The Luray Triathlons, 2011 Edition

From the Luray Triathlons website: "...set in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near the beautiful and welcoming town of Luray..."

(there's a link to the site at the end of this post - I think the results from the International, held on Saturday, and the Sprint, held on Sunday, are already posted)

Sunday morning came early after a night of rain that started as soon as the sun went down Saturday night.  I woke to a steady drumming up on the Hawksbill Cabin roof, and was worried that it would impact one of the events I look forward to every year - the Luray Triathlons in August.

In the end, while the clouds were still breaking as the event got underway.  In the first photo here, I've shown the second wave of swimmers going off - by this time I had taken up my post in the transition area.  I also have a photo of the first swimmer to finish as he enterred the bike transition area, and a photo at the finish - unfortunately I do not have anybody's name for these.

Why do I love this event so much?  Well, it's not because I'm inspired to compete - although a triathlon sprint doesn't seem out of reach for me, there'd be a lot of work in it, especially to learn how to complete the swim portion.

I like it because it symbolizes the best attractions of Luray and Page County, and one of our signature industries - "active tourism." I talk about this as an industry to a lot of friends around town, and I'm not ashamed of boosting this event and the bike races that are held every year in July and August (there are also other associated events on the calendar at other times of the year).  

The PN&C headlines last week noted that as many as 1,400 participants would be coming to the two events.  That's about 700 each for Saturday's International (1500m swim/41Km bike/10Km run) and Sunday's Sprint (750m swim/17.0-mile bike/5K run). By the time I arrived for my volunteer shift, 7 am Sunday, the place was buzzing with energy.

It's a rewarding thing too.  In addition to promoting the town and the area to the athletes, the event raises about $10,000 each year for the local United Way, which means the money finds its way to those in need right here in Page County. 

This post wouldn't be complete without mentioning David Glover and those around him supporting the event.  David's the founder and has been organizing the Luray Triathlons for six years now.  I've included a link to his company after the one for the triathlons below.

http://luraytriathlon.com/
http://enduranceworks.net/

And here's a promotional video I found:


Luray Triathlon from Jenny Ruley on Vimeo.