Captain Thurmond's Triathlon

Why do I do it? I can't possibly fathom any reason as to why I would willingly sign up to race in Captain Thurmond's Challenge... again.

I have raced in a few triathlons before, mostly in the sprint categories, and mostly just to see if I can complete them. I don't place very high, but I don't place very low. I can honestly say that my major weakness is the run, which always comes last. At that point in time I am tired, cramping, and the pain in my knees becomes unbearable so I often walk much of the run leg. It is demoralizing seeing all the people you passed in the swim and bike legs to jog on by, but that's just the way my knees are.

Captain Thurmond's is a different kind of race; it bills itself as an extreme triathlon. It begins with a 12-18 mile mountain bike section, followed by 8 miles of class III- IV whitewater, then a steep 5 mile run where you ascend 1000 vertical feet. All this set in the beautiful New River Gorge in West Virginia.

The day was hot, very hot. Not my kind of day. The race begins with a mass start with all the riders sprinting 100 yards to their bikes and then heading across the river and up an old rails-to-trails path. Having done a lot of road cycling I found it easy to stay near the front of the group for the first 5 miles. After that point we crossed the apex of the mountain and began our single-track descent.

I'll admit it; I suck at mountain bike riding. For some reason I just can never feel comfortable descending a single track at high speeds without crashing. Today was no different and I ended up falling three separate times in the technical section of the ride. Fortunately only my pride was hurt each time and I was able to get back on my bike without any serious damage. The descent is never ending with plenty of deep mud holes, roots, rocks, stream crossings, and small ravines to navigate. Finally I made it back down to the river level, and the riding was flat and I was able to make up lost time.

I zipped through the first transition and was pretty pleased with myself with I pulled away from shore in my kayak. In the transition alone I managed to pass other racers. Unfortunately it is just about impossible to know if they are racing as part of a team relay or in my amateur class.

For the kayak section I had the bright idea to clip a camelback over the lifejacket so I could re-hydrate during the long paddling section. In hindsight I should have tested this out first. I came to the rapid and accidentally flipped the boat upside-down. When I tried to roll up, all the weight on my shoulders from the camelback would pull me back over. I was too top-heavy, and like an inverted weebel-wobble I was finding it nearly impossible to roll up. Sitting upside down in the water, knowing what lied downstream, and how much it would suck to have to swim out of my boat, I pulled the camelback around to my torso and managed to roll up on my fifth attempt.

Already exhausted, and still just in the first rapid I put my head down and just paddled. As I approached each rapid I would holler at a nearby raft guide to ask the name of the rapid and the preferred rout. My memory of the river was fuzzy since I had not been on it in about 4 years, and today the river was running a bit high. With a bit of luck and some quick reactions I managed to make it to the second transition area where the dreaded run portion would begin.

When I pulled to the shore I tried to step out of my boat, but the effects of cycling hard for over an hour, then cramming my legs into a small kayak for another hour had some horrible results. My legs had fallen asleep to the point that when I tried to put weight down I ended just falling over. Apparently I wasn't the first victim, and the race supporters just sat me aside where I put on my dry shoes and socks.

In my rush I made a horrible error, I forgot the banana I had put with my running shoes. By the time I was a mile up the road my gut reminded me that I needed some food, specifically that banana I left at the shoreline. I was cramping and wishing I had eaten that banana, and I don't even like bananas.

I managed to run, walk, crawl and claw my way up out of the gorge. I would spring the relatively flat sections and walk the steep parts. It was very hot, and I was sweating most of my fluids. Every so often I would see another racer ahead and I would try to catch them. I had learned that one of my opponents raced as a professional mountain biker, and they had passed me earlier on the steep descent. However now I saw them ahead and worked like a rented mule to catch them. When I did pass them I tried to make it look as if I was out for a summer stroll and showed no pain. It must have worked because they never caught back up.

The run section ends in the town of Fayetteville, WV in front of the old court house. I felt slow the entire day, but it was enough to take a third place in the amateur class (out of 7). I was shocked and a little bit elated.

If I can take third when I am slow, then maybe I can take first with some training for the run? I guess that the only way to find out is to come back next year and repeat the process…

“Why do I do it? I can't possibly fathom any reason as to why I would willingly sign up to race in Captain Thurmond's Challenge, again….”