There I was tooling along Rt. 29 toward the Beltway as I had a dozen times before, surrounded by other triathletes returning from one of the region's premiere events, the Columbia Triathlon. This one was different, however. I was returning not from Columbia, but from the Make-A-Wish (MAW) Children's Triathlon held at the same time at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Swim Center and Park in the White Oak section of Silver Spring. I had just served as Race Director (RD) for that race for the first time. It had been a challenge that was easier to meet because of the dedication of the MAW staff members and volunteers. This is one of two triathlon fundraisers for the worthy charity that is held in this area. The adult version is held in Bethany Beach, DE in September. It is a great shore weekend, international distance event. Columbia RD Rob Vigorito serves in the same capacity for that race. There's still time to register and train!

Columbia Triathlon
May 19th was all kinds of brisk. Air temperatures barely crept into the 50s near the start time for the first wave of the swim. The upper 60s water temp did not require wetsuits for the 1.5K (0.93 mile) swim, but emerging swimmers had a frigid awakening as they made their way through the first transition. A large crowd of nearly 1100 racers fought their way up the slippery grass to go for a cool 41K (25.5 mile) bike ride. They then wound around the lake and through the neighborhood for a 10K (6.2 mile) run.

The second-place finisher among the women (53rd overall), Christy Underdonk (33) of Kensington, called it "the coldest conditions that she ever raced" in triathlon. Underdonk, competing for All-American Bicycle Club, was second out of the lake in 20:08, 21 seconds behind the strong swim of Hollie Kenney (29) and a half-minute up on anyone else. Embarking on the chilly, hilly bike, Underdonk conceded a scant three seconds to Margaret Shapiro (25) of Annandale, owner of the fastest bike split in 1:13:42. In a replica of what happened in the men's race, Underdonk, the leader after the bike leg, was run down just past the halfway mark of the 10K. She finished 1:21 behind Shapiro's 2:19:04, whose fastest run split (40:19) combined with her top bike time to ice the race (46th place overall). Timonium, MD's Kenney also gained ground on Underdonk in the 10K but fell short with a 2:20:56 clocking for third place (58th overall). Fourth-place (71st overall) Andrea Dvorak (21) of McLean, VA started the run 13 seconds up on Tracey Polliard- McGurk and lengthened her lead with a strong run to nearly two and one-half minutes, finishing in 2:23:23. Thornhurst PA's McGurk (90th overall) was timed in 2:25:42.

Fourteenth among the 275 women to finish was Lisa Dunn in 2:31:18. Dunn (40) of Wilton, CT was the first woman in the masters division. Susan Lucas (59) of Saddle Run Way, VA was the top grand-master (50+) female in 3:02:10 (125th female, 656th overall).

In the men's race, Timonium's Otho Keller (24) appeared strong, a good bet to repeat as the men's champion at Columbia. Although his 17:12 swim was not as fast as last year's 16:50, it still had him emerging from Lake Centennial as the fastest swimmer, one second ahead of Tim Kitching (24) of Baltimore. He then turned in a fourth-best 1:05:35 clocking on the bike, a few seconds faster than Kitching and 38 seconds up on Matt Cooke (22) of DC, last year's fourth-place finisher who had turned in this year's fastest bike split (by 1:54) at 1:03:06. Both Cooke and Kitching (who dogged Keller's every step) passed Keller on the run. Among the top competitors, Hitching's 34:40 10K ruled followed closely by Cooke's 34:56. Hitching essayed the entire course in 1:59:35, followed by Cooke in 2:00:47. Keller crossed 20 seconds later. Fourth place went to George Newsome (28) of West Nyack, NY in 2:05:31. Thomas Nelson (22) of Hyattsville took about ten percent off both his swim and run times (and over six minutes off the total time) from last year and biked as well as he did then to vault 35 places and finish fifth in this year's competition (2:06:52).

