THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 16, 1996 TAG: 9609160134
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 68 lines
Craig Lauinger seems to learn a new lesson every time he participates in the Neptune Festival Sandman Triathlon.
Last year the Alexandria, Va., resident, then the defending champion, was leading the race when he was felled by a flat tire. As he sat by his bike, waiting patiently in a pouring rain for a ride back to his car, he drew the appropriate lesson: next time, bring a spare tire.
Sunday, Lauinger led from start to finish, claiming the 14th annual one-kilometer swim, 14-mile bike ride, 5-K run in 1:08.47. The lesson this year? Don't eat peanut butter for breakfast.
``I nearly lost it on the Boardwalk during the run,'' he said. ``I had a muffin with some peanut butter first thing this morning. . . . I was tasting peanut butter during the run.''
Luckily for Lauinger he had a substantial lead, had time to stop and settle his stomach and coasted across the finish line 31 seconds ahead of Keith Houston of Richmond, the No. 2 finisher.
Lauinger, a sound engineer for an Army band in Arlington, emerged from the water with Houston right beside him. A former swimmer at Indiana and American universities, Lauinger says he has a difficult time winning triathlons when he doesn't have a lead after the swim.
But by the end of the bike ride, the 28-year-old Oregon native was well ahead of the pack and drew loud cheers from the several thousand spectators lining the Boardwalk.
The women's winner drew perhaps the loudest cheers of all because she is a familiar face - Leslie Willis of Virginia Beach. The Cox High School physical education teacher has won the Sandman Triathlon so many times she's lost count.
``I guess I've won it four or five times,'' said the State College, Pa., native, who has been running in local triathlons for nine years.
Willis finished at 1:12:36, less than four minutes behind Lauinger and 67 seconds ahead of Nancy Lewis of Norfolk, the No. 2 women's finisher.
The winners waded through a record field of 570, a mark likely to stand. Race coordinator Betty Belknap says a limit will be placed on the field next year.
The field was so large that runners began the race in six staggered heats. Times had to be adjusted to compensate for those who began later than others. It wasn't until noon, 2 1/2 hours after he finished the race, that Lauinger was officially informed he'd won at a post-triathlon party at America Rocks Restaurant.
Race organizers had prepared for the worst of conditions. Two days before the race, forecasters had predicted Hurricane Hortense would kick up high waves and rip tides, and a week ago, Belknap figured heat would be a problem. So she purchased 5,000 cups for water and made plans to cancel the swim.
But by the 8 a.m. start, temperatures were in the 60s, the wind was calm and the water almost glassy.
Only one swimmer had any trouble. An unidentified male apparently grew tired and tried to drift into the beach. He was caught in a current and wound up about 400 yards from where he should have emerged. Two lifeguards on surf boards coaxed him into shore.
``The water was warm, like pool water,'' Lauinger said. ``All in all, the race was just about perfect.''
Peanut butter and all. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MIKE HEFFNER/The Virginian-Pilot
Winner Craig Lauinger, 28, a sound engineer for an Army band, rolls
down Atlantic Avenue in Sunday's Neptune Festival Sandman Triathlon.
Leslie Willis finished less than four minutes behind Lauinger and 67
seconds ahead of the No. 2 women's finisher.
KEYWORDS: NEPTUNE FESTIVAL SANDMAN TRIATHLON by CNB