Joe Matulis puts a participation medal around the neck of special education junior Kathleen Degenhardt after her finish at the Spartan Sprint Triathlon at MSU on Sunday. Degenhardt was the fifth woman to finish the triathlon. She finished 37th overall.
In the hours before a triathlon, Jon Ruud eats a bagel and a PowerBar, and drinks half a liter of water and half a liter of grape G2 Gatorade. Michelle Dawes eats mountains of pasta and cereal.
In the minutes before a triathlon, Ruud surveys the swim course, reminding himself to hold his goggles as he jumps in the tepid pool. Dawes, an animal science junior, stretches and hops, waiting for the swimmer in front of her to leap into the first leg of the competition.
But in the seconds before a triathlon, both triathletes are focused on one thing — the race.
The inaugural Spartan Sprint Triathlon brought hundreds of triathletes to MSU — including students from 11 other universities — to compete in a 400-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike ride and 5-kilometer run Sunday. The race was part of the U.S. Collegiate Triathlon Series and hosted by the MSU Triathlon Team and 3 Disciplines Racing.
The entire race took place on campus with Spartan women leading the way. Biochemistry and molecular biology junior Jackie Brosius won first place and dietetics junior Alissa Thompson finished second among female collegiate participants.
The race brought current and former Spartans to campus.
Ruud, a Birmingham resident and engineer, began participating in triathlons three years ago with his wife Kristen Ruud, an MSU alumna.
“It’s something that I wanted to do and I kind of forced her to do it,” Jon Ruud joked.
He finished first in his age group of 20- to 29-year-old men.
MSU Triathlon Team President Josh Matter is enlisted in the Navy and said his intense triathlon training will be useful.
“My fitness — that’s one reason I got selected for my program,” he said.
“They said ‘Oh, you’re a triathlete, you’ll pass.’ I’m probably going in over qualified.”
Matter has competed in Olympic-distance triathlons and hopes to someday complete an entire Ironman race.
“I hope to work towards that, but I’m definitely not there yet,” he said.
But not every MSU triathlete is quite as typical. Dawes turned in her pompoms for a swim cap in January, when the former cheerleader joined the Triathlon Team on a whim.
“I was kind of just like, ‘What the heck,’ I’ll go for it,” she said. “Going into an endurance sport was a big change.”
Snagging a 14th placing out of 28 female collegiate participants, Dawes’ physical endurance proved to be strong at the Spartan Sprint Triathlon — her fourth race of the year. Last year, the MSU team earned a men’s 10th and women’s 21st place at the USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals.
Dawes said it’s her peers that inspire her to put her best foot forward.
“There’s a lot of really experienced people on our team that have given us good advice and therefore, that’s why we finished 10th in the nation last year,” she said. “People know what they’re doing and they’re very willing to teach you and other people how to train and do well.”
For Dawes, it isn’t the training that’s difficult — it’s finding time to do it. With a job at an animal science lab, as well as 15 credits on her plate, it’s difficult for her to find a few hours to hop on a bike.
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“Just finding the time and sometimes the motivation (is a challenge),” she said.
“(It’s hard) just having somewhat of a life still, going to football games and hanging out with friends and family. You have to make an avid attempt — you have to be dedicated.”
Although she began the day with pasta, Dawes rewards herself after a race with her favorite thing — a hearty steak dinner.
“That honestly is one of the best parts of doing a race — eating a lot,” she said.
