Triathletes enjoyed beautiful weather and brand new pavement on North Shore Road as the St. John Landsharks hosted the 12th annual Love City Triathlon and Aquathon on Sunday morning, September 26.
After postponing the race in the wake of Hurricane Earl — the event was originally scheduled for September 5 — organizers saw the number of participants drop, but the conditions for those who did compete were perfect.
“Originally we had a big group of athletes from St. Croix who were going to come over and compete,” said race director Louise Wearmouth. “But we had to reschedule the race after the hurricane, and they are having their last race of the season this weekend, so there was a conflict.”
“We couldn’t ask for better weather today, so the people who did come out for the race are really enjoying it,” Wearmouth said.
A total of 11 males faced off in the individual triathlon, tackling a half mile swim and a 14-mile bike ride followed by a four mile run.
The race kicked off at 7 a.m. at Maho Bay beach with the 11 triathletes taking to the water first. The triathletes then biked along the recently paved North Shore Road to Cruz Bay and along Centerline Road to the Colombo Yogurt Stand where they turned back onto North Shore to wrap up the bike portion of the race at the Annaberg parking lot.
Triathletes then dumped their bikes and ran a four mile course which incorporated the Annaberg stairs, before crossing the finish line back at the Annaberg parking lot.
After one hour, 38 minutes and 28 seconds, 24-year-old Morgan Locke was the first individual triathlon competitor to finish the race. The St. Thomas athlete was followed by Andrew Thompson, 43, who finished in one hour, 49 minutes and one second. Chris Ghiorse, 46, was right on his heels, finishing third in one hour, 49 minutes and three seconds.
The triathlon was also open to relay teams, with one member swimming, one running and a third biking. The first relay team to cross the finish line consisted of Tory Lane, swimming; Thomas Layer, biking, and Kevin Chipman, running. The winning team finished the race in a total time of one hour, 38 minutes and 57 seconds.
The second place relay team consisted of Lani Roberts, swimming; Austin Payne, biking, and Galen Stamford, running. The second place relay team finished the course in one hour, 52 minutes and 56 seconds.
The third place relay team, which finished in one hour, 58 minutes and 56 seconds, consisted of Eric Bauman, swimming; Pretlow Majette, biking, and Margaret Majette, running.
The Land Sharks also offered a shortened course for athletes to compete in what they called an “Aquathon,” consisting of a half-mile swim followed by a 3.4 mile run.
Adam Thill, 44, won the aquathon, crossing the finish line after 42 minutes and six seconds. Dave Sapio, 40, came in second in the swim and run event, finishing in 43 minutes and 44 seconds. Jason Siska, 25, took third place in the aquathon, finishing in a time of 45 minutes and four seconds.
Twenty-four-year-old Sarah Swan was the first female aquathon finisher, wrapping up the race in 46 minutes and 40 seconds. Mary Vargo, 26, came in second place with a time of 46 minutes and 50 seconds, followed by Adrianne Baird, 37, who finished in 51 minutes and five seconds.
For complete results check out www.stjohnlandsharks.com.
