Get ready to run

Matt Smith

Northwest Guardian

After Saturday’s July Triathlon reaches its end, the Fort Lewis triathlon season will have reached its midpoint, which means it’s time to sign up for the final two races.

The final leg of the Triple Threat is scheduled for Aug. 2, but unlike past years, it won’t be the final triathlon of the summer nor will it be of Olympic distance.

This year, there will be a fourth race, separate from the Triple Threat series, called the Army Olympic Triathlon on Aug. 23 that will double the distance of each leg of the shorter Triple Threat triathlons.

Triathlon organizer Minerva Hohaia said the Triple Threat triathlons serve as good warm up races for the Olympic style race.

“It’s good (preparation) for the Olympic triathlon,” Hohaia said, “(it’s good) to test themselves over the three sprint distance triathlons. A lot of times Soldiers will come on as part of a team and will then come out as an individual (in the next race).”

Hohaia also said participating in the triathlons helps Soldiers find another way to train aside from just running. “This gives them a variety of ways to get fit. They can run, swim and bike. This gives them another avenue to train,” she said. “They also get to meet other triathletes outside the military and kind of gauge themselves against them and gain knowledge from them.”

In years before, the August Triathlon served as the Olympic distance triathlon, but Hohaia said that was changed this year to give Soldiers competing in the Triple Threat series a chance to have one more shorter race to prepare for the big one.

“Before, when the Olympic triathlon was part of the Triple Threat, we weren’t getting a lot of Soldiers; it was a little intimidating,” she said. “So we thought ‘how can we get more Soldiers involved?’”

The sprint distance triathlons serve as a good starting point for those wanting to get their feet wet in triathlon competition, said Hohaia, because the distance isn’t too overwhelming.

“But you can’t just come in and do the race,” she warns, “you have to do some preparation. (However), just finishing the race, if it’s your first time, it’s a big, big thing. It’s a great thing for them to just finish.” The Olympic distance triathlon will push each athletes’ conditioning to the limit as the course will begin with a one-mile swim in American Lake off the shores of Shoreline Park. It will then move into the six-mile bike ride and finish off with a 25-mile run.

Though these types of events are put on for Soldiers, many competitors come from outside the Fort Lewis community and Hohaia sees that as only helping Fort Lewis’ image in the surrounding communities.

“I think it’s nice to allow the community to compete in our races. I think it’s good community interaction,” she said. “We’re a community ourselves, but we’re allowing the population of the surrounding communities to join in in these races and I think it’s a good thing.”

For those wanting to compete individually or in a team in the final two triathlons this season, go to the race calendar on the Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation Web site at www.fortlewismwr.com/race_calendar.htm, click on the race you’re interested in and register online. Or call 967-2604.