Once the stopwatch is set, all notions of bodily comfort leave the mind of a Syracuse University triathlete.

The race is a daunting triumvirate of athletic travails – swimming strokes against the undercurrent, sprinting through jagged terrain and bike peddling against the air stream. Yet in this game-turned survival of the fittest, only one goal remains: the sweet taste of victory at the finish line.

Thanks to the SU triathlete club, students, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to experience the world of triathlete brawn for the first time in campus history. This Saturday at Archbold Gymnasium, the team is sponsoring an indoor triathlon entailing 10 minutes of swimming, 15 minutes of biking and 15 minutes of running for each participant. Through the event, the club hopes to raise enough funds to sponsor a trip for themselves to Arizona for the National Triathlon Championship.

‘You don’t have to be a swimmer, a biker or a runner (to enter),’ said Beckie Auyer, a senior supply chain management major. ‘All you need is motivation.’

While the group has only registered a total of 15 people thus far, members hope to recruit as many as 78 people by Saturday. The club has already received significant contributions from local businesses such as The Art of Massage, The Bikery and Sole Connection.

‘Overall, I’ve been really impressed with the sponsors,’ said Mark Ehrensberger, a graduate biomedical engineering student and club officer. ‘It shows that there are some good-hearted people out there interested in getting this race up and running.’

Directly following check-in at 11 a.m., shifts of six people will spend the allotted times at either the swimming pool, treadmill or exercise bike station. Each participant will also receive an escort from the triathlon club and a card which records the distances completed at each station.

Winners will be chosen based on the farthest distance completed within several categories: female and male individual categories for students and faculty/staff, and a team category. First and second place winners within individual divisions will receive a free pair of Saucony shoes from Sole Connection. The first place winner within the team category will also win a free pair of shoes, while second and third place winners will receive free XS Energy promotional products.

The event will conclude with a post-race awards party at Chuck’s on Marshall Street at 6 p.m., which will include a buffet and drawings for gift certificates from local businesses.

Students participating in the race pay a registration fee of $10, while team divisions enter the competition for $25 and faculty and staff members pay $15. Through entrance fees, as well as the $1,000 contributed to the club by the university, members hope to profit somewhere between $1500 and $1700 to support athletes traveling to races.

Nearing the end of the planning process, Ehrensberger said organizing the event has been more difficult than he expected.

‘It takes a lot of time,’ he said. ‘It’s amazing how many details have to be accounted for. Now I have a good deal of respect for organizers as a competitor.’

The triathlon club itself, which has gone from 10 members to 60 in two years of existence, has experienced a great surge in student interest since its inception. Ehrensberger attributes all of this success to the group’s purveyor – computer science and linguistics graduate student Keisuke Inoue – who originally sought to bring the sport of triathlon to the university level.

‘Keisuke has been persistent in promoting the sport,’ Ehrensberger said. ‘He’s a good mentor for people with no experience … it’s important to have someone around like him.’

Both Inoue and Ehrensberger have participated in Ironman competitions in the Northeast, such as a Lake Placid triathlon last July. Ehrensberger said the event demanded as much as 20-25 hours of practice each week during the training process. Smaller races, also known as ‘sprint triathlons,’ require about 10 hours of practice a week depending on the preexisting level of personal fitness.

As the students are often consumed by hectic class schedules, one of the common obstacles the triathletes face is fulfilling such levels of time commitment at the gym.

‘It’s hard to find time to practice,’ Ehrensberger said. ‘It’s especially difficult to budget in the time needed for longer distance triathlons.’

Another common problem team members face is a lack of clement weather conditions during important training months. Senior exercise science major and California native Molly Donahue says her acclimation to warm weather made the transition to Syracuse weather even more difficult.

‘It’s harder for someone like me who has trained outdoors a lot in the summer,’ she said. ‘Mentally, it’s hard to be motivated enough in Syracuse to get out.’

Athletes coordinated the event as a way to promote physical well being during the dog days of winter – a time when many students lack the desire or motivation to stay in shape. Also, experienced students building endurance for triathlon events later in the spring may utilize the campus meet as a stepladder.

Beyond the benefits of physical health, group members insist participants may take away something even more beneficial from the competitive event – enjoyment.

‘Overall, everyone is in it (triathlon club) to have a good time, enjoy themselves and enjoy the sport.’ Ehrensberger said. ‘The sport is an outlet for those who enjoy challenging themselves in something they would never have thought to do.’

For Robert Aseltine, a sophomore finance major and first time triathlete competitor, challenge is not a foreign concept to his training regiment. In preparation for Saturday’s event, he’s spent an average of 15 to 20 hours at the gym each week, in addition to an 18-credit course load.

‘I haven’t done a triathlon before and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do,’ Aseltine said. ‘It takes at least two hours out of your daily schedule, but now that I’m into it more I’ll probably keep going because it’s growing on me.’

This weekend the athletes hope to attract other students who exhibit a similar desire and discipline to perform. Entries are open to even those with no prior experience in the sport, like Aseltine. Without the pressures of large audiences and racing alongside hundreds of other athletes, the event provides beginners with an ideal starting point.

‘It’s actually a lot of fun – it’s a good competition because there are people doing it with you,’ Aseltine said. ‘It’s about putting yourself to the test and seeing how fit you really are.’

Published on March 2, 2005 at 12:00 pm