The MSU Triathlon Team and 3 Disciplines Racing hosted a triathlon for willing participants of all ages and levels of experience. The race included a 400-meter swim in the pool at IM Sports-West, a 20-kilometer bike ride around South Neighborhood and a five-kilometer run throughout campus. The event was held to raise money for the Triathlon Team to go to Nationals in the spring.
Eleven-year-old Joey Berman went swimming with the big fish Sunday morning. He rode his bike and ran with them too.
Berman was one of more than 300 participants in the Spartan Sprint Triathlon. The event consisted of a 400-meter swim in the outdoor pool at IM Sports-West, a 20-kilometer bike ride around South Neighborhood and five-kilometer run along the Red Cedar River.
This is Berman’s second triathlon and although most of the other competitors were at least twice his age, Berman was not intimidated.
“I’m just kind of competing against the clock,” Berman said.
The race was put on by 3 Disciplines Racing and the MSU Triathlon Team with the proceeds going to the team to fund its trip to the Collegiate National Championship in the spring.
The event was split into two fields: collegiate and public. Individuals from across the country participated, including teams from MSU, the University of Michigan, Purdue University, Central Michigan University, Grand Valley State University, the University of Dayton and Miami University.
However, some members of the MSU Triathlon Team, such as media arts and technology junior and team president Eric Musser, could not participate in the race.
3 Disciplines Racing provided all the equipment, but it was the team’s responsibility to run the event, Musser said.
Race director and 3 Disciplines Racing owner Kenny Krell credits the success of the event to the combined efforts between the club and his company.
“The big thing is working with the Spartan Triathlon Team — they do a lot of the work on campus here, getting the public safety involved and all the permits,” Krell said. “(We) couldn’t do it without the MSU Triathlon Team.”
This is 3 Disciplines Racing’s final triathlon of the season, and Krell said it’s a race that always has a strong turn out.
With the swimming stage of the race being in a pool along with the running and biking stages on MSU’s relatively flat campus, the course appeals to competitors of all levels of experience, Krell said.
For some participants, such as political science sophomore Andrew Kuhlman, this was their first triathlon.
Kuhlman and his friends signed up for the race on a whim last month and have been running, swimming and cycling daily in order to prepare.
“I was aiming for one (hour and) 15 (minutes) overall, and that’s actually what I got,” Kuhlman said. “For me, (the most difficult part) was swimming — I’m not a strong swimmer. I just pushed myself through it, just didn’t stop and just kept going.”
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