It wouldn’t be out of order to call triathlons “try-athlons” given how many newcomers have given the sport a shot since the running, swimming and biking competition earned mainstream status as an Olympic sport in 2000.
Women dive into Clark Lake during the Clark Lake Triathlon. Triathlon officials are noticing a growing interest in the sport.
There’s something contagious about the fervent competition and varied conditioning of triathlons that has caused the sport to spread like wildfire across the country — and Jackson County is no exception.
Last year, there were 29 USA Triathlon-sanctioned events scheduled in Michigan from May through August, including the Clark Lake and Waterloo triathlons, as well as a trio of events in Grass Lake.
One reason the sport has surged in popularity locally, according to personal trainer Jeff Beagle — who has participated in nine Ironman triathlons across the globe during more than 25 years of competing — is because events have become shorter and more accessible.
The 50-year-old Hanover resident says he has had clients who couldn’t run a mile when he first started working with them, but by identifying their strengths and building stamina, many of them have completed sprint triathlons. Most local and regional events are classified as sprint triathlons, which involve almost a half-mile swim, 12-mile biking portion and 5K run — approximately half of the standard Olympic distances.
“More and more people are taking it up; more and more people don’t see it as something they can’t do,” Beagle says.
Beagle stumbled across the sport in the mid-80s when he picked up a copy of Triathlete Magazine and decided to see what it was about because he was dealing with recurring running injuries in his pursuit of running long-distance events.
The sport was obscure back then, he says, with the Clark Lake Triathlon attracting 200-250 competitors, compared to the more than 600 who now register annually.
Jim Donaldson, a triathlete from Sylvania, Ohio, has managed the Clark Lake Triathlon and Duathlon (running and biking only) through Elite Endeavors, LLC, for more than a decade, and he has been involved in the governing body of the sport for almost 30 years.
The sport’s popularity skyrocketed when it became an Olympic sport because “people finally realized that not every event was like the Ironman competitions and it wasn’t just for elite athletes,” he says.
Donaldson has remained competitive for so long in part because of the sustained health benefits he has experienced from being a triathlete.
“It’s a great sport for physical fitness because you’re doing three different things,” he says. “You don’t have to do the same thing day after day after day, and I think most people enjoy a little biking and swimming already anyway.”
He became involved in hosting endurance events with his wife Joyce because they saw the sport’s potential to expand and wanted to be part of the triathlon community.
“The Clark Lake Triathlon is kind of a community, family-type of triathlon with lots of local residents coming out to watch and cheer the athletes on, with the bike course out by the cottages,” he says. “It’s a nice lake, lots of people there, and a good starting and ending place.”
Elite Endeavors also hosts the Waterloo Triathlon and Duathlon, another area race with a longstanding tradition.
“The Waterloo one is one of the best-kept secrets in the state of Michigan — that state park is just beautiful,” Donaldson says.
Ann Arbor resident Karen McKeachie is also in the business of hosting events, with Epic Races, LLC. Epic Races puts on several female-only triathlons in Grass Lake, as well as the grueling 42-mile Battle of Waterloo survival event.
The variety of trails and abundance of lakes makes lower Michigan a prime location for triathlons, she says, but the sport is still somewhat restricted to a distinct demographic because of the costs of equipment and accessories.
“The bikes have changed and the wetsuits and all the technical parts of the equipment have changed the most since I started all those years ago,” she says, noting entry fees also have doubled and tripled.
Regardless of cost and a competitor’s age, Beagle believes that triathlons are a tough bug to kick once somebody commits to the sport.
“It’s all about setting goals and going after them … when somebody asks me why I’m biking 100 miles three weekends out of a month, they don’t wonder why,” he says. “It justifies my whole world.”
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As published in the Jackson Citizen Patriot on June 27, 2011
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