Page 10 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 27, 1986 4 Triathlon club trains future iron men By JERRY MUTH It takes a different kind of person to think swimming 2.4 miles, biking for 112 miles and then runnnig 26.2 miles is enjoyable. But then again, a triathlete is of a unique breed. In an age when, the nation's sports pages seem to be centered on the drug controversies, revenue problems and player contract holdouts, it's refreshing to come across a group of athletes who compete to extend their own physical and mental limits. Such is the nature of the triathlete, par- ticularly those in the new Univesity of Michigan Triathlon Club. AS CLUB member and President Bill Grady said, "triathletes are just interested in the sport for the sport it-' self and not the recognition. Or as Natural Resources junior John Houseal said, the triathlete defines a new breed of athlete because the triathlon is a new sport. "It incor- porates three different sports - it's a whole new type of training and athlete." To LS&A senior Larry Wiland, however, the triathlete is special only in the sense that there's commitment to three different disciplines and "a dedication of fit- ness in general." The triathlete, ac- cording to Wiland, is "the epitome of the endurance athlete." Most people would probably con- sider the triathlete the epitome of- something else. Wiland, for one, views triathlons as a chance not so much to compete with other people as an op- portunity to compete with himself. ANOTHER CHARACTERISTIC seems to carve itself into the mold of the triathlete: camaraderie. "People aren't concerned solely with their in- dividual performances," Houseal said. And yet when one considers the in- petition, consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike race and a marathon run. Competitions like the Bud Light, meanwhile, have a 1.5 kilometer swim a 40 kilometer bike race and a 10k run, said Bill Grady. For most of the club athletes, the triathlon seems to be a natural exten- sion of one of the sports they par- ticipated in during high school. "The triathlon is an interesting sport," con- tinued Grady, "because there's so much variety." It gets boring doing one particular thing, he added. OTHERS, LIKE grad student and world-ranked triathlete Dave Evans, started competing in triathlons for therapeutic reasons. Evans, who finished seventh in the 1984 Hawaiian Ironman, opted for triathlons as a way to rehabilitate a knee he injured in an automobile accident. Contrary to popular belief, Evans said, "the sport is not just for the weirdest and zaniest. The sport is ac- tually quite easy." Like Grady and Wiland, Evans believes the variety in the sport makes training fun and he claims that swimming, biking and running are "three fundamental spor- ts that everyone can do." Another reason the triathlon isn't as physically exhausting as most people think, according to Evans, is the fact that each individual sport uses a dif- ferent set of muscle groups. The Kinesiology major says that he ac- tually feels better after competing in a shorter triathlon than after running marathon, where the demands of the race are made entirely on one part of the body's muscle groups. The club triathletes seem to agree, though, that the triathlon is more than just another youth sport. The average age of the triathlete is 39, ac- cording to Bill Grady. "It's definitely a lifetime sport," he says. Wiland also agrees with those sentiments but sees the triathlon as more of a commit- ment to lifetime fitness than anything else. Ringler says, "It'd be neat to do as a grandmother." Families seem to be supportive of the somewhat offbeat dedication of the triathlete. Ringler says her mother loves it and really got in- terested in triathlons as a spectator sport. Wiland, however, claims, "I don't know if they quite understand my attraction to it...but they didn't disown me." 4 4 4 dividuality in training for a triathlon, the camaraderie seems somewhat ironic. Nevertheless, the response to the University's Triathlon Club meetings have been good so far, ac- cording to Wiland, the club's secretary. Anywhere from 20 to 35 people have shown up at the club's most recent meetings, Wiland con- tinued. He claims he's most excited about the number of people joining the club who seem "really fired up." This spring and summer, the team plans to compete in a number of local contests, including the Ann Arbor Triathlon in mid June. More im- mediately the team has set its sites on an April 26 triathlon the University of Illinois has billed as the "'National Collegiate Championship Triathlon." THE CLUB members are also plan- ning to hit the Bud Light Triathlon in Detroit which is held near the end of the summer, according to Bill Grady, whose twin brother Rich is the club's vice-president. .Not all triathlons are the same distance, however. An ultra triathlon, like the Hawaiian Ironman com- I 4 Daily Photo by SCOTT LITUCHY Triathlete John Houseal of the Triathlon Club stretches out in preparation for an afternoon run. Houseal and club members are training for local triathlons being held this summer. SPORTS OF THE DAILY: Ravelin may leave Iowia Peace Corps Coordinator at 764-9310. And put your experience to work where it can do a world of good. ii 802 MONROE ANN ARBOR, MI 48104 U.S. Peace Crps. U1E NOON FORUM FRIDAY, MARCH 28 The toughest job yo~u'11ever lave. JOHN VANDERMEER "Following his return from several months in Nicaragua Mr. Vandermeer will give us a current update. A Public Service of This Publicationgl s rrnudae * LUNCH AVAILABLE FOR $1 For info call|662-5189 HOUSTON (AP) - Iowa's basket- ball coach George Raveling will not become the head coach at the Univer- sity of Houston, according to a published report. Raveling is expected to take the basketball coaching post at the University of Southern California. His decision to take the Trojans' job over UH is believed to be based partially on his previous 11 years at Washington State, also a Pacific 10 conference member, the Chronicle reported. The Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday that Raveling met with Houston officials Tuesday for the second time. A source in the Iowa athletic department told the TRAVEL SPECIAL $1.00 off Instant passport photos kinko's limit one per customer Expires 4/30/86 A Great Personal Computer is Now Even Better... I I 1 I I U. I I. newspaper that Raveling informed Houston officials of his decision late Tuesday. But Jay Goldberg, UH sports in- formaton director, said Wednesday, "I have nothing official on that (but) it wouldn't surprise me." Asked if a replacement for the retired Guy Lewis would be named this week, Goldberg said, "I sure hope so. But there's nothing I can say." Pitt, BC name coaches From wire reports Pittsburgh and Boston College, two Big East rivals, filled their basketball coaching voids yesterday by naming successors. Paul Evans will run Pit- tsburgh's program, while Jim O'Brien takes over the coaching job of the Golden Eagles. Evans was courted by a number of schools this year while leading Navy to its best season ever. He finally signed with the Panthers for four years for a reported $800,000. .O'Brien, who leaves the St. Bonaventure coaching job, returns to his alma mater. He served as team captain in 1970-71 and ranks 10th on Boston College's all-time scoring list. OPEN 24 HOURS 540 E. Liberty 1---- 11 1 s, , ,, ----", r ---._-- IN DEMAND. More Affordable! 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