimming (7 minutes, 47 seconds) biking (44:53) and running (22:13); she lost over two minutes in transition time.
Obviously, with so many competitors, an individual’s goal is not necessarily to “beat” the others, though more than one runner reported that the sound of someone gaining from behind brought an extra adrenaline rush near the finish line. Most of those I saw zipping past me on their bikes or on foot glanced down now and then at the black-banded stop watches on their wrists. They were measuring themselves against previous sprints and the day’s goal. The first triathlete to cross the finish line in the city park completed all three segments in just over an hour. The last one completed the endurance trial in 3 hours 20 minutes. Some of the competitors dropped out along the way from fatigue, injury or other problems.
Anyone who cared enough to get up before the crack of dawn and put himself (or herself) through the vigorous endurance feat deserves fanfare and praise at the end – even those 50-some athletes who didn’t finish the race. I found myself cheering especially loud and long as a woman older than myself neared the finish line. Later I checked the webpage where results were published and learned she was Agnes Reinhard of West Allis, 81years old. She was first (and only woman) in her age group, and she left 16 other women trailing behind her. It took her 2 hours and 11 minutes to finish, but hey! she finished and I hope there were friends and family members there to cheer and applaud her at the finish line.
Since this blog is featured on the online NOW site in Franklin and Hales Corners, I looked through the list of contestants and found four Franklin women who placed among the top 200: Ann Mennell, Jen Kwieunski, Stacy Olson and Elesha Soldan. Congratulations, Franklinites!
