A record-setting 8 NORSA members and affiliates competed in the 4th Annual Nation’s Triathlon. This was the third consecutive appearance by NORSA-mainstays Steven L., and Adam. They were joined by Matt, Leo and Russ, who each finished their second Nations Tri. Newcomers this year included Mike, Brian and Marie.
The Nation’s Triathlon is a Standard Olympic-Distance race. It consists of a 1500 meter (0.93 Mile) Swim, a 40 kilometer (24.85 mile) Bike, and a 10 kilometer (6.21 mile) Run. The Nation’s Triathlon is one of the biggest triathlons around. While 6000 people registered, 3933 actually competed in and finished this year’s race. The attrition is probably due to the fact that the race sells out months before the competition. When race day arrives, many competitors FTA due to scheduling problems they couldn’t foresee months in advance, as well as regular sickness, injury, etc.
Like last year, all competitors had to go to a few events before the race. Packet pickup was at the Washington Hilton on Friday and Saturday. There is no packet pickup on race day because the logistics of distributing 1000’s of packets in the hours before the race would be mind-boggling. Additionally, competitors were required to leave their bikes at the race site the day before the event. This allowed many competitors to take shuttles to the race site from the host hotel.
The weather for this year’s race was perfect: mostly sunny skies with a high of 83 and a low of 63 for the day. The race was started at 7:00AM, so the NORSAites got to compete in that perfect 70-degree range.
This year’s course was modified slightly from the previous year. Competitors swam in the Potomac under the Memorial Bridge. The water this year was a little browner and a little less clear than in previous races. The water temp was about 71 degrees. Most competitors wore wetsuits, most NORSA members did not.
Between events, competitors had to find their bikes in the mega-massive transition area (see photo). Hopefully, they remembered their row number.
The bike took racers into Rock Creek Park, up the Whitehurst Freeway, then out-and-back on Canal Road, the Clara Barton Parkway, and the Cabin John Parkway. This course was heavily shaded (good), but may have been a little narrow for so many competitors.
The run was around Haines Point and the Tidal Basin. As the race expands each year, there seems to be less of an ability to host it on the Mall. There was no Pennsylvania Avenue Finish this time. However, traffic in the city was significantly less affected and racers were able to finish next to the transition area, rather than miles away as in previous years.
How long is a race of this magnitude supposed to take, you ask? Well, the overall winner finished with a time of 1:55:59. Mayor Adrian Fenty finished with a time of 2:21:18. The last competitors crossed the line around the 5-hour mark.
Everybody on the NORSA-squad finished with these highly respectable times:
This year, Russ again came out on top, with an overall time of 2:33:23. He was followed by Steven L. (2:40:57); Leo (2:50:08); Marie (2:50:15); Matt (2:52:40); Mike (2:54:49); Adam (2:57:41) and Brian (3:08:51). Complete results with splits are available here.
Congratulations to all the NORSA members who competed in this year’s race and thanks to the family and friends who came for support! I hope you all enjoyed this year’s post, which unlike last year's post, contains more than 2 paragraphs, more than 1 picture, and has hyperlinks, results, descriptions and adjectives.
1 comment:
Adjectives!
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