Despite cold early season water temperatures, the athletes ran into the ocean at 7:30 in the morning for a quarter-mile swim, followed by a 12.3-mile bike, and a 5k sprint on the beach.
Not bad for an event only in its second year.
“This year, we increased the race field by 30 percent and still sold out more than a month before the race,” said event organizer Matt McCulley, who got the idea for a triathlon that benefits vets after seeing photographs of soldiers injured in Iraq. This year’s race raised $40,000 for the Injured Marine Semper Fi fund and Sea Isle’s VFW post.
I’m a runner, so I stayed to the sidelines. If the cost of competing hadn’t kept me out of the race (my boyfriend’s triathlon bike cost just under a grand – and he bought it used), the cold temperatures would. Ocean swimming in May? The sand was much warmer.
But not everyone feels this way. Triathlon is a fast-growing sport, and the Jersey Shore is an ideal course.
“The terrain of a shore town is the perfect setting for a triathlon,” says McCulley. “You swim in the ocean, pedal hard on a fast and flat bike course, and run a quick 5k on the beach.”
Avalon, Stone Harbor, Long Beach Island, and Wildwood have their own triathlons, but you need to stay on top of when registration starts if you want to participate. This year, Stone Harbor’s triathlon sold out three hours after registration opened.
But watching from the sidelines is free. Just remember the sun block (my weekend sunburn attests to that).