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While not an official Triathlon Team event, Stanford was well represented at the 26th Annual Wildflower Triathlon Festival. The festival went from Friday through Sunday, with Long Course and Mountain Bike Triathlons on Saturday, and the Olympic race (with a Collegiate division) on Sunday.
Jeff, Bob, Kevin, Tom, Natalia, and Naupaka completed the long course (1.2 mi, 56 mi, 13.1 mi) on Saturday, Sean took on the Mountain Bike race, and Alexa finished 6th among Collegiate women in the Olympic race on Sunday. Although weather was perfect on Saturday, the long course lived up to its reputation as a hilly beast. After a very pleasant swim, the bike course rolled around Lake San Antonio, until the worst hit - most legs were not happy about the 800-ft climb at mile 41 known as "Heart Rate Hill" or "Nasty Grade". The run course was essentially uphill for 12 miles, with some very steep sections of trail, followed by a plummeting, knee-busting last mile back down to the lake.
While the race was great, the Wildflower atmosphere was at its finest. Energetic and supportive spectators lined the run course; volunteers were everywhere and highly enthusiastic; post-race food, gelato, and IVs all felt great. Camping in the playground right by the lake made a couple of kids unhappy about us blocking their slide (it was the only flat spot around)! Sean served up some great grilled salmon, salad, and refreshments. And of course, history was made, and this was the first race in which I was finally beaten by Chris McCormack.
See you at Wildflower next year!