CONTRIBUTED BY CRAIG CONBOY
A total of 500 triathletes will be motivated to take the plunge into Lake Monticello early Sunday morning, May 2. Fluvanna County will welcome back the 2021 Cal Tri Lake Monticello Triathlon to the area again after two years due to COVID-19. Athletes from 20 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. Armed Forces Europe will be competing in 18 separate events throughout the day ranging from a 5K to a 70.3 mile triathlon. Fluvanna County has 12 racers registered in the event: Susie Abramson, Emily Baker, Paul Crowther, Paul Hahn, Kelly Hipskind, Heidi Hull, Karen Lavezzo, Michael Luniewski, Matthew Stancil, Joshua Wright, Frank Nathan, and Kevin Denman. Triathletes are legendary for having some of the best physiques in the fitness world. That is because cross-training shapes the body in many. Running de-velops long, lean muscles; cycling builds strength and tones the lower body, and swimming increases flexibility and sculpts the upper body. Spectators are welcome to watch along the triathlon course. I know from personal experience that training for a triathlon or marathon event can totally transform one’s life. It was 1979, when I decided to train for my first triathlon while stationed at Camp Lejeune. The extent of my exercise was strictly running long distances, limited swimming and no biking. Months of cross training with run-ning, swimming, and biking led me and my 12 year old son, Christopher, to the nearby inaugural Pepsi/YMCA Wrightsville Beach, NC Triathlon. This annual fundraiser for the YMCA would become the first and longest running triathlon on the East coast of the United States that September 1979. The distances were 1/2 mile swim, 42 miles on the bike, followed by the 10 mile run. All 99 triathletes finished that first year. The world’s first triathlon event was held at Mission Bay, San Diego, Cali-fornia on September, 25, 1974. Everyone that crosses the finish line is a winner! With safety a top priority, the World Tri-athlon COVID-19 prevention guidelines for the event will be utilized along with guidance from local and state agencies. Athlete precautions include: