Looks like a race I want to do next year...

[ODB]

...come on JP lets go [img]smile.gif[/img]

There’s a pretty strong multisport community in Ruston and there have been off road triathlons and duathlons at Lincoln Paris Park for several years. I went there in 1999 for a duathlon and had a great time. Xterra triathlon points races have popped up in Arkansas and Oklahoma in the past couple of years and, I’ve been wanting to give the series a shot, so I decided to add the Gator Terra triathlon to my schedule.


It’s a long way from Tulsa to Ruston, something I’d forgotten since last time I was down there. Ruston is located in the northern portion of Louisiana and I’ve been told it’s the highest point in the state. I guess it’s all downhill to the gulf. It’s very pretty, rolling hills and pine forests with some swampy looking areas thrown in for good measure. The timber industry seems to be pretty big here and was hard to ignore in some places. Lincoln Parish Park is a small park just outside of Ruston. It’s hard to believe it contains over 10 miles of very fine single track. It also contains a small ‘T’ shaped lake where the swim would take place. The Gator Terra triathlon consisted of an 800 yd swim, 10-mile bike and 3.6 mile run. While I was trying to decide if it was worth the hassle of wearing a wetsuit for such a short swim, they announced the water temperature was 79 degrees; too warm for a wetsuit. They also announced the start would be a beach sprint instead of a start in the water. The lake was so small that we’d be halfway to the first buoy if we had a deep-water start.


I put my bike and stuff in the transition area, thinking about how simple a triathlon was compared to the truckload of crap we usually cart around for adventure races and headed down to the beach for the start. People were lining up and I positioned myself on what I thought was the outside of the pack, preferring to avoid the mayhem of the hole shot for the first buoy. Turns out we were facing the wrong direction and when the race director got us turned around, I was exactly where I didn’t want to be. The gun went off and we ran about 30 yards down to the water and the swarm headed for the first buoy. The beach start was fun and at least you had some momentum instead of trying to start swimming from standing in chest deep water. I sighted on the first buoy and took several strong strokes trying to get in the clear without wasting too much time looking around. I don’t know how you can get so disoriented in just 200 yards, but some guy swam across my back, perpendicular to the direction we were supposed to be going. Maybe he’d had enough and was heading for shore. At the first buoy, things had thinned out considerably and I was able to settle down into a pretty good rhythm. I felt like I was near the front as we were heading back to the beach. Somebody yelled that I was 3rd out of the water as we ran through the sand up towards the TA.


I was happy to be near the front since there weren’t many places to pass on the trail. I lost a couple of places getting sand off my feet and putting on socks (yeah, I know, what a wuss). The first mile of the trail was pretty open and I caught a couple of the guys who had passed me just as we entered the first sections of singletrack. I passed one guy as he overshot a corner and was inspecting the bark on a pine tree and passed another where the trail opened up into double track. The rest of the ride was just a blast. The trail was like a rollercoaster. The trail twisted around and turned back on itself several times and in just a few minutes I was completely confused. Luckily the trail was well marked, so I just kept cranking. The last half of the bike seemed to have more climbing than the first and the final 2 miles were pretty tough, including one stinker that I just got off and ran up.


Back to the transition area and off on the run. The first part of the run followed the bike and the doubled back to the finish on a more primitive trail. I’d heard a someone behind me for the last mile or two of the bike and since the trail was so serpentine, I was able to see him quite often as he got closer and closer. He caught and passed me at the halfway aid station. By this time, I felt like my shoes had lead insoles in them and was mentally trying to keep it together for the last little bit. Having somebody in front helped keep the pace up and I thought I might be able to make it to the finish holding my position. I don’t know why, but with about ¾ of a mile to go, they ran us through the corner of a small pond for about 10-15 yards. It seemed silly, but it actually felt pretty good. After that the trail narrowed down, snaking between trees that barely seemed wide enough to get your shoulders through. Would have been an interesting sprint finish.


We finished back at the TA, under the requisite Red Bull banner. I’d managed to hold onto 3rd overall, even with my run-once-a-week training program. It was a very enjoyable race; I can’t say the same thing about the drive home though.

Off-road Tri's rule! I'm thinking about doing one in July here in Little Rock.