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Contents
Tri-umphs
By
Jim Starr
Spring, the season of roseate renewal.
All things are possible. With the bright promise of spring, we try new
things.
In our hearts, it seems that we want to mimic the clocks of that first Saturday
in April: We strive to leap forward. Many of
my friends and associates in the triathlon world have made such promising leaps.
We temper our optimism with
the
knowledge that this is not always the case. That superb multisport champion Judy
Flannery was killed on her training
ride scant years ago at this time of year. More recently, my brother-in-law
passed from among us within days of
spring’s dawning.
Locally,
many good things have happened already in the world of triathlon and duathlon.
Such occurrences reflect our cycle of hope.
As
one example, two of our local “golden girls” continue their upward spiral.
Desiree Ficker (24) of Potomac, who has only been in
triathlon a few years, started a nine-month stint at the Olympic Training Center
(OTC) in Colorado Springs in early March. Meanwhile,
pro Marjan Huizing (33) of Rockville in her first duathlon of the season has
already qualified for the duathlon long-course world
championships in her native land, Holland, in September.
Ficker,
a national-class competitor from her earliest forays into the sport in 1999, is
the only female triathlete selected for training
at the OTC this year. USA Triathlon Deputy Director and Olympic team manager Tim
Yount shepherded her through the application
process. Yount is a frequent visitor to the area as he guides junior team
members through their championship event often held at
the Columbia Triathlon in Howard County. He and the Olympic team coach are
treating Ficker as this area’s heir-apparent to
Baltimore’s Joanna Zeiger, the top American triathlete at the 2000 Olympic
Games in Sydney. Ficker has agreed to update WRR
regularly on her progress at the OTC.
Meanwhile,
Huizing led a slew of regional duathletes to the season-opening Powerman
Duathlon in Irondale, AL. As we jogged
together at the track a few days ago, Huizing observed, “I don’t really want
to go back to Holland unless I can do well there.” She
realizes the competition will be stiff from the likes of France’s Pitel Edwige
who ed(wi)ged Marjan by nearly five minutes in Alabama.
Huizing may not be factoring her injured medial collateral ligament
into her thinking. Despite the injury she managed a quite credible
38:33, good enough for third place, in the initial 10K run at Powerwoman
Alabama. She also had the third-fastest 60K (37.28 mile)
bike split before easing off on the final 5K (3.11 mile) run when she realized
she couldn’t improve on her third-place finish. Huizing
is testing her skill at Powerman Tennessee as we go to press. Her overall
2:49:40 finish time in Alabama made her a top regional
hope for the long-course championship in Holland along with male second-place
finisher Greg Watson (34) from Newark, DE (2:27:07).
Local
Age-Groupers Distinguish Themselves at Powerman Alabama
Huizing
wasn’t the only local athlete to do well in Irondale. Some 450 athletes braved
temperatures in the 30s to finish Powerman Alabama.
DC’s Chuck Harney (39) finished 87th overall and was in the top
third (22nd of 68) in the highly competitive 35-39 age group with a
solid
3:02:44 effort despite a four-minute time penalty. Germantown’s Michele
McGleish (35) matched the effort, finishing tenth of thirty women
in the same age group in 3:26:40. She was followed home by Arlington’s Shepi
Farrar (37) one minute and four seconds (and four
age-group places) later.
Top
performances were also turned in among the 45-49 year-olds. James Dalton (48) of
Salem, VA finished eighth (68th
overall)
in 2:58:13 besting a pair of 45 year-olds, Catonsville’s Lee Wilk (14th
in 3:05:43) and Dan Strode of Springfield, VA (17th in
3:08:56).
Strode’s wife Rebecca (46) won the same age group for the women with a 3:13:30
clocking.
Another
pair of DC racers did well in their age groups as well. Julie Laudenslager (28)
finished eleventh (3:36:35) and Barry Holman (34)
was 26th with a time of 3:06:57. Veteran multisporter John Faith (52)
of Arlington was seventh in his age group, turning in a strong 3:21:51.
Husband
and wife team Bob and Sue Neurath, who left Germantown, MD in September after
Sue earned her doctorate, also did well.
Now running out of Tucker, GA, Sue (42) parlayed the fourth-best bike split
among the amateurs into an age-group second place and
a 3:10:42 clocking. Bob (41), now in a graduate program himself, was about
five-and-one-half minutes behind Sue (in 3:16:16) and
earned 31st in his age group.
RD
Peter Beveridge and his cohort of about 140 volunteers staved off threats of
rain and an extra-early start due to the onset of daylight
savings time to put on a successful initial Bethesda Triathlon and Biathlon
(sic). The laid back event featured untimed transitions, bikers
who did just some of the three-loop course and the RD at the finish line to
high-five many of the competitors who completed the loosely
measured course. The races had both a serious side and a fun side. The relaxed
atmosphere provided the fun and at the same time
allowed those who wanted to compete the latitude to do so. On the more serious
side, the races raised thousands of dollars to be shared
by Cure Autism Now and Youth Services at the Bethesda Y.
The
success of the event was all the more remarkable because it was only conceived
in October of last year. The first organizational
meeting did not take place until November 2000. It was organized by Peter’s
family and friends whose efforts were solidified by their love
for Westin (6), Peter and wife Karen’s son, and their concern for other
autistic children. Peter’s brothers Michael and Roy were in charge
of the run and swim venues, respectively. Michael also helped mother, Margaret,
who served as Treasurer, on registration of athletes, who
were encouraged to raise funds. Friends Kevin Krueger and Scott Cheney were in
charge of the bike venue and volunteers, respectively,
while Kevin’s wife was charged with seeking corporate donations. Peter credits
his wife Karen with structuring the details of his big picture
of the event. Peter was inspired by the outcome and will do it again—and even
better—next year.
The
triathlon filled (at a limit of 225) before the end of February. They had to
turn away another 30-40 applicants.
The duathlon drew more
than 50 competitors. Of the 184 triathletes who showed up and completed the
race, Christopher Cannavaro (30) won with a time of 53:45.
The second place finisher was Bethesda’s veteran multisporter Paula Pels (33)
who was exactly one minute behind. Brian McDonough (28)
finished third in 56:20, while Paula’s husband Jon Pels was the third male
(fourth overall) in 56:58. Molly Nalls (37) was the second-place
woman (13th overall) with a 1:01:00 clocking. Ana Costa’s time of
1:01:39 was good for 16th place overall and earned the 24 year-old from
Silver Spring honors as the third place woman. The reduced field of 42 finishers
in the duathlon led to a win for
Mark Spottiswood (30) in
1:02:46 and Mary Rzeszut (23) of Germantown with a time of 1:17:45.
This column is a personal labor of love for me. Triathlon has improved my life in countless ways. My proudest achievement is that my activities have inspired both family members and friends to begin to exercise in some of the component disciplines of triathlon. Even my wife, the Bean, began to run a couple of years ago. Following the murder of Sue Stottmeister and the pursuant safety discussions and meetings, we decided to get a dog to run with. Last week we brought home Dibley, aka Dipstick. He is a standard poodle. He runs and—good news for a triathlete—he also swims. I intend to modify my old tri bike so that he can reach the pedals. He should be competition-ready by June.
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