Triathlon Club starts up first season
on campus
LeeAnn Schmerber / Reporter
The new Triathlon Club is beginning its first season at Elon
University, giving students the opportunity to be involved in
a unique club sport on campus.
Started at the beginning of this year, the Triathlon Club is
the result of inspiration from a cancelled class. Triathlon
Club President Molly Dugan took a class her freshman year
that focused on training and eventually participating in a
sprint triathlon.
According to Dugan, little compared to the excitement and
anticipation before the race, and the feeling of relief when
she had finished it.
Having spent much of the semester training and mentally
preparing, it was a sense of great accomplishment to cross
the finish line. It was those feelings that she wanted
to share with other people, and inspired her and two other
classmates to form the club.
The club's goal is to participate in Tri on the Hill, a
sprint triathlon in Hampden- Sydney, Va., on April 30.
A sprint triathlon consists of a one-quarter mile swim, five
kilometer run and 13-mile bike ride.
Unlike many sports teams, which practice a couple of times a
week, training for a triathlon requires daily workouts.
"Our objective is to help people train," Dugan
said. "We give out training schedules and help
people figure out what kind of training is best for them
based on what shape they're in."
Dugan stressed that you don't need to be in excellent
physical shape, or have participated in a triathlon to be
part of the club.
Sophomore Katy Zujkowski has never participated in a
triathlon, but thought this would be a good goal to set, and
great motivation for staying in shape.
"I always thought that triathlons looked nearly
impossible," Zujkowski said. "But now that
I've been training, I know that it's doable."
Because they can't meet on a daily basis to train, some
other activities are scheduled to promote team bonding. Rock
climbing, spaghetti dinners and team brunches are a couple of
the ways that the teammates can get to know each other.
Senior Kristin Sanders, who has run in a triathlon before,
likes the dynamic of working with a group of people. She
believes that although a triathlon isn't a team sport,
it's important to have support and motivation from
others.
"Having someone there to run with you or encourage you
to train is probably one of the best ways to be
successful," Sanders said. "It's great
because you can be competitive with one another and help each
other at the same time."
The triathlon's club season is from February to October.
One of their first events is a mini man duathlon scheduled
for March 14 as part of Health and Wellness week. The
duathlon will consist of a two-mile loop around Elon's
campus and a one-quarter mile swim in Belk Pool.
The club holds one or two meetings a month, and uses that
time to make sure that people are keeping up with training,
and to answer questions. The club is available to join
despite the fact that the season has already begun.
Contact LeeAnn Schmerber at pendulum@elon.edu or
278-7247.
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Photo
courtesy of KRT Campus