Frederick's Herb Spicer (46) parlayed the eleventh-best run split (37.06) and the ninth-best bike split to ninth place overall and the top masters spot with a course time of 2:09:54. He was followed home by David Bowman, Sr. (42) of Bridgeton, NJ in 24th place with a 2:15:31 clocking. Annapolis's Bill Kvetkas (40) came in 19 seconds (and two places) later to round out the masters award winners. Veteran Ed Busch (60) of Walkersville, MD took the male grand masters (60+) prize in 2:40:32 (299th overall).

Blackwater Traverse Duathlon
The Blackwater Traverse Triathlon is so named because it leaves Cambridge-South Dorchester High School, the site of many multisport races over the past couple of decades, and traverses the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge. It was the only area qualifier for the International Triathlon Union's World Duathlon Championship to be held in Alpharetta, GA on October 19th (Age group) and 20th (Elites and Juniors). Held April 21st, the race offered lots of prize money as well as the opportunity to qualify for worlds. It's a flat, fast 10K, 41K, and 5K (run, bike, run) course.

Local pros Desiree Ficker (26) of Potomac and Gaithersburg's Marjan Huizing (34) again went one-two (41st and 54th overall) in the women's race earning $600 and $400, respectively, for their efforts. Ficker also picked up the $150 prize money for the fastest bike split (1:05:26). (She just missed the equivalent cash prizes for the two fastest run splits). Ficker, currently recovering from an injury, has been on a tear, with her third win in as many duathlons. Her winning time of 2:04:26 was 1:20 faster than Huizing. Age grouper Cecily Tynan (33) of Philadelphia took third (68th overall) in 2:07:59, besting pros Anne Preisig (of Falmouth, MA) and Heather Haviland (of Waukesha, WI). Preisig and Haviland were followed home by the top master, Sandra Fischer (41) of Allison Park, PA in 2:09:55, good for 85th overall. Plymouth, MA's Carol Lanza (54) was the top grand-master in a time of 2:26:34 (216th overall).

Among the men, Newark, DE pro Greg Watson continued his great season by leading home the 357 finishers in 1:50:06. Watson captured the top money honors ($900) by winning the race and both the 10K run split and the bike split. He was followed by Todd Wiley (31) of Doylestown, PA over two-and-a-half minutes later (1:52:42). Baltimore's Tim Kitching foreshadowed his Columbia win by busting up a pro sweep of the top three slots at this race. His 1:53:39 clocking included the best split for the second (5K) run. Pro Travis Kuhl (27) of Carthage, NY took fourth place in 1:54:26. Kuhl was 25 seconds cooler than the second age-grouper, Jonathan Hastings (28) of Grove City, OH, who took family bragging rights from his older pro brother Ben (32) of Lewis Center, OH. Ben, in sixth place, finished in 1:55:42. The top master was David Walters of Lisle, IL. His 1:58:57 clocking earned the 47 year-old 14th place overall. PA's Tony Mauro (60) in 111th place was the top grand-master in 2:13:11.

Make-A-Wish Kid's Tri
Make-A-Wish is a great charity and it deserves a great race. Competitors range in age from five to fourteen. The 5- and 6- year olds and 7- and 8-year olds vie in duathlons of different distances. Similarly, the 9- and 10-year olds, 11- and 12-year olds 13- and 14-year olds contest triathlons of differing lengths.

I was fairly late coming aboard as RD (with wife Bean as my Assistant RD). Of course Murphy's Law ruled as construction at the Swim Center necessitated my redesigning and remeasuring the course in the week-and-a-half before the event (in the midst of the end-of-the-term rush at the university that is my day job). I also had to recruit local duathlete Carol Torgan as the Bike Venue Coordinator at the last moment. (Readers may also recognize her as a frequent contributor to local sports publications on exercise physiology). She did a super job and along with many generous volunteers, the races went off well.

A Final Note
If you see Dwayne Neal or Andrea DiStefano after you read this, give them a big grin and hearty congratulations. A great tandem, the two speedy Frederick duathletes will be married as of July 5th.