Western Carolina University Sprint
March 15, 2003
by Steve Petuski
As you know, the weather was not very cooperative this past
weekend. I kept watching the weather channel looking for a new, hopeful
forecast for Saturday morning, but it never changed. The big debate
was deciding what to wear for the race since it was 40-45 degrees and a
light rain. It was a "backwards" triathlon, with the swimming last, so it
made the decision a little more complicated.
The distance of this triathlon was very short - the run was a
little less than a 5K, the bike was only about 8 miles, and the swim
was only 150 yards! Hope and I came into T1 at just about the same
time with a time around 20:25 on the run. The bike portion was short, but
had one long gradual hill and two short hills (and one fun downhill!).
My time was around 23:00. I am not sure what Hope's split is.
However, her rear derailleur had a problem and she could only shift her big
rings. How about that - Hope won, even though she couldn't shift!
The swim at the end was harder than expected. I figured that my upper
body would be pretty fresh and I could just pull the 150. All I can say is
that I am glad it wasn't a 500, or longer.
Hope Concannon was the overall female winner (time – 51:19)
and I was the overall male winner (time – 45:31).
The win last weekend was a complete surprise. Looking at last
years results, I knew it was a small race and I had my hopes set
high, but was only looking at a top three or top five finish. Now, it is
nice to know that two new triathletes from Asheville walked away with the
top awards.
- Steve Petuski
- Steve Petuski