Friends are the first to finish at triathlon (Stamford Advocate Article)

Reprinted from the Stamford Advocate. Link here: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/localsports/ci_9740471

Friends are the first to finish at triathlon
By Rich DePretaStaff Writer
Article Launched: 06/30/2008 02:36:12 AM EDT

STAMFORD - For most people, sleeping late or going out for coffee and bagels is as much exercise as a Sunday morning demands. Yesterday, however, there were hundreds of men and women who had a more dedicated plan of action in mind. If one was at Cummings Beach at 6:30 a.m., they would have seen the start of the inaugural Stamford Kids In Crisis IT Triathlon.
That's one mile of swimming in Long Island Sound followed by 24.6 miles of cycling followed by 6.2 miles of running, if you're scoring at home. That two to three hours of continuous and often brutal punishment.

"I like the competition. Triathlon is a sport with lots of camaraderie," said TARGETRAINING's Mitch West about the lure of it all. "Everybody in triathlon is great. There are no jerks in triathlon."

Which probably explains to some degree the surprising number of women who participate in a large number of such events both in Connecticut and across the country. Relationships can be forged and built on triathlon. That certainly was clear yesterday as close friends from Brockton, Mass. - Tim Snow and Caitlin Shea-Kenney - were the overall champions in the men's and women's divisions of the race. "Yes, Tim benefits greatly from getting pushed by me," Shea-Kenney laughed at the finish line at Columbus Park in downtown Stamford. "I have no kids and we're both teachers so we're home by 3 p.m. each day to train. We have summers off so it's easier to go to races. "But seriously, I couldn't do this without having another triathlon person to train with."
Snow broke the finish line tape in one hour, 59 minutes, 52 seconds. West, who works in the Stamford education system, was second in 2:04.29. Both men were even in the swim (20:27-20.29) and the cycling (1:04.12-1:03.33) before Snow pulled away in the running portion (33.15-38.29). Patrick Wheeler, also of Brockton, Mass., was third in 2:06.21.
"I'm thrilled," the 32-year-old Snow said. "Stamford was a very good venue. I had some doubts when we drove around the course Saturday. But once the race started, it was okay. I wasn't crazy about the hills in the cycling. But the running part was a blast."
Not quite so much for West, who often rides his bikes to work rather than fight the rush hour highway traffic from Wilton to Stamford. "I was very happy leading on the bike course," said West, who interacts with title sponsor Kids In Crisis as part of his guidance work in the Stamford Public School System at Westover School. "Then I saw Tim and I knew I had no chance to beat him in the run. He's a good guy to get beat by."
On the women's side, Shea-Kenney was in command from start to finish. She built a three-minute lead over Ross in the swim, picked up another four minutes in the cycling and five minutes in the run. Shea-Kenney's winning time was 2:06.39 with Ross finishing in 2:17.41. Jessica Broderick (2:19.16) was third. "The police and volunteers made it easy. For a first-year race, this was unbelievable. It was a perfect day weather-wise as the rain stayed away," Shea-Kenney said. "I was a swimmer at age 8. I tried my first youth triathlon at age 13 and loved it. My mom used to take me to events and I continued triathlons in college. "Right now, I'll do eight to 10 events a year including two or three Ironman Triathlons." Ross - a member of the U.S. Junior National Sprint team - was pleased with her results considering the early obstacle she encountered. "The cycling course was a lot more hilly than I expected," said Ross of Doylestown, Pa. "I didn't bring my wetsuit for the swimming and I got stung by a jellyfish. This was good because I'm trying events with longer distances."
It seems one is never too old to triathlon. The husband and wife team of Albert Leon (3:12.29) and Lois Leon (3:16.30) were champions of the age 65-69 divisions. John Cook (3:11.53) stood alone in the men's age 70-74 division. There were male and female age group champions awarded in 10 women's and 11 men's divisions starting at age 20. Equally ambitious were the various participants from the area corporations who took part. Some did all three sections themselves while others split the assignment into three-person teams (one swimmer, one cyclist, one runner). For those athletes, times were irrelevant. Satisfaction came in competing, finishing and other forms. Consider Steve Harris of the SAC Capital Advisors, LLC, team. His young daughter waited patiently at the finish line of both the cycling and running holding her two signs "Giddy Up Buttercup" and the more traditional "Go Daddy." The fact Harris was the next-to-last finisher at 10:45 a.m. made no difference to his daughter who hugged him forever for a job well-done. "I found out I was doing this a month ago," Harris said. "When the sun came out today, I sensed this wasn't the best idea. But I finished. I'm actually looking forward to another race next month in Greenwich."
NOTES - The Stamford Kids in Crisis IT Triathlon corporate sponsors included: SAC Capital Advisors; Continental Airlines; General Electric; Morgan Stanley; Winston & Strawn LLP; Boeing; Navigators; Allen & Overy; RBS Greenwich Capital; Milbank; Dewey & LeBoeuf, LLP; Monomoy Capital Partners; Holland & Knight; The Shoff Darby Insurance Agency; Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP; Thelen; The Hartford; WEBE-108; Centrian Life Insurance; Pepsi Bottling Group; Sportsplex. The hundreds of volunteers and the Stamford police are to be commended for their work dealing with athletes and controlling traffic at the Triathlon.
Stamford mayor Dannel Malloy and Lt. Governor Mike Fedele of Stamford were among those on hand for the post-race festivities.