Jeff Vizethann offers instructions before the start of the July 14 Orange County Triathlon.
It’s a part of the triathlon that spectators seldom see. Before the race there’s a lot of waiting, but no one seems to mind.
Sunday, July 14, marked the third running of the Orange County Triathlon that begins and ends at the Newburgh waterfront.
Jeff Vizethann and Neal Wilkinson of Cornwall organized the event and arrived for the start of sign-ins at 4:30 a.m. It was still dark, but there were people already waiting. They would have three hours to kill before they entered the water.
They spent part of that time storing their bicycles in the transition area, and chatting with fellow competitors. There was no evidence of pre-race jitters. As the sun came up, and the mist lifted off the Hudson, people noticed that the river was unusually calm. Jeff Vizethann said it looked like glass. There wasn’t a ripple to be seen between Newburgh and Beacon.
It was different from the first event in 2011, where swimmers had to contend with a strong wind blowing against them. There was hardly a breeze on July 14, and in the early morning the heat was still bearable.
For most of the staff members, this was a weekend assignment. They spent Saturday marking the course and setting up the transition and staging areas. When they returned on Sunday, they mentioned lack of sleep, but they didn’t complain.
The race directors, who had the good sense to enlist the help of their families, remained low-key. While multi-tasking, Neal Wilkinson found time to mention the origin of the event. He came up with the idea in 2009, he said, and his first step was to convince Jeff Vizethann to join him.
As the two of them competed in triathlons, they made notes for when they would be hosting their own event. Of course, there are always occurrences that aren’t expected.
For example, a train rumbled by the site at 6:45 when Vizethann was broadcasting the instructions over a microphone. He waited for the last car to pass, and then assured the participants that they would not be crossing railroad tracks during the race.
Most of the instructions focused on the swim. Wilkinson said that the water temperature was 76.1 degrees, without revealing how he knew that. Vizethann told the swimmers that they would see markers as they passed the 500 and 1000-meter marks. He warned them to stay inside the buoys or the tide might carry them down to the Statue of Liberty. Apparently, the current was stronger than it looked.
When the instructions were over, staff members led the racers on a mile-long walk to where they would enter the water. Some of them had spent more time waiting than they would spend on the course.
Distances: 1500-meter swim, 40 K bike ride (24.8 miles), 10 K run (6.2 miles). These are considered Olympic distances.
Local participants: Steve Moreau (30) 2:42:59, Bryan Lubarsky (45) 2:55:59, Kelly Kane (51) 2:59:05, Jim Kane (52) 2:58:47, Eric Fethke (60) 3:07:48, Greg Whalen (67) 3:11:52, Samuel Adams (70) 3:20:41
