FORT RUCKER, Ala. (June 19, 2105) -- Neither the hot, humid Alabama heat nor the threat of thunderstorms were enough to stop the throngs of athletes preparing to take on one of Fort Rucker's toughest competitions.
Fort Rucker held its annual Army Strong Triathlon June 13, and hundreds turned out to take on the challenge and test their mettle against the waters of Lake Tholocco and the surrounding trails.
The course started off with a quarter-mile swim through the lake, followed by a 10.6-mile bike ride and then a 3.1-mile run to the finish. People competed as both teams and individuals.
Winners were awarded prizes in different categories, including overall, master and grandmaster.
Winners of the competition were: Stephanie Liles-Weyant, female overall winner with a time of 56:56; Shannon Owen, female master winner with a time of 1:17:16; Nina Korges, female grandmaster winner with a time of 1:17:53; Grady Smith, male overall winner with a time of 55:15; Michael Weyant, male master winner with a time of 58:29; and Frosty Henneberger, male grandmaster winner with a time of 1:00:50.
The overall team winner went to team 3's Company, consisting of Ian Kalgren, Matthew Cooke and Joseph Krysak, with a combined total time of 1:01:11.
For some, like Chase Wells, the competition was less about finishing first, and more about pushing himself and striving to accomplish a goal.
"I just like to take part in anything that makes me push myself," he said. "If I come out on top, that's great, but I like to set goals for myself and accomplish them. This was something that I told myself I was going to do, and I did it."
Wells said he regularly participates in fitness activities and tries to maintain an active lifestyle, but participating in a triathlon wasn't something he'd done before.
"This is the first triathlon I've competed in and I just wanted to see if I could do it," he said. "I worked hard and ran every day to make sure I had the endurance to finish it. I'm just glad that I was able to finish."
The hardest part of the competition for most, including Wells, was the quarter-mile swim through the lake.
"That swim was the most difficult part of the competition for me because it's not something that most people are used to doing," he said. "Sure you might go swimming every now and then, but to do a sustained swim for a quarter mile is something completely different. It takes a good bit of stamina to be able to maintain the energy to get through it and then continue on after that, so that was what had me worried the most, but I got through it."
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