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1700 Compete in Triathlon

Posted on: Tuesday, 1 February 2005, 18:00 CST

GETTING through the swim without drowning yesterday was the highlight of the Palmerston North Special K Triathlon for one competitor.

Nikki Carroll and her friend Anthea Canty, from Levin, completed their first triathlon yesterday in an event that attracted nearly 1700 women.

"Before the swim, I might have sounded quite chirpy, but I felt sick," Mrs Carroll said.

She wasn't the only one with nerves.

The Palmerston North event, which had twice as many entrants as last year's, was the third of nine Special K Triathlons being held nationally. By the end of the last one, more than 18,000 women will have completed a 300m swim, 10km bike ride and 3km run or walk.

The event is open to women of all ages, abilities and backgrounds and is in its third year.

The swim leg is held at the Lido swimming complex; and for 1700 women to get through it in two hours, everything had to run like clockwork.

So when organiser Shane Hooks couldn't get into the pool at 6.45am -- for a scheduled start at 7am -- and no one had arrived to open up, his team was ready with a hacksaw to break through the gate.

"The guy turned up when he said he would. We were just panicking."

The day began with a swim, followed by the cycle around Park Road, Botanical Road, College Street, Maxwells Line, Slacks Road and Dittmer Drive. The final run or walk wove its way through the Rose Gardens.

Mr Hooks said there were no prizes for place-getters, as people started at different times in 126 waves.

"It's all about support and women taking time out for themselves and challenging themselves, as opposed to beating someone."

The supportive atmosphere was evident from the number of women who, once they had finished their race, remained at the finish line to cheer on the others. The last woman home, Janine Mason, was applauded across the line by a large crowd that chanted her name.

Mrs Carroll said the advantage of being in the 94th wave was that many women finished before they did. "As we ran in, people were cheering. I thought, This is so cool. It was such a buzz."

The finish line at Ongley Park was like a carnival, with food stalls -- all offering healthy foods -- music and hundreds of people soaking up the atmosphere or resting.

The competitors ranged in age from 10 to 75.

Mr Hooks said the average woman, if there were such a thing, was 35 and had two kids.

Mrs Carroll and Mrs Canty, both in their late 30s, left their children at home with their husbands.

They have been in swim training for more than two months and training on the bike for about six weeks.

When Mrs Carroll finished the swim, she thought that, as she had survived that, the rest would be easy.

But then she got on her bike and rode into the wind. "When we hit that wind, we thought: Oh. My. God."

Some people stopped and walked, but she knew that if she stopped, she wouldn't be able to start again.

"I was knackered at the end. But I was really chuffed with myself that I did it."

She was also pleased that, on the day, she had no qualms about wearing the right gear.

"Wearing a tight-fitting t-shirt and bike pants -- in public, where people can see me -- is not something I do."

Before the swim, Mrs Carroll and Mrs Canty were sure they were about to start their one-and-only triathlon. But at the finish, they were talking about next year, where they intend to run the final 3km instead of walking.

"But we need more swimming practice. It's so crowded, unless you are a really good swimmer, you couldn't do much," Mrs Carroll said.

Swimmers who were sure of themselves kept going even if people got in their way, while slow swimmers held others up, she said. "But no one was complaining. Everyone was happy."

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Source: Evening Standard; Palmerston North, New Zealand

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