25th Colchester Triathlon

I am sure that everyone made note of this weekend's significant event in sports history: it was the 25th running of the Colchester Triathlon.
I have lost count of how many Colchesters I have run. I did not participate during the event's inaugural year (I had never heard of a triathlon at that point), but I was there for the 2nd year as a 13-year-old ironman (that's what we called people who did the entire half-mile swim, 12.6-mile bike, and 3.5-mile run). I crashed my bike at Mile 1 that year, got up, and finished, covered in blood. With a first experience like that, it's surprising that I returned the following year.

But I did, and I'm thinking that I have run about 16 Colchesters. Some years I trained more than others (and some I didn't train at all). One year I participated on a team. One year, my gear bag got caught in my bike spokes (a bike on loan from Leigh Mallory) and I crashed on the way to the start. I got up from that crash too, but my helmet was cracked and the bike broke, so I never raced. I did, however, do the entire course later that day with a very sore shoulder and a wicked headache. Most years, however, things went -- thankfully -- uneventfully, like Sunday: a fast swim, a solid bike, and a quick 5K to finish feeling good with a respectable time.

I saw some familiar faces Sunday: Leighmo, as always, directing the whole event, Anita Dayvies, serving as head timer for the 25th year, Dave Bahrenburg, heckling runners -- I mean, doing the announcing -- Diane B. timing, Mr. Pecor all over the course doing everything, and, of course, Kathy Baumann, Amy Baumann, and Judy Robinson running the refreshment table as they have every year of the 25 year-old event.

Another face that is becoming familiar to the Colchester crowd is Alison Aiken, who returned for this 25th anniversary year after putting in some serious training in the off-season, particlularly in the water. I was worried that the heat and a little chop in the lake could conspire against her, but no. She kicked booty! No "leisurely finish" this year, was there Dave?

 

Sunday's Colchester Triathlon was every bit as exciting as ever. It's a great community event, run by the best organizers ever. Can't wait to do it again next year!