FCA E Columbia: Inaugural Tri the Midlands Triathlon

Randall finishing the swim

We had another awesome race at the Tri the Midlands triathlon on Saturday! By our count we had 14 teammates racing and another 4 who participated by volunteering and supporting the team! A big THANK YOU to Jody, Bob, Jennifer, Monica, Randy, Janice, Andy, Harvin, and Paul for your service to the team and endurance community; y’all did a great job with packet pickup and the expo booth! The best part of the day was connecting with teammates from around the state and witnessing many athletes who came to the booth and expressed their interest in joining the team. It’s so exciting to see what the Lord is doing through Team FCA Endurance.

The FCA-E Booth at the expo

From the Columbia team we had 5 athletes who raced including Tommy, Matt, David, Bob and Nick. Sumter athletes included Andy, Harvin and Paul, while Amy came from over from Aiken, Joe came down from Greenville, Jason came from Spartanburg, Randall from Easley, and Jody from Charleston. There were other teammates racing who I’d like to mention, but I’m unable to recall their names (my apologies). It may be good to have an FCA-E athlete sign-in at the booth with name and city/team for future races.

Harvin exiting the water

On the course the temperatures were cool but the competition was HOT! Andy got a first hand taste of the competition as he posted a smoking fast time of 1:03:42 which was good enough for 16th overall but only 4th in the 35-39 age group. In the large and competitive 40-44 age group, David posted a solid 7th place with a time of 1:07:57 just behind Randall who placed 4th with a time of 1:06:23. Jason landed the 3rd place spot in the 25-29 division with a time of 1:08:33, as did Paul in the Clydesdale division with a time of 1:12:51. Nick was able to get away with an age group win in the 30-34 division with a time of 1:01:50, which was good enough for 8th over all.

Amy in T1

Matt in T1

Tommy in T1

Bob exiting T1 with the Roo

Congratulations to all who raced and finished this scenic but challenging course, we had a great showing! Thank you team for showing your love for our Savior through your racing. Your dedication to the sport and to the faith is having a HUGE impact on the racing community.