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.

The First Bethesda Triathlon

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.

Tri Dogs

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.