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Karen Knowles, personal lines agent at Gallaher Insurance Group in Mexico, recently competed in the USA Triathlon National Club Championship near Las Vegas, Nev.. Fifteen hundred athletes representing 25 clubs from all over the United States, including 109 members of Columbia Multisport Club, participated in this year’s event. A triathlon consists of three consecutive legs – swimming, cycling, and running.
Chris McCormack, the 2007 first-place finisher of the Hawaii Ironman, was representing the Columbia club’s main club competitor – Los Angeles. Columbia has managed to beat Los Angeles in four of the last five club championships.
Knowles competed in the sprint distance, which involved a half-mile swim, 12-mile bike and three-mile run. The athletes began the contest in “waves” of about 150 swimmers in the cold waters of Lake Mead.
Once the swim course was completed, the swimmers ran out of the water as quickly as possible to the transition area where his or her bike was “racked” by their participant number, put on their cycling shoes and helmet, grabbed their bike and walked it outside of the transition area to begin the bike portion of the race.
The mostly uphill 12-mile bike portion of the race took the riders out of the park to the top of Boulder City, Nev. The last mile of the race involved a steep switch back at an 8-percent grade. Fortunately, Knowles had practiced the hills of Graham Cave State Park and “Mineola Hill” near Montgomery City and found she was up to the task.
The last portion of the race, running, took the triathletes through desert neighborhoods. Knowles found this to be the most challenging part of the race due to the fact her back, hips and knees prevent sufficient pre-race practice. Near the finish, she found a band playing the Star Spangled Banner and cheering Air Force Team members motivating.
Knowles said, “I was one of the oldest competitors, so I tended to get a lot of encouragement from the other runners and spectators. It really made a difference in my ability to dig deep and try harder. I so appreciated those people!”
At the end of the race, Columbia Multisport finished second behind the L.A. Triathlon Club. The clubs really enjoyed the competition and comradery the event offered. Knowles was pleased with her fourth-place finish in her age group. Unfortunately, when she got home she found out she got a two-minute drafting penalty which knocked her down to a fifth-place finish. She said, “I was thrilled with my fifth-place finish. I didn’t expect to do that well.” The weekend was topped off with an extra day spent enjoying Las Vegas.
Karen Knowles, personal lines agent at Gallaher Insurance Group in Mexico, recently competed in the USA Triathlon National Club Championship near Las Vegas, Nev.. Fifteen hundred athletes representing 25 clubs from all over the United States, including 109 members of Columbia Multisport Club, participated in this year’s event. A triathlon consists of three consecutive legs – swimming, cycling, and running.
Chris McCormack, the 2007 first-place finisher of the Hawaii Ironman, was representing the Columbia club’s main club competitor – Los Angeles. Columbia has managed to beat Los Angeles in four of the last five club championships.
Knowles competed in the sprint distance, which involved a half-mile swim, 12-mile bike and three-mile run. The athletes began the contest in “waves” of about 150 swimmers in the cold waters of Lake Mead.
Once the swim course was completed, the swimmers ran out of the water as quickly as possible to the transition area where his or her bike was “racked” by their participant number, put on their cycling shoes and helmet, grabbed their bike and walked it outside of the transition area to begin the bike portion of the race.
The mostly uphill 12-mile bike portion of the race took the riders out of the park to the top of Boulder City, Nev. The last mile of the race involved a steep switch back at an 8-percent grade. Fortunately, Knowles had practiced the hills of Graham Cave State Park and “Mineola Hill” near Montgomery City and found she was up to the task.
The last portion of the race, running, took the triathletes through desert neighborhoods. Knowles found this to be the most challenging part of the race due to the fact her back, hips and knees prevent sufficient pre-race practice. Near the finish, she found a band playing the Star Spangled Banner and cheering Air Force Team members motivating.
Knowles said, “I was one of the oldest competitors, so I tended to get a lot of encouragement from the other runners and spectators. It really made a difference in my ability to dig deep and try harder. I so appreciated those people!”
At the end of the race, Columbia Multisport finished second behind the L.A. Triathlon Club. The clubs really enjoyed the competition and comradery the event offered. Knowles was pleased with her fourth-place finish in her age group. Unfortunately, when she got home she found out she got a two-minute drafting penalty which knocked her down to a fifth-place finish. She said, “I was thrilled with my fifth-place finish. I didn’t expect to do that well.” The weekend was topped off with an extra day spent enjoying Las Vegas.
