Tri-umphs - Nickles Family

Tri-umphs

By Jim Starr

Winter started out so decently. Then came the snow, ice and cold. It's hard to believe that we still have things to write about from the 1999 season in March. However, in testimony to the robust health of multisport racing in the mid-Atlantic region, we do and we will in the next column as well. The Triathlantic Triathlon Club, a most consistent and prolific multisport race promoter in this area for over a dozen years, ended its 1999 season in December and crowned series winners in both the duathlon and the mountain-bike duathlon events. They have also set an ambitious agenda of contests for the 2000 season that features triathlon, on- and off-road duathlons and even adventure racing.

The Ultraman World Triathlon Championship

Congratulations are decidedly in order for three members of the Nickles family from Northern Virginia. Last Thanksgiving weekend, while the rest of us would have gladly swapped our Turkey Trots and Chases for an idyllic Hawaiian weekend, the Nickleses were actually in Hawaii—but few would describe their weekend as idyllic. The Nickles family may have been proving that the family that vies together ultimately tris together—with a vengeance. Father Peter (61) and sons John (35) and Philip (34) were busy trying to circumnavigate the big island (Hawaii) by swimming, biking, and running a total of 320 miles (515K) within a two and one-half to three day period (12 hour race limit per day) as part of the Ultraman World Triathlon Championship.

The event chooses less than 40 participants from among applicants who generally have solid endurance racing credentials. As a family, the Nickleses certainly qualify. John, a writer and ten-time Hawaii Ironman finisher, has competed in this event on three previous occasions. As a family, the three plus a friend completed the famed Race Across America in the early 1990s. Dad (Peter) has run over 30 marathons, including the Boston Marathon in every decade starting in the 1960s. He has also raced in the Eagleman Half-Ironman locally as well as the Hawaii Ironman. The younger son, Philip, has completed a number of international distance triathlons, a half-Ironman and several marathons and bicycle centuries. Philip and his dad, both attorneys living in Great Falls, VA and working in DC, had crewed for John in his three earlier Hawaii Ultraman races. (The race does not have aid stations per se but each competitor is allowed to have a support crew.)

The race starts with a 10K swim southward along the west coast of the island. A 90-mile (145K) bike course loops the bottom of the island and starts the competitors up the east coast to end their first day. The second day features an arduous 171.4 mile (276K) ride that meanders northward, ultimately heading west again and ending near the northwestern-most tip of the island. The final day features a double marathon run (52.4 miles, 84K) that heads back southward toward the swim venue, ending in fabled Hawi.

John, from Arlington, started the race as owner of the swim record for the course based on his performance in 1996. He smashed that record by over five minutes and never looked back. He continued his domination on the bike, taking first place cycling honors both days, and won handily (by over half-an-hour 22:46:07) despite his fifth-place double-marathon finish. His time was the fifth-fastest ever recorded in the race. Brother Philip had the 14^th-best swim and continued a steady race to finish 23^rd in 31:12:07—a remarkable performance for someone who had never done a multisport race longer than a half-Ironman before.

After a 21^st-best swim on Day 1, Dad did not fare so well. Approximately the last 25 miles of the second day's ride involves a tough fifteen-mile climb followed by a ten-mile descent to the finish. Always subject to crosswinds, the ride caught Peter in a squall with driving rains and wind gusts that blew him off his bike. He suffered abrasions, a bruised pelvis, and broken glasses. He remounted and continued to the bike finish and visited the hospital that night, determined to finish if he could. He gamely started the run the following morning but, after about thirteen miles, he realized that his aching muscles were not going to loosen up as he had hoped. He did not finish the run. All three of the Nickleses turned in credible and inspirational races.

Nostalgia waxed as about 300 participants contested the 10^th Annual (and last planned) Columbia Biathlon (sic) held at the Gateway Industrial Park in Columbia, MD on December 12, 1999. Although only two seconds separated the top three male finishers after the first run, the 2.2 mile run, 12.75 bike, 2.3 mile run affair was won by Springfield, VA's Pierre Martel (27) who legged out the run to take Baltimore's hard-charging Kevin McGreevey (26) by less than 100 yards. McGreevey's 58:21 clocking was only seven seconds behind Martel's 58:14. Arlington's Anthony Baker (29), who had stayed with McGreevey step-for-step and stroke-for-stroke until the start of the second run, wilted, finishing third in 59:01. The next five places went to masters runners as Steve Ruckert (50) parlayed a very competitive first run into a 1:00:05 finish for fourth place. He was followed by Michael McGraw (41) of Waldorf, who dusted the bike field with his average speed of 26.5 mph for a 1:00:44 time. Newark, DE's Steve Tague (40) rounded out the top masters field in 1:01:02. Bowie's Bob Phillips (63) took senior honors in 1:24:06. Mike Anderson (67) of Flushing, MI was second in 1:26:17. DC's John Hunting (68) was the third senior in 1:32:23. Always a good race for beginners, this Columbia Du included new runner Glenn Martin. Kudos to the veteran cyclist (and erstwhile Potomac Pedaler ride leader) who finished 138^th—exactly mid-pack in 1:18:37.

The women's race was dominated by Lancaster, PA's Brenda Pennell (24), who won by nearly six minutes (1:01:43) over second-place Christine Kelley (38) who finished in 1:07:27. Pennell earned eleventh place overall. Third place went to the first masters woman (59^th overall), Susan Baehre (41) of Springfield, VA, who ran down Laura Janke (28) of Eatontown, NJ to edge the younger woman by a scant eight seconds with her 1:09:46 clocking. Columbia's Judi Carbary (49) and Timonium, MD's Kim Carney (40) rounded out the top masters women in 90^th and 94^th places overall with respective (and quite respectable) times of 1:13:25 and 1:13:50. Carney edged Roseann Dougherty (40), in 95^th place, by eight seconds. Perennial top performer Anne Viviani (50) of Arlington dominated her new group of senior women with a time of 1:15:12. In 108^th place overall she was nearly 100 places ahead of the second senior, Reston, VA's Sam Robey in 1:28:36. Robey bested Columbia's Sue Watson, who was clocked in 1:30:51.

The 1999 Triathlantic Association series winners will be featured in our next column . . .Tri-umphs will also salute the locals who were named All-Americans by Inside Triathlon. The mid-Atlantic region should be proud of the fact that over fifteen percent of the triathletes and duathletes chosen as All-Americans came from our area. These multisporters can come from anywhere in the US, Canada or Mexico . . . Locals have also won awards from USA Triathlon, the national governing board of the sport.