Chamber director brands Washington as a triathlete destination | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Thanks to the incredibly successful third-annual Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce Olympic and Sprint Triathlons, which was held last Saturday, over 300 triathletes from across nine states now have our own Washington, North Carolina, circled on their events-destination maps.

    In 2007, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Catherine Glover tapped into her youthful creativity and connections to reach this unique demographic of competitive athletes, and three years later, 350 triathlon participants (triple the number of the previous two years) came to eat at Washington restaurants, stay at Washington hotels, swim, bike and run across the county, and shop at Washington businesses.

Above: The triathletes have their bikes ready to ride in the bike pen on this early morn.

Below: The triathlets steady themselves for the grueling event yet to come. (images by Stan Deatherage)


    The Chamber hired Finish Strong, an event-production company based in Raleigh, to organize the triathlons. Glover met one of its three owners, Brent Dorencamp, when in college at East Carolina University.

    “They came to us three years ago and said they’d like to do it here. And, like I said, I knew one of them in college, and we said let’s try it, and see what happens,” she said. “The racing industry is growing tremendously. And it’s a huge economic boost for communities when all of these people come in. So, we just started it and watched it grow.”

    To organize the event, Finish Strong charges participants $75 a piece, if registered before a certain date; $85, if registered after a certain date; and $135 for relay teams. Next year, Glover expects nearly 600 people to register for the events, the maximum number she says Washington could handle.

    “We do believe that next year we’ll close out, which means we won’t be able to accept any other participants,” she said.

Above: Liane Harsh and Connie Cipriano, from left, wait to begin their heat in the Sprint Triathlon. Cipriano, who teaches yoga at Lifestyles Medical Fitness Center, said it was to be her third Sprint Triathlon since March 2009. Harsh, who owns Inner Banks Outfitters, said it would be her second triathlon. For both, however, it was to be their first open water swim, and they were a little nervous about staying on course. Both said they practiced swimming, but just maintained their normal routine of biking and running for fun. "I think everybody should, at least at some point in their life try something like this. With a little bit of training, if the distances are reasonable, then it really is pretty cool," said Harsh. "It’s an awesome feeling just being out here ready to do it."

    All participants met before 7 a.m. Saturday on the banks of the Pamlico River in Washington Park. Those running the Olympic Race first completed a 1,500-meter swim in the Pamlico, cycled 28-miles out to near Broad Creek, and then completed a 10k run through the town of Washington and Washington Park. Those on the Sprint course first completed a 750-meter swim, cycled 18 miles out to near Goose Creek, and then completed a 5k run through the town of Washington and Washington Park. The Chamber stationed nearly 60 volunteers along the bike routes to direct the bikers, according to Glover. She attributes the events’ success to the pleasantness of the course.

    “This location has grown so well, because it’s flat and people love it. The weather’s been good every year for us. The water temperature is great, because it’s 82 degrees. So, people love coming here because of that,” Glover said. “A lot of them are from the Raleigh and further area and it’s hilly. We don’t have any of that here, so they can whip right through the course.”

Above: The first group of men wade into the cooler post-dawn waters of the Pamlico River for the 1500-meter leg of this event.

Below: And they're off! (images by Stan Deatherage)


    Overall winners were: Justin Park, 30, who won the Olympic distance race in the open class, with a 1:55:58.8-time. In the shorter Sprint Triathlon, Jon Anderson of Roanoke Rapids edged 2008-Sprint winner Frank Fisher by 30.1 seconds.

    Many Washington participants also placed: Liane Harsh (1:55:39.5) and Connie Cipriano (2:04:37.3) finished first and second in the Athena Division; Shelby Smithwick (1:48:38.6) and Sarah Hager (2:08:34.3) finished second and third in the Female 16-19 age group; Richard Pfeiffer (1:35:38.2) won the Male 16-19 age group; Andy Bradbury (1:50:16.6) finished second in the Male 25-29 age group; and Tim Melton (1:45:26.6) finished third in the Male 45-49 age group.

    Glover said that the Chamber is hosting a half Ironman in October. The half-Ironman is so intense—with a 1930-meter swim, 56-mile bike and 21k run—that there are only four locations which hold half-Ironman events in the entire state of North Carolina, she said.

    For more information on the Olympic Triathlon and the Sprint Triathlon, go to http://www.fsseries.com or call the Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce at 252-946-9168.

Above: Though best friends Steve Grabo and Josh Carroll, from left, of Goldsboro, look to be in pretty good shape for the Sprint Triathlon, they jokingly insisted they weren't. Grabo, who is training to compete in the National Olympic Triathlon occurring later this year, where he will swim the Potomac River, said he was worried about sputtering out in the Pamlico. "The water’s only six feet, so I figure I can stand at the very least," he laughed. Carroll said he was so unprepared for the triathlon that he borrowed Grabo's mountain bike, from Walmart, at the last minute, for the cycling portion of the race. "I borrowed his bike. It’s the only mountain bike in the transition area, so it’s like the Scarlett Letter. It’s basically an insult to triathlon biking," he said. "No one made eye contact with me when I went in there. Everyone else has $3000 bikes."

Below: Washington native Sarah Hager, left, encourages her friend and first-time triathlete Shelby Smithwick, also from Washington, before the big race. Smithwick, an ECU student transferring to UNCW, said she had been training by biking and running in Washington since the beginning of the summer, but she was still a bit nervous. Hager said that she took a traithlon-training class at N.C. State and raced her first triathlon at Lake Royal in Louisburg last fall. Hager said that racing, if you know how to do it, can feel good and be a lot of fun. "To stay consistent is our goal, because if you go fast, then you get tired, and then you slow down," she said. "Whereas, if you stay the same pace the whole time, you go just as far in the same amount of time, but you’re not as worn out."

Above: More men wade into the waters of the Pamlico.

Below: And again, they take to their swimming, like a school of spastic dolphins. (images by Stan Deatherage)



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