Triathlon full of surprises

By Laura Clark

Published: April 18, 2008

The morning of the 4th annual Piney River Mini Triathlon was cool and the patches of rain had all but stopped by the time I pulled up to register.
After covering the race in 2007, I promised myself I’d do more than watch people slog through the run, paddle and bike, alternating grimaces with grins. I would be one of them.

But first, I had to find my teammate, who I’d never met. I’d started out ambitiously planning to do the whole race solo: 1.6-mile run, 1-mile paddle and 2.5-mile bike. But since I didn’t have a boat—much less any rowing skills or upper-body strength—I got hooked up with an experienced paddler via race volunteer Conny Roussos.

Dave Segars, my paddling-guru, is 45 years old and fit. We got to know each other in a short span, deciding our team name would be Enjourney (his idea to splice our careers: Segar’s a civil structural engineer, and I’m a journalist). Plus, the race is like a journey, Segar said. I added that I hoped it wouldn’t end in
injury. Get it?

As I helped Segars unload his 16-foot down-river kayak, he asked me twice if I was in shape. I must have looked like I just rolled out of bed in my t-shirt and baggy sweatpants. As I cheerfully assured him I’d been training for half-marathon run I began to worry a bit.

Could this guy be more competitive than me, who can’t stand to lose even a game of Battleship?

I decided then and there, as we scoped out the shallow river and sections of rocky rapids, that I would bust my tail to get Segars a good start on the paddle section. The narrow river wasn’t suited for too many boats at one time. It could be like like kids jostling in a bathtub.

About 40 participants clustered near the start of the race. Then about 12 members of Segars’ family walked up, including his sister and mother and son…and then some more. It was a nice surprise to have the biggest cheering section.

This race is all about speed and a dash of stamina. I saw Ed Sharp, who I’d covered last year. Sharp is 68 and bar-none my inspiration for competing. And the man is getting better with age; he shaved 1:30 off his time this year.

I knew it would be smart to pace off Ed for the beginning of the run. I can still hear him say, “I try to pass more people than pass me.” The run flies along the river on a gravel/dirt road.

As we turned around, I picked it up and started passing a couple of people. I knew Segars would be anxiously waiting.

I was middle-of-the-pack and exhausted when I handed off the wristband to Segars. He jumped in his boat and was off. No time to breathe, as I had to bike down to the landing zone and be ready to go on the final stretch.

Segars was fast, and he moved us up several places as he navigated the Piney.

Then disaster.

When Segars was less than 50 feet from the paddle finish, he hit some rocks and flipped into the cold river. He got up quickly and I tried to yell encouragement from the bank. Guiding the boat with his hands, he made it last little bit and handed off the soaking wrist band, looking a bit traumatized.

The bike section is beautiful, as it winds down the Blue Ridge Rail Trail for almost two miles. It’s mostly flat, but my thighs were burning the whole way. Is there no “biker’s high?”

Sharp’s advice in mind, I nearly wiped out several times looking over my shoulder. Only one guy passed me early on. And hey, it was his road bike against my mountain bike. Around the bend to the finish and I burst out of the shade into sunlight.

Enjourney was the first team to finish and seventh overall. Segars arrived, looking a little drier and grinning. When we went back to search for his helmet and sunglasses, lost in the chaos, I learned a little more about Segars.

Like why he’s so competitive. Before he had three knee surgeries and had to concentrate on paddling, Segars ran marathons (in Berlin and Atlanta) as well as a slew of shorter races and triathlons. When he was an Airborne Ranger in the Army he came in fifth out of 350 people in an “almost all straight uphill” 8K race.

“Those glory days are gone,” he said. “I’m enjoying the paddling.”

Even when he gets tumped out of his boat, it seemed. Well, Segars gets a chance to redeem himself at a race he organizes in Waynesboro, the Road and River Relay in two weeks. I can’t be there, but I’ll be cheering for the other half of Enjourney as I run in a 13.1-mile race two states away.

The Piney River Mini Triathlon, sponsored by Nelson County Parks and Recreation, was an excellent event for a first-timer. There’s such a range of participants: women, father-and-son teams, couples and hard-core soloists.

And if this adventure couldn’t get better, at the end await the most amazing ginger-molasses cookies, courtesy of race winner Ray Legge and his son (and second place overall) Army, of Winchester.

Jeez, I’d a shaved two minutes off my biking if I knew I’d get cookies.