- By Dan Veaner
- Sports
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(Picture courtesy of Elena Parkins)
This year 85 athletes competed in adult and youth team and individual categories. "That event has gotten bigger every year," says Athletic Director Ed Redmond. "It's turned into a real community event, that brings fitness to the forefront. It brings people together for fitness." This year there were 12 youth teams, 8 youth individuals, 11 adult teams, and 12 adult individuals.
Shana Swanson with dad Glen
Triathlon competitors started in the pool where youth swam 100 yards (four lengths) and adults swam 400 yards (16 lengths). Next came the bicycle lap, which started and ended in front of Lansing High School. Volunteers were stationed at waypoints along the route. School Board member Dan Brown, who won the Men's Individual gold medal last year, was not running this year, because he had a big triathlon to run the next day. "He's doing a really big one, where the bicycle is 25 miles," LiVigne said. "He had to be prepared for that." But Brown volunteered to man one of the bicycler stations, a solitary post on the corner of Buck and Auburn Roads. Soccer coach Adam Heck manned the waypoint on the corner of Ridge and Brickyard Roads, checking off contenders as they passed his station.
The last portion was the run. Runners came up the path from in front of the High School around to Brickyard Road and then to the track, where they ran about 3/4 of the way around to the finish line. Athletes, friends and families cheered each runner as they appeared on Brickyard Road above the track, encouraging them along the last lap of the event.
"The purpose of the triathlon is primarily to promote fitness in the community, and secondarily to raise money for equipment for our weight room," says LiVigne. "This is our third year of the triathlon, and possibly by the end of this year we'll have enough to buy one piece of equipment from our proceeds. If we make enough money to buy one good piece of cardio equipment, that's a lot better than buying some cheap stuff, because it will last longer."
Adam Heck waits for the last bicyclist to pass his waypoint
at the corner of Brickyard and Ridge Roads
LiVigne is the curriculum coordinator for 12 person Health, Phys Ed and Family and Consumers department, so she is especially involved in integrating wellness into the schools. "The school district now has a wellness policy," she says. "The State mandated that a wellness policy be written by July of this year. We completed ours prior to July. Each building will develop a wellness plan for their building. Then each building will be doing a lot of different things that contribute to fitness. In the school activities, school to home activities, community activities, all the things that contribute to nutrition, safety and overall wellness." She says she hopes this will mean that vending machine and lunch menus will also be changing to promote wellness.
The triathlon is a way to start the school year by making school kids and their families aware of fitness and wellness, kicking off the program in the school. All of the teachers in her department participate. "Everybody's helping," she says. "We all share the duties. I organize it as far as doing a lot of the paper work and collecting the registrations, but everybody has a job that they're responsible for, and it works out really well."
The winning youth female team
(Picture courtesy of Elena Parkins)
Shelly Matheny, a pool assistant in the department, organized the volunteers. LiVigne says that is key to the event's success. " We have a lot of great volunteers," she says. "We couldn't do it without our volunteers."
Shana is currently the only girl who runs modified track. She says she'll probably want to be on the Varsity team when the time comes. Her dad, Glen, rode along with her on the bicycle lap. Shana says she was glad of the company. This year she also ran in 'Run For the Cheetah' in Phoenix, Arizona, to support the cheetahs in the zoo. "I did a mile," she says. "I was ahead at the beginning, but then I got lost. I think I may have run an extra half mile. But I came in tenth." In the Lansing event she was pretty sure that she was winning again. "I figured I was doing pretty well, because I knew one of the other girls, and I didn't see anyone."
Scoreboard | |
Youth
Aiden Quest Taylor Schuster
Rachel Brock Emily Rasmussen
Josh McGiff Andrew Zarate | Adult
Dan Hranek Nick Mallinson
MaryEllen Barber Debbie Ryan
Mike Matheny |
The Rasmussen family all participated. "Caroline did a great job on the individual event, and the rest of the family teamed up for a family tri-team," said Bob Rasmussen who teamed up with his daughter and son Emily and Eric. "Emily also teamed with Rachel Brock and Natalie O'Brien to win the girls youth event," he added. His wife Caroline competes in other triathlons as well, and Bob says she trains hard for them.
Winners in the Adult categories
LiVigne was happy with the event, and says she hopes that the proceeds from the past three years will be enough to purchase a piece of cardio equipment. "We had a lot of good turnout," she says. "People are very, very supportive."
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