COMMUNITY GATHERING: Competitors gather at the Community Park Pool last Saturday morning before the start of the second Princeton Triathlon. The event, which featured a sprint triathlon, super sprint triathlon, youth triathlon, duathlon, and aquabike, drew 421 participants. (Photo provided courtesy of Shawn Elwood)
By Bill Alden
After taking a three-year hiatus from competing in triathlons, Bev Cream decided to take the plunge again last June when she heard about the inaugural Princeton Triathlon.
“It was a really short super sprint, I was like OK,” said Cream, who did the race with her daughter Megan. “I don’t have much time to train, this is short enough. Megan wanted to do it, and I was like I will do it. It was really nice.”
Last Saturday, Cream and her daughter returned for the second year of the event as they both competed in the super sprint race again.
Cream, a physician who is the wife of the Princeton School District Attendance Officer Nick Cream, took first in the female 70-74 age group in a time of 51:16.95. Megan matched her mom as she placed first in the females 35-39 age group in a time of 47:03.54. Bethany Hogg of Princeton placed first overall in the super sprint event with a time of 38:33.68.
“I just wanted to enjoy the event,” said Cream, who is 69 and will turn 70 later this year. “I was happy with my run. The bike was OK. I rode faster last year but it’s all good. It is nice to come in first even through there is only two of us in the group.”
In assessing the event overall, Cream praised the efforts by the organizers to improve things logistically in the second year of the triathlon.
“I thought it went very smoothly,” said Cream. “The transition area was nice; people were walking around asking you if you needed to be marked instead of having to wait in line. You could pick up the race packet the night before. They had a lot of volunteers and the roads were closed.”
In preparing for the super sprint, Cream mixed and matched her training.
“I would try to swim much longer than the swim is, this one is 300 meters,” said Cream. “Some days I would do a swim and a bike. The next day maybe a bike and a run. A couple of times before the event, I would do all three in one day. I do the actual event.”
Competing with her daughter helped focus Cream. “I think we inspire each other,” said Cream. “I used to always beat her. In the last two, she has won and I am OK with it. I think why is my bike so slow compared to last year but then I go thank you god for giving me my legs to be able to still do this. It is fun, we like to do it together.”
Race director Shawn Elwood, a Princeton High senior, was inspired by how people stepped up to help the organizers pull off the event.
“In the week leading up, our volunteer base really started coming together,” said Elwood. “We had around 40-50. Running an event twice as big with the same number of volunteers was a little bit challenging but they came together. We had a virtual volunteer meeting. We had specialized positions which lent itself to coming together and making a knowledgeable volunteer base.”
Elwood and his crew pulled an all-nighter to make sure that things came together on race day.
“I actually did not get any sleep, we were setting up for the entire night,” said Elwood. “On Friday, we had our pre-race packet pickup for the athletes that started at 5:30 p.m., so we arrived around 3 p.m. to set that up. Following that, we had our youth triathlon clinic. After that, we were setting up for the entire night.”
With the addition this year of a longer race, the sprint triathlon, to go with the super sprint triathlon, youth triathlon, duathlon, and aquabike, the field of competitors expanded to a total of 421.
“The addition of the sprint definitely expanded our participant base a significant amount,” said Elwood of the new event which drew 204 participants and was won by Colin Wegner of Rahway in 52:44.28. “Two of top three in the sprint event were from out of state. Offering this definitely added to the sense of fulfillment that we felt providing the option to the participants.”
The youth triathlon proved to be a popular option as it had 103 finishers and was won by 11-year old girl,
S. Pataki, in 20:32.31.
“That number is really high; to be honest, I was even surprised,” said Elwood. “As far as I am aware we are the only youth triathlon in the country to offer the kind of swim start that we did with the water slide in the diving well. When I was in the pool area, all of the kids seemed so excited about it. It was really amazing. Part of the fulfillment of this is growing the sport and the youth tri is a big part of that.”
For another race organizer, Patrick Remboski, the faculty liaison for the Princeton High triathlon club who teaches at Princeton Middle School and is a boys’ soccer and swimming coach at PHS, offering the variety of races is a fulfilling aspect of the event.
“If you do a lot of triathlons, you are always looking for at least a sprint or Olympic distance,” said Remboski. “When we finally got the approval from Princeton for the sprint, it was a hit. I think having the three events, sprint, super sprint and youth, there was something for everybody. We felt that was important.”
In Remboski’s view, offering the youth triathlon was particularly important.
“I feel like triathlons and other sports like rowing and water polo, there is not a ton of exposure to it unless you have relative or family members that do it,” said Remboski. “So having something in your community to expose you to something different was really special. Most people don’t do triathlons because they have never done one before. Especially if you are younger, it can be daunting. To have the clinic and the ability to do the strictly youth triathlon was really special. Having that many kids was amazing to watch and be a part of.”
The assistance of town officials has been a key part of the event’s success.
“We couldn’t do it without the support the town, the Rec Department, Police Department, Fire, and EMS,” said Remboski. “Without all of them and all of their support, it wouldn’t be possible. We are grateful that they let us expand it and redesign the course. Without the buy-in from all of those departments and town, we really couldn’t have pulled it off.”
That buy-in has helped lead competitors to relish the event. “I think a lot of feedback from members of the community is that they are looking forward to next year,” said Remboski. “I think the goal is to continue partnering with all of the sponsors, the community and the town.”
Elwood, for his part, vows that his crew will make the triathlon even better next year.
“This year with a rapid expansion with the sprint and just about doubling the number of participants, we learned so much,” said Elwood.
“There will be some minor timing and logistical things that we are going to shift around. There will definitely be improvements for
next year.”
Although Elwood is headed to Northeastern University this fall, he is going to keep his hand in that planning from afar.
“I really hope that this becomes an event that is an annual staple for Princeton,” said Elwood. “I can’t leave it behind, it is really important to me. The PHS triathlon club plays a big part in that, they will be our boots on the ground. I would just say thank you to everyone who came out, that includes participants, volunteers, sponsors, and everyone who helped out. The pure level of community involvement is why we do it and is how we are able to do it.”
Cream and her daughter, for their part, are looking forward to being involved in the race for a third year.
“I would do it again next year, we might go up to the sprint,” said Cream. “It is a great event, I would recommend it to anybody.”