CLARK AND MICHAELS REPEAT WINNERS OF RANDOLPH TRI ATHLON
RANDOLPH – Yogi Berra would have loved the Y-TRI Triathlon that took place on Sunday. It was deja vue all over again for Doug Clark, 36, of Morristown and Pippa Michaels, 42, of Far Hills.
Both returned to the third annual event and repeated their 2004 victories. Starting with a half mile swim in Randolph Lake in Randolph Park, just off Route 10 and Sussex Turnpike, the athletes then sped off on their bikes for a 16.4 mile ride that took them first on Park Avenue in Ironia, and then down Dover Chester Road to the first outskirts of Chester and back via Pleasant Hill Road with its decidedly unpleasant hills. Last was a three mile cross country style running race.
Clark, who has been known to win road races, describes himself as only a decent runner.
“The bike is my strength,” he said. He finished in 1:12:43, only a little off his time in 2004 when he finished in 1:12:01.
Michaels, who also does well in road races, finished in 1:22:09, just under two minutes slower than in 2004 when she finished in 1:20:12. Michaels finds the transition from the bike to the run to be the most difficult.
“Getting off the bike and running is hard, because you are using different muscles,” she said. “But we practice doing it.”
Michaels will be competing at the US national triathlon in August in Kansas City Missouri and at the World Championships in October in Honolulu Hawaii. She finds racing on her home turf is special.
“You race well with people you train with,” she said. “For this race you don’t have to travel far. It is great to have a race of this caliber right here.”
Clark will be competing in the Ford Ironman 2005 at Lake Placid New York next weekend so the relatively short event on Sunday was a good tune-up. Clark had nothing but praise for the organization.
“This is a fantastic race. The organization is awesome,” he said. “Everyone is really, really good.”
Out of a field of 292 individual and relay starters 286 finished the race.
Published in the DAILY RECORD of MORRIS COUNTY on July 18, 2005.
Copyright, Madeline Bost, 2005.