The Land O'Lakes race draws 380 competitors, many of them beginners, and goes off without a hitch.
By STEPHEN HEGARTY
Published August 8, 2004
[Times photo: Erik Jacobs]
About 210 triathletes in the Babes & Bums Sprint take off at 7 a.m. Saturday at the Land O'Lakes Recreation Complex. They would run 3.1 miles, bike 10 miles and swim one-eighth of a mile. Nearly 170 others did two shorter races, which were popular with parents and children.
LAND O'LAKES - Neil Robichaux and Sharon Good have competed in triathlons around the country. On Saturday, they didn't have to go far at all.
The Lutz couple drove about 2 miles to compete in the first Babes & Bums Spring Triathlon at the Land O'Lakes Recreation Complex. The trip was well worth it.
Robichaux, 32, took first place overall. Good, 33, finished first among women, third overall.
"Only two guys beat her," said Robichaux, a veteran triathlete and former Louisiana duathlete of the year. "Luckily, I was one of them. She had a great race."
The event, the first of its kind in Land O'Lakes, drew about 380 participants. Organizers had hoped for at least 300.
Though there were several top-notch triathletes in the race, like Robichaux and Good, many were first-timers and families.
"It was a first for me," said Rita Guidry, 42, of Tampa. "I saw it on the Web site and it looked family oriented, so I said, Why not?" The mother of three brought her family with her.
The athletic competition became a community event. Schools competed to see which could get the most students signed up for the race. The list of sponsors read like a who's who of Land O'Lakes businesses.
During the race, some locals pulled up lawn chairs to cheer on the passing runners. Homeowners retrieving their morning newspapers along Shining Star Drive smiled and waved at the cyclists.
At the Baldomero Lopez State Veterans Nursing Home, a dozen or so residents waved and cheered as the cyclists made a large looping turn in their parking lot. Cheerleaders from Land O'Lakes High School and Pop Warner got plenty of practice along the race route.
First-time triathlete Trish Goble, 39, of Lutz did better than she expected, despite a slight scare.
"I woke up at about 3 or 4 (a.m.) and it was pouring rain, and I was thinking, Uh-oh," said Goble. Despite a few raindrops during the race, for the most part the sky remained overcast - ideal for athletes fearing hot sun and dehydration.
The race organizers dubbed Goble the official novice triathlete, loading her up with free running shoes, sunglasses and a year's membership at a local gym. She finished the 3.1-mile run, 10-mile bike and one-eighth-mile swim in 1:34:56, a couple of minutes faster than she expected.
After the 7 a.m. start of the sprint triathlon came two shorter races full of parent-child teams. Roughly 210 competed in the sprint, and 170 in the shorter races.
Race organizer Val Thomopalos modeled the first-time event after larger, more established races, lining the route with dozens of volunteers and hiring Sommer Sports from Clermont to handle the race timing.
"She did an absolutely great job organizing this," said Rob Roman, 43, a veteran triathlete from Lutz.
"This is one of the best-run races I've done," said women's winner Good, who said she chooses triathlons carefully because she was once struck by a car during a race. Before registering for the Babes & Bums Sprint, Good called Thomopalos for reassurances about the race course. She liked what she heard and signed up.
"It was safe. It was well organized. It was fun," Good said.
