At 6 a.m. on a blustery Saturday morning, 1600 people arrived at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park to participate in the 27th annual Runner’s Edge Tobay triathlon and tri-relay race.
Doreen Kralick, 46, participated for the second time as a triathaloner. She became involved in the sport after her children grew up.
“My kids started growing up and I had the time for it,” she said. “I loved the activity and I met a great group of people within it so it worked out for me. It’s a stress reliever. It has made me more balanced between kids and work. The hardest part of triathlon is finding the time to get the training in, I do a lot of ironman so this was just a training on the way. I have done ironman four times.”
Greeting the participants was Legislator Rose Walker who laughed when asked if she was participating.
“Yes, clapping my hands very hard and shouting,” she said. “This is amazing, a large number of people this year, a great turnout and everyone looks anxious to get ready to go. I was a swim coach and I am very involved with the swim team in Hicksville so I told them I will do a mini triathlon. I am going to run down my driveway, grab the bicycle jump on that, ride back and then jump in the pool for a few laps. Does that count?”
Swimmers were called to the starting point according to their groups. After the national anthem was played Walker hit the air horn and the athletes were off, thrashing about in the choppy waters of the bay while dark clouds loomed overhead. As they exited the water, many of the athletes were peeling off their wet suits while running as they got ready to ride their bikes, cheered on by the crowd. One woman who cannot use her legs was met at the water’s edge by her coach with her wheelchair and assist dog and the crowd greeted her with cheers and a thunderous applause. The leaders of the pack jumped on their bikes and started their trek uphill. As each runner crossed the finish line they received a gold medal.
Massapequa’s Brian Spillane, 42, has participated in this race four times.
“I love the triathlon,” he said. “They are great and they keep me motivated to stay in shape and be a great example for my kids.”
Accountant Dennis Almodovar, 46, has done this triathlon a dozen times.
“I started out as a runner and then I progressed to biking and swimming and it just keeps me in great shape,” he said. “The hardest part of triathlon on a day like today was the swim. The water was very choppy but the best part was the running. I love to run.”
Karen Conkling, 51, explained her introduction to triathlon.
“A friend got me interested in this 10 years ago and I just loved it,” she said. “I was 41 when I started. The more you stay in shape the more you can do with your life. I have four kids, a 16-year-old a set of 15-year-old triplets, all in high school this year.” They are very supportive, they always cheer me on and route me on and want to know how I did.” Conkling is a member of the Massapequa Road Runners and encourages those who want to start running to come down to Brady Park.
Husband and wife Jerry and Christy Mullooly, both 46 of Massapequa Park, completed the race. Parents of a 6- and 8-year-old, he is in banking and she is in computer consulting.
“He said, ‘let’s do a marathon, a half marathon,’ and after we did that he said ‘let’s do a triathlon’ so this is how it got started,” said Christy. “You get people here who come out to support you, they are there when you come out of the water, they are there on the bike ride and they are there on the run. There are a lot of people here to support you and cheer you on and that is one of the best things about it. This is very well run, they have been doing this for a long time and you can tell.”
Jerry said the feeling of accomplishment is something that lasts long after the race is finished.
“Sometimes leading up to it you are like, ‘oh no I can’t do it anymore.’ Then right after you finish, like right now when you get this medal, it’s the best feeling and you want to do it again.”
