As the weather gets warmer and summer nears, the MSU Triathlon Club is getting anxious to start racing.
“This time of year really pumps us up,” said Jason Torrente, the team’s captain and an education junior.
The season doesn’t start until the end of May, but some members are training up to 15 hours a week - swimming, biking and running - to get ready for the races.
The club participates in Olympic and sprint-distance triathlons. The Olympic triathlons include up to a 1.5-kilometer open-water swim, a 40-kilometer bike race and 10-kilometer run. Sprint-distance triathlons are anything less than the Olympic distances.
The races are held at state parks and recreation areas with lakes, and usually on-road trails. Club President Jennifer Finger said the Olympic races take about two and a half hours. The Ironman is a triathlon of great distances and takes about 15 hours to complete.
Finger, who was hooked after her first triathlon, said training for the Ironman is a huge commitment most college students don’t have time for.
However, Finger, like many triathletes, plans to race in an Ironman eventually. She wants to do it by the time she’s 27 years old and Torrente’s goal is to complete one in four years.
Finger compared her current training schedule to a part-time job, and said she never gets bored.
“There are lots of combinations to mix up the workouts,” said the fisheries and wildlife and zoology senior.
For her workouts Finger chooses between running, swimming, biking, strength training and flexibility.
Most practice is done individually now, but the team runs together on Sundays.
The club began in 1999 as a training club for students interested in swimming, biking and running. There are about 20 active members. Recently the club registered with the Collegiate Triathlon Association. So, next year the team will race in intercollegiate competitions, hold daily practices and get sponsorship for equipment costs and race entrance fees. Members are planning to do a few triathlons as a team this summer in competitions around the state.
But many of the club members haven’t done a triathlon yet.
Jesse Bommarito has been running seriously for four years, but has never put it together with swimming and biking.
“I’ve always wanted to try it,” the education freshman said. “But I never had the incentive to get good at swimming.”
Now that he’s a member of the club, he said there’s always people to swim with.
No-preference freshman Bill Ireland, also new to triathlons, agreed that camaraderie is a big part of the triathlon team.
“I like the social runs because we get to know each other,” he said.
The dedication Torrente sees in the team atmosphere is also important, he said. Members aren’t just working for themselves. During a race with a team, “everything comes together and nothing can beat it,” he said.
Finger likes the atmosphere of triathlons as well.
“Because there isn’t a lot of money in the sport, competitors are doing it for the love and spirit, not for the big prize at the end,” she said.
For more information on the MSU Triathlon Club, visit www.msu.edu/~triclub or e-mail triclub@msu.edu.
