THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 18, 1995 TAG: 9509180033
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Don Martin didn't mind the four-hour-plus drive from Arlington to Virginia Beach to compete in Sunday's 13th Annual Neptune Festival Sandman Triathlon. He has an affinity for water sports, and the triathlon includes an ocean swim.
What Martin didn't bargain for was water of another nature - a drenching rain that never relented throughout the early-morning event. But despite the conditions, he cruised to victory one hour, seven minutes and 49 seconds after leading the soppy field the entire way.
``Not many races have an ocean swim, and being a swimmer, an ocean swim is kind of fun,'' said Martin, 30, who swam for the University of Pittsburgh and now works for the Navy. ``Most triathlons have just a lake or something. To do an ocean swim is awesome.''
John Lomagda of Virginia Beach was second in 1:10:29, and the Beach's Russell Jessee was third in 1:10:58. Susan Arnold of McGaheysville, Va., was the first female finisher in 1:19:50, and AnnMarie Welch of Nags Head was second in 1:21:34.
The competition, which consists of a 1K swim, a 14-mile bike ride through Fort Story and a 5K run along the Boardwalk, drew a sparse amount of enthusiasts to cheer on the 385 participants, including 60 first-time triathletes. By the time the last runner finished, nearly 2 1/2 hours after the start, the course had turned into one sloppy puddle, and race director June McDaniels' soaked sheet of entries was an ink splotch. About the only ones relishing the blowy conditions were a school of dolphins frolicking in the rough surf.
``Wow, the dolphins. I was hoping one would come swim with us,'' said Martin, who calls himself an atypical trainer. Other than biking the 16-mile round trip to work and swimming on occasion, he didn't train much for his first Sandman.
``At the beginning of the swim, I could tell there was a current going north, so I started fairly far away from the buoy. I knew I'd be pushed north,'' he said. ``Once I got on the bike, my strategy, since I'm a slow runner, is just to go as hard as I can. . . . Once I got to the run, I felt really good, and I just tried to hang on.''
Lomagda, 26, a Hampton police officer, is familiar with racing against Martin. He lost to him earlier this summer at the local Breezy Point race. Lomagda swims regularly in a masters class and runs with the Tidewater Striders.
``I swam a little crooked on the swim,'' said Lomagda, who's in his second year of racing. ``I felt good on the bike. The run was pretty good, too.''
Lomagda said he would have preferred sunnier conditions since the heat and humidity often give him a boost.
``I feel like I have a little bit of an advantage when it's like that,'' he said. ``It seems like it doesn't affect me as it does the other triathletes.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo on page B1 by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN, Staff
Charles Young of Chesapeake sits on the railing near 31st Street at
the Oceanfront, watching runners splash along the Boardwalk dur
Sunday's Sandman Triathlon...
Photos by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN, Staff
Triathletes race through the rain into the surf Sunday at 22nd
Street for the 13th annual Neptune Festival Sandman Triathlon in
Virginia Beach. Winner Don Martin of Arlington led the entire way.
Ada and Allen Lester of Norfolk and Stoughton Farnham of Hampton,
right, watch the first heat of triathletes as they wait their turn.
by CNB