Triathlete tales
By Chris Burke
A hearty group of 550 racers turned out for the fourth annual Culpeper Sprint triathlon last Sunday. Held at Mountain Run Park, the race once again brought in competitors from all over — Virginia, Maryland, D.C., North Carolina, New York, Delaware, Ohio and even Washington.
In addition to the location diversity, racers ranged in age from the young (Elijah Shaw, Kevin Baldwin, Will Figg and Michelle Rowell, all 13, completed to the race) to the young-at-heart (70-year-old Ray Gilbrate and 75-year-old Gene White finished in 336th and 248th place, respectively).
As mid-morning temperatures climbed in the 90s, the competitors put on an exciting display for the vocal crowd in attendance. The Culpeper Times takes a look at how five racers fared on the day.
The overall winner
Tom Jeffery, 35 years old, Richmond, VA.
If there was a favorite heading into Saturday's Culpeper Sprint, it likely was Tom Jeffery. The 35-year-old finished 19th at the 2000 U.S. Olympic team marathon trials, and in 2005 was the U.S. Pro National Champion in the long distance duathlon.
Jeffrey is, in fact, a professional duathlete, so he knew that the 15-mile bike ride and 5K run would be no problem.
That 750-meter swim, though...
"It wasn't as bad as what I thought it was going to be, I kind of made it out in my mind to be worse than it was," said Jeffrey after capturing the overall Sprint title in one hour, 11 minutes and 50 seconds. "I just tried to stay in the middle of everyone."
He did just that, posting the 20th-best time in the Mountain Run Lake water. A strong bike outing pushed him into a commanding lead, and he brought it home with a blazing 16 minute, 41 second 5K.
When it was over, Jeffrey — barely breathing hard — soaked in the victory.
"This was my first real triathlon," he said. "It's kind of a trial run to see what it's all about and where I am, so I'm pleased."
Jeffrey is hoping to add triathlons to his schedule more frequently, since duathlons can be hard to find. To be fair, though, Jeffrey has competed in a triathlon before.
Way back in 1989, he participated in the three-pronged event as a high schooler. And after a 19-year hiatus, he appeared no worse for the wear.
The women's winner
Julie Rechel, 20, University of Richmond
You would think that succeeding at a sprint triathlon — especially one that begins at 7:30 a.m., like Sunday's contest did — would require a good night's rest.
Not for Columbus, Oh. native and current Richmond Spider Julie Rechel, at least not this time.
"My friend and I camped out last night," Rechel said, laughing. "I usually stay in a nice hotel the night before a race, but I slept in a tent.
"I got like four hours of sleep."
Regardless, the strategy paid off. Rechel made her way from the Cedar Mountain campgrounds to the race on Sunday morning. She then proceeded to capture the women's field crown, finishing in 1:21:38.
"I did the Charlottesville Triathlon last week – I've never raced two weekends in a row," Rechel said. "I was a little bit worried coming in."
Rechel, who competes for Richmond's cross country team, topped runner-up Monica Robbers of Arlington by two-plus minutes. The 20-year-old is an experienced triathlete: Rechel was a Junior Elite Triathlon All-American in high school and still enters competitions regularly.
"I stayed at Richmond to do biology research this summer, so I wasn't able to get in as many races," Rechel said.
She plans to try and squeeze another event or two in before school starts up again, but will probably nix the great outdoors adventures.
"I'm thinking I'll just splurge for the hotel in the future," she said. "It's a good investment."
The local star
Steven Reynolds, 17, CCHS
The majority of the entrants to the Culpeper Sprint probably took Sunday — and possibly Monday, Tuesday, and beyond — to recuperate. Not CCHS rising senior Steven Reynolds, though. With the high school cross country season already underway, Reynolds would be right back at it within 24 hours.
"I'm not really looking forward to practice tomorrow," he said.
Competing in his first triathlon, Reynolds placed 67th on the men's side, finishing in 1:31:30. That mark included a 15 minute, four-second turn through the 750-meter swim portion of the race — where Reynolds was just hoping to stay afloat.
"I haven't really been training at all," he said. "Wednesday at cross-country camp, I did 350 meters in a 50-meter pool, and that was the most I've done.
"A couple of times I was going the wrong way, I was so focused on going straight and I ended up in the middle of nowhere," Reynolds added. "I felt it alright, but it wasn't my worst nightmare of me having to tread water for like 10 minutes, trying to survive."
Not surprisingly, Reynolds posted one of the day's best 5K times. He pushed through the race's final leg in 19 minutes, 13 seconds.
"When I saw 1:31 (overall), I was quite happy," Reynolds said. "I wanted to get under 1:30, but that would've required too fast of a 5K for me right now."
The rookie
James Nichols, 31, New York
Technically, that location should read Arlington, VA. Even though, officially, Nichols was entered in the race as a New York resident, he has since relocated to the Virginia suburb.
The new-found close proximity to Culpeper gave him an opportunity to compete in a triathlon for the first time on Sunday.
Nichols finished 144th in a time of 1:39:20 — but was more concerned with reaching the end that placing well.
"I just wanted to finish," Nichols said. "Just wanted to finish."
He did so with a smile and a few heavy breaths of relief.
"I'm feeling a little tired," Nichols admitted.
As with many in the 550-person field, Nichols found the bike portion to be the trickiest. The Culpeper Sprint's 15-mile bike course — which wound up and around Mountain Run Lake Road — featured plenty of hills and challenging turns.
"Some girl wiped out about 100 yards in; It didn't feel good I'm sure," Nichols said. "My (butt) is going to be a little sore, that was the hardest part, that bike ride."
The veteran
Sharon Wake, 53, Richmond, VA.
Apparently, triathlon ability is in the water in Richmond. And it stays in the blood for a while. 53-year-old Sharon Wake bolted across the finish line on Sunday, a grin on her face as the event's public address announcer called out her age to the crowd.
"That's OK, it makes me feel good that I can do this at my age," Wake said.
Wake is a frequent competitor in the Virginia Triathlon series — of which Sunday's race was the 13th event in 2008 — but this was her first trip to Culpeper.
"This was a beautiful venue for the race, and I love the hills on the bike," she said. "And the sweet thing about the run is that you're in the shade about half the way. I like that, too."
She also enjoyed taking down some of the youngsters. Wake finished second in the 50-54 age group (behind 50-year-old Debi Bernardes of King George), and 17th overall.
"This is the best I've felt over the past three sprints I've done," said Wake, who competes about 10 times per year in the Virginia Series. "To come in with the young people, I love it."