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Triathlon participants enjoy evening startBy KRISTEN LEIGH PORTER© St. Petersburg Times published August 27, 2002 CRYSTAL RIVER -- Triathletes are used to watching the sun come up during the start of a race. But at Fort Island Gulf Beach, the opposite was true for Saturday's second annual Nature Coast Twilight Triathlon. Participants hit the water about 7:30 p.m. for a quarter-mile swim, and were treated to a beautiful sunset during the 10-mile bike portion before completing the 3-mile run at dusk. Tampa's Robert Skaggs was the first to cross the finish line (48 minutes, 57 seconds), and the last competitor completed the course about 9:20 p.m. Skaggs beat out the father-son pair from Dunnellon -- Danny Stevens Jr. and Danny Stevens, who finished in 50:26 and 50:47, respectively. Teresa Zambrano of Tampa was the top woman, 1:00:34 and 27th overall. Race director Chris Moling said most triathlons are in the morning because of temperature considerations, making it a unique event. "You can't really swim safely in the dark," said Moling, who had originally thought of having a night triathlon. "So we thought, let's do it where we start in the evening when there's plenty of light." Safety considerations were made, as all bicycles were required to have a headlight and taillight and all runners had to wear reflective clothing or tape. Generators with lights were along the course at the bike turn-around, run turn-around and water station. Last year's race started at 8 p.m. But Moling said there were too many people running in the dark, so the start time was moved back. Day events generally begin at 7:30 a.m. The triathletes liked the concept. Moling said there was an increase from last year's 80 participants to 120. Moling said probably 15 athletes were competing in their first triathlon, and two won their age group. The county's top male and female finishers were from Inverness: Michael Kanter (18th, 58:17) and team competitor Katie Algeo (43rd, 1:03:29.) "I think it will continue to be an annual event because it's being well-received, and if it increases, we'll probably put a cap of 200 athletes," Moling said. "You can run day-time events with up to 500 people at the beach, but virtually no more than 200 at night," he said. Race No. 3 in the Crystal River Rotary Triathlon Series is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Sunday at Fort Island Gulf Beach. Online registration and complete results from the Twilight Triathlon can be found at http://www.drc911.com/triathlon/. Rounding out the top 10 were: 4. Todd Fitzgerald, Dunnellon, 51:47; 5. John Davis, Lake Mary, 51:51; 6. Rick Downes, New Port Richey, 52:16; 7. Lamar Ripple, Dunnellon, 53:27; 8. Dwight Fitzgerald, Dunnellon, 53:52; 9. Stephen Fullerton, Altamonte Springs, 54:25; and 10. Mark Parisian, Dunnellon, 55:28.
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