The Jefferson City Triathlon on Sunday attracted more than 100 multi-sport athletes, including several victors competing in the high-caliber races for the first time.
As temperatures crept into the mid-80s and 90s, racers took off from Ellis-Porter Riverside Park early Sunday morning for the sixth annual Jefferson City Triathlon. The swimming, biking and running event is held annually in support of Jefferson City YMCA and Jefferson City Parks.
Race director Elizabeth Wood said it was a warm day for the competition, but operations ran smoothly and it seemed everyone had a good time.
With a "Great Escape" theme, athletes traversed a bike course near the state prisons and ran a course that took them to the old Missouri State Penitentiary.
The running course is new this year, Wood said, and organizers improved the Double Triathlon, which invigorated participation in the longer race.
Wood said more than 100 people raced across the event's multiple competition areas.
The sprint triathlon was the standard race with a 400-meter swim, 12-mile bike ride and 3.15-mile run. The super sprint triathlon is a slimmed down version of the sprint with a 200-meter swim, 5.3-mile bike ride and 1.5-mile run. More options were also available to racers.
The sprint triathlon was the most popular race Sunday and Wood said it's usually the "meat and potatoes" of the annual triathlon event.
"They really enjoy that," she said. "It's fast -- they're out and back -- but not too short. The super sprint is great for beginners and we've got some beginners that have started out with that this year so we're excited to have that."
Pablo Almela and Bea Praena, of Columbia, held hands as they crossed the finish line. The married couple from Spain competed in the sprint triathlon.
"It was my first triathlon ever so, yeah, I'm pretty happy," Almela said.
Almela said he enjoys running, swimming and biking so he saw the race as a perfect combination of those interests. And his wife, who has conquered triathlons in Spain, wanted to do her first one in the U.S.
The hills of Jefferson City were the hardest part, Almela said, because he's used to training in Columbia, which is more flat.
Praena said they also used mountain bikes, which are heavier than road bikes.
"It made it very difficult, but we rode it," she said.
Joseph Randazzo, 22, of Jefferson City, decided to compete for the first time in the duathlon -- and took home first place in the event -- after buying a new road bike last week. The duathlon removes the swimming component so participants compete in a 12-mile bike ride and 3.15-mile run.
"I like to ride my bike and I like running so I gave it a shot and it worked out good," he said.
Randazzo said the race was hard because he's only been running for about a week and half, but he used to run track in high school and when he started college.
What got him through the race, he said, was shifting to easier gears while navigating the Capital City's hilly landscape and pedaling hard on the way down.
Youxiang Zhang, 22, was another first-time triathlon athlete. He finished second in the double triathlon, which includes a 400-meter swim, 12-mile bike ride and 3.15-mile run the first lap and then a 200-meter swim, 5.3-mile bike and 1.5 mile run.
"I was very happy about it. This is my first time doing the triathlon," Zhang said. "I tried the hardest one because I wanted to challenge myself. I was really happy with that result."
Zhang, native of China and student at the University of Missouri, said running was his strong suit and swimming posed the greatest challenge. He got behind the competition while swimming but caught up and captured second place while sprinting.
Zhang said he's hoping to finish first at his next triathlon, which he's planning to do later this year. Eyeing longer courses, he said he craves the challenge.
"When I'm running, I feel happy and that's what I want to do," he said.
Lisa Dyer, 57, of Jefferson City, finished third in her age group and said her favorite leg of the race was swimming.
Dyer coaches the Jefferson City YMCA Barracuda Swim Team, which is one of the beneficiaries of the money raised from the triathlon along with the YMCA Learn to Swim program. Wood said proceeds also support a swim scholarship through Jefferson City Parks.
"So I'm a huge fan," Dyer said between breaths while sprinting.
The event brought Dyer out of a 10-year hiatus from competing in triathlons, she said, and it felt great. The course was well set up, volunteers and sponsors came together and there was a "real positive vibe," she said.
"It's really a positive community event celebrating health and wellness," she said.
The event will return next year, Wood said, and people fresh off the race are already looking forward to it.
"We're going to repeat it because after the first time you always want to repeat it," Praena said.
Ryan Pivoney/News Tribune photo: Yuxiang Zhang, 22, finished the first lap of his double triathlon Sunday, June 12, 2022, as members of the community cheered him on. Zhang, a student at the University of Missouri-Columbia from China, finished second in the double triathlon, which incorporated a 400-meter swim, 12-mile bike ride, 3.15-mile run, and another 200-meter swim, 5.3-mile bike ride and 1.5-mile run.
Michael Hendrickson, of Rogersville, accepts the first-place award from Caleb Couture, owner CJC Solutions. Hendrickson had the fastest time out of the more than 100 race participants on Sunday, June 12, 2022. (Ryan Pivoney/News Tribune photo)
Ryan Pivoney/News Tribune photo: Lindy Picray, 34, and Ruth Winters, 59, both of Jefferson City, check their run times Sunday, June 12, 2022, after competing in the super sprint triathlon, which is a 200-meter swim, 5.3-mile bike ride and 1.5-mile run. "I finished, that's the best part," Picray said.
A race participant prepares to take another lap Sunday, June 12, 2022, in the Ellis-Porter Riverside Pool during the Jefferson City Triathlon. (Ryan Pivoney/News Tribune photo)