Last Saturday marked the first official event of the HBS Triathlon Club, as 13 of our triathletes traveled to Freeport, ME for a grueling test of speed, endurance, and perseverance. The Lobsterman Triathlon was an Olympic distance triathlon consisting of a 1.5km swim, a 40km bike, and a 10km run. In commemorating the tragic events three years ago, the race director opened the race with America the Beautiful, before sounding the horn that launched 475 bodies in rubber suits into the chilling waters of Casco Bay.
Of the 13 participants from HBS, six had never completed an Olympic distance triathlon. Representatives from the Class of 2006 include Edd Hendee (NH), Kate Kohler (NA), Madison Mauze (NC), Puneet Sapra (NG), Britton Smith (NJ), and Andrew Stinson (NI). From the EC class, Section B had the strongest showing by sending five of its finest members – Julian Flannery, Richard Whiteley, Danielle Shobe, Adam Minnick, and Kris Woolley. The final two participants were Greg Thompson (OD) and Quentin Chu (OA).
The first of the HBS crew to come out of the water was Britton Smith, followed by classmate Madison Mauze. The bike course traversed the rolling terrain of Freeport, north to Brunswick, and back down to South Freeport, covering 40km of scenic roads and country homes. Local residents came out to offer their support, while police officers blocked traffic to ensure safe crossing by the athletes. After pedaling in excess of an hour, athletes returned to Winslow Park, where they transitioned into the third and final portion of the race – the 10km run.
As if to punish the legs that were already weary from the bike, the run course began with several steep climbs leaving Winslow Park. It would eventually flatten out after the few miles, before the athletes turned around and headed back to Casco Bay for the finish. Britton Smith extended his early lead with a sensational bike ride, and easily held off the rest of the HBS team with a final time of 2:16:56, finishing 25th overall. Julian Flannery put up a valiant effort to catch Madison Mauze by making up 5 minutes on the bike and run, but the Texan held off his pursuer, finishing less than a minute ahead of Flannery in 2:34:40. Kate Kohler and Danielle “the black horse” Shobe, who was favored over Flannery by some prior to the race, completed a solid race in a little over three hours as the only female representatives from HBS.
While the race went smoothly for most of us, three of the ECs had an entirely different experience. Coming out of the first transition with his bike, Richard Whiteley punctured his tire, which took over 20 minutes to repair. Despite the delay, Whiteley finished under three hours, which translated into a “pro forma” finishing time of 2:39:00. Kris Woolley and Adam Minnick not only missed the race start due to navigational problems, but also managed to lock themselves out of their car before removing essential race equipment such as dry socks. Nevertheless, these two managed to complete the race with no more than a few sore muscles.
