Athletes Make the Most of Triathlon Despite Bad Weather

Thursday, May 21, 2009

The river showed no mercy at Richmond’s first Olympic distance triathlon hosted by Rocketts Landing. The race was a USAT sanctioned event coordinated by Richmond Multisports, a triathlon production company that hosts a total of seven races each year in Central Virginia.

Because the weather did not cooperate, the swimming portion of the triathlon set to take place in the James River was cancelled.  Nevertheless, spirits were still high among the 192 competing athletes, 70 volunteers and several hundred spectators, according to Race Director Laurie Mehler.

"Luckily we had ‘Plan B’ as a back-up just in case something like this happened,” Mehler said. “Despite all our preparation, we had to run an abridged version of the triathlon.”

The swimming section of the race was supposed to be a rectangular course on the James River scheduled to start and finish at the Rocketts Landing marina. When the first few swimmers entered the water, however, they were quickly swept away by the current and forced to cling on to the kayaks and jetskies of the volunteers monitoring the race.

“It just wasn’t safe to go in the water,” Mehler said. “I really wish I could have pushed the edit button on Mother Nature. It was very disheartening see, but everybody said they still enjoyed the other two legs of the race and had a good time overall.”

The bike portion of the abridged triathlon weaved through eastern Henrico County toward Battlefield Park, down Osborne Turnpike and back to Rocketts Landing via Varina Road. The running portion went west from Rocketts through Richmond over the 14th Street Bridge and onto the James River Park flood wall cinder path.

Richmond Multisports raised money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation, and at the post race awards ceremony a free scooter from Partnership for Smarter Growth was raffled away. Many Rocketts residents also joined in on the catered, post-race party with music provided by DJ Williams Project.

“We have never staged a triathlon in a residential community, and it really made a huge difference,” Mehler said. “The residents at Rocketts you can tell are real tight-knit group and were very supportive. Moreover, the Rocketts staff is the total package and works like a well-oiled machine. They provided everything we need in the face of the bad weather.”

Instead of a marked course, next year Mehler would like the swim portion of the race to be a straight-shot that starts at an alternate point down river and finishes at Rocketts marina.
 “Now that we have this first race under our belts and experienced the bad weather, it should get easier in years to come,” she added.  “I anticipate by word-of-mouth the Rocketts triathlon will be our biggest event in two years.”

Photo / JFordPhotography.com