Well, the weather sure played Hades with a couple of staples on our fall triathlon menu. The 20th annual Make-a-Wish Triathlon in Bethany Beach was scheduled to be held on Sept. 20th, but a not-so-sweet young thing named Isabel had other ideas. I can't find anyone who owns up to having scorned her, but she went ahead and knocked out power in millions of homes in the Mid- Atlantic region anyway. (I know. We were without power for six days.) Discretion being what it is, RD Rob Vigorito postponed the international distance tri until October 4, giving everyone time to clean up his or her act. A week earlier (Sept. 13th) the schedule had promised...

The Dewey Beach Triathlon
But, it was not to be. Instead, RD and Dewey Beach resident Ava Seaney Cannon scoped out the large swells and rough seas on race morning and wisely turned the scheduled 1/2-mile swim into a short run, producing the Dewey Beach (Yes we) Du, literally. The race started with a one-mile (or so) beach run adjacent to the perilous swim venue in the Atlantic, followed by the scheduled (and breezy) 16-mile bike, and the 3.1-mile run through DE's Rehoboth and Dewey Beaches.

The men's race was hotly contested as less than two minutes separated the top five finishers. Pasadena, MD's Mark Facciani (35), who didn't race here last year, converted his top (by over 40 sec.) 38:52 bike time (24.7 miles per hour) into a big win in 1:10:32. Facciani overcame a less than spectacular initial (beach) run to finish with the third-fastest second run. Boyds, MD's Stephen Dowler (28) overcame the jettisoning of the swim (a strong suit of his as he had the third-fastest swim split last year) to improve to second place (as opposed to last year's fourth-place finish). Dowler finished in 1:11:10. Third-place honors went to Todd Hesel (24) of Cockeysville. Like his predecessors crossing the line, Hesel had an unspectacular beach run but transformed his consistency on the bike and second run (5th-fastest split on each) to third place with a 1:11:43 clocking. Young, aspiring multisporters out there should note that only ten of the nearly 750 finishers competed in this age- group division (less than twenty percent of the number that competed in many adjacent divisions). Fourth-place honors went to Bel Air, MD's top master Richard Brokaw (42), a man who we characterized in a 1998 column about this race as a "perennial top finisher." (He finished a disappointing 12th last year.) Brokaw had the second-fastest beach run and had the top second run (5K, 3.1 miles) in 19:11. Brokaw's overall time of 1:11:56 edged DC's John Taulane (30) by 35 sec. Although Brokaw's relatively slower transition times may have cost him third- place, the wheels came off for Taulane on his second run. Taulane started the final 5K in second-place with a lead of almost half-a minute on the next competitor.

Although we won't say that the woman's race wasn't heated, it was still won handily by Kensington's Christy Underdonk who romped home in 1:15:17, the 15th-best time in this event. Underdonk bested Baltimore pro Hollie Kenney (30) by nearly three minutes; but Kenney really had to duke it out with third- place finisher Lauren Ivison (23) of Arlington. The two finished 30th and 31st respectively. A whisker separated the two as Kenney was timed in 1:18:05, one second ahead of Ivison. Kenney had won last year's triathlon here, beating Underdonk by over three-and-a-half minutes. Interestingly, Underdonk proved the better swimmer then while Kenney dominated both the bike and the run.

Ivison's slow beach run left her almost a minute behind Kenney as they left the transition area. But Kenny averaged only 21.4 mph on the bike compared to Ivison's 22 mph. Ivison left the bike-to-run transition with a scant four-second lead. Kenney closed in the final yards with a five second lead for the 5K and a one second edge in the duathlon.

The race for fourth place was not a lot less dramatic as Connie Chow Dowler (28 and Steve's wife) outbiked Michele McGleish (36) to earn a four-second victory in 1:19:24. Notably, McGleish's bike split was virtually identical to Kenny's and Dowler's was virtually identical to Ivison's. McGleish of Germantown allowed Montgomery County, MD, to bracket the field of top five women. Last year only Kenney beat Dowler's 23.2 mph average on the bike. This year she lost 38 sec to Underdonk for the second- fastest bike split. Dowler finished in 38th place overall while McGleish took 41st.

Among the male masters, Craig Propert (42) of Linthicum missed the swim advantage that he enjoyed over Brokaw last year to take second place among the masters in a time of 1:14:03. Both, however, benefited from the lack of a swim that left last year's division winner Wynn Fertig (43) out of the money in this race. Propert finished in 9th place overall. (Fertig finished a disappointing 27th). Following Propert home was Michael Clark (47) of Wilmington, DE, in 11th place, a quarter of a minute behind Propert.

From the "And you think transitions don't count" file: The very evenly matched race between fourth-place master Ed Jablonski (42) of Cockeysville and fifth-place Jeff Oxman (46) of Rockville was decided by 28 sec (1:14:46 and 1:15:14, respectively). The difference? Oxman lost 22 sec in the first transition and 17 in the bike-to-run transition. Jablonski finished 16th overall just behind Underdonk and just ahead of Oxman. All of the male masters (and non-masters as well) were able to take advantage of the absence of last year's overall and masters winner Bill Kvetkas of Annapolis.

Newly-minted master Robin Jefferis (40) of Phoenixville, PA, owner of the fifth-fastest run split in the 2002 race, duplicated that feat to win top honors in this year's event. Her 1:22:14 clocking beat the strong biking of Columbia's Julie Caprio (42). Caprio finished in 1:23:08. The two were the eighth and ninth women to cross the line in 63rd and 71st place respectively. Carol F. Housamon (42) of Woodbridge was the third masters division woman in 1:25:18. She was the 12th woman to cross the line and 96th overall. Tina Nigh-Johnson (40) of Lewes, DE, followed as the 14th woman and 112th overall in 1:26:13, nipping Jennifer Carter (43) of Clarksville by a scant twelve seconds. Carter, a strong biker, was the 115th finisher. Nigh-Johnson overcame a 2:41 deficit to beat Carter in the 5K final run.

Jim Maldeis (60) of Baltimore was the top grand-master, 72nd overall, in an awesome 1:23:11. Maldeis finished 58th on the bike, averaging 21.4 mph. Rockville's Russ Abbott (60) was second, 8:09 back, in 212th place. Last year's winner (and another Baltimorean), Murray Sarubin (62), followed in 1:35:10.

Although Bethesda's Nancy Avitabile (55) started the bike leg 24 seconds up on Marge Burley (58) of Baltimore, she could not hold off the redoubtable veteran for the women's grand-master (50 & over) title. Burley hustled to a 1:28:25 finish, 161st (and 26th woman) to cross the line. Avitabile followed in 1:31:00 (205th, 38th woman). Reston's Dana Ann Scheurer rounded out the top three with a time of 1:32:09, good for 232nd place (46th woman).

On a personal note, this is the second year in a row (and only the second year since I started) that I have not entered a multisport race. Poor health has kept me off the bike and deteriorating performance has kept me from many of my favorite venues. The medical professionals have helped me to decide to go bionic. I hope to be at the races again soon.