The Triathlon - Endurance Sport, or Love Story?

Due to the unusual amount of couple participation this year, we here at the FV3 Triathlon Blog Support Staff Headquarters (FV3TBSSH) decided to take a closer look at this thing called love. Our goal? To determine what it is about the FV3 Triathlon that seems to either unite (or divide) married couples as effectively as any clergyman, trained family counselor, or divorce attorney ever could hope to do.

We began at the beginning, with Newlyweds Kristin (formerly Holmstrom) and new hubby Adam Bunker. When asked to describe their training process, the couple jumped at the chance to mutually praise one another for their outstanding support. Kristin described their pre-morning workout process, which includes a healthy breakfast, a slide-show of former athletic victories, and an inspiring devotional all prepared with love and thoughtfulness by Adam, her eternal companion. Adam responded with ready emotion, and a slight blush, stating that Kristin often places adorable notes in his lunch sack expressing sentiments such as, "Win or lose, you'll always be my Triathlete." Needless to say, these two seem as attached to the FV3 Triathlon as they are to each other.

Moving on to more "seasoned" competitors, we managed to catch Jillyn Huffmire as she rushed out the door for her early morning run. When asked how she thought her husband Curtis Huffmire might perform this year, she seemed startled and replied, "Curt's doing the Triathlon again? Wow...Is there a spirit award, or something?" Next, we approached the home of Paul and Jen Hafen, only to be informed (rather rudely) that the Hafens training sessions were "closed" to outsiders, that they did not wish to be interviewed for this blog, and that the only "couple" crossing the finish line first this year would be themselves. When pressed further, they did declare that yes, there would still be hand-holding when said first place winners crossed said finish line because Jen thought, "That was so sweet last year, wasn't it?" Unfortunately, this was the last bit of information obtained by our team before the door was slammed shut in our faces. We received a much warmer reception at the Johnsons home, where we were told that Angela would NOT be competing against her husband on the open field of battle this year, nor does she have any plans to do so in the future. When asked why, she replied, "I stopped competing against that guy when I crushed him in bowling 18 years ago." Fair enough.

At this point, our interest turned to the plight of those who, for whatever reason, are forced to go it alone in their quest for victory in the FV3 Annual Triathlon. Tori Shintaku kept a steely countenance when pressed about her husband's seeming lack of spousal support, "All I need from Tosh is his road bike, and his silence." After this statement was made, we could hear loud laughter from the direction of the Shintaku's garage, and noted that Tori's left eye began to twitch. We came to the conclusion that training alone has its definite downside. To Tori, and all her kind, we salute you. As for other "Triath-a-loners", like Kaz Augustus, their situation does not necessarily indicate a disinterest on the part of their loved ones. When asked why Shelley has chosen once again to forgo competing in this year's Triathlon, she replied, "When would I have time to make the 'Team Augustus' t-shirts? Or write the victory speech? Who's going to strategically place the children along the race route to trash talk the competitors?" Who, indeed. Kaz Augustus, you are a lucky, lucky man.

For one final look at love in this season of Triathlon competition we turned to Liz and Chad Larson, who have both chosen NOT to compete in this year's event. Liz explained the decision with the following statement, "Triathlons take a special mixture of patience, dedication, endurance, and commitment...we're just not into that." Chad quickly added, "Yeah, and that's what makes this marriage work."

After this exchange, we thought it appropriate to turn to the Richardsons (which is what we typically do when we're confused) to ask for their thoughts on marriage and triathlon training in general. Bruce Richardson offered up one of the sagest pieces of advice yet heard in regards to the matter. He said, "About two weeks before the event, I make it a rule not to eat anything my wife places in front of me unless I've watched her prepare it from start to finish. That woman is a fierce competitor, nothing, and I mean nothing is beneath her...I ask my children who have chosen to participate to follow my example, and watch their backs." To the Richardson clan, and all other FV3 Annual Triathlon competitors, our prayers are with you.