Santa Fe triathlon working hard to stand out in a crowd
Local councilor may compete
When it comes to fitness, Santa Fe City Councilor Joseph Maestas doesn’t just talk a good game. He lives it. Maestas is a triathlete, and one of his favorite events is coming up soon in his town.
The Santa Fe Triathlon is set for Aug. 12 and centers around the Genoveva Chavez Community Center.
The triathlon, which years ago used to be based at Cochiti Lake, has had something of an uneven past, but Liz Roybal, a recreation manager for the Santa Fe Parks and Recreation Department, is doing her best to boost the event’s profile.
The original version of the event ended years ago after a competitor died from a heart attack, she said. But when she joined the city in 2006, she started it back up, building its numbers to a respectable 300 participants.
Renovation work at the Chavez Center several years ago cancelled the event again and, since then, it’s been something of a struggle to rebuild it, she said.
“We skipped a year, and it hurt us,” Roybal said. “We only had about 100 people last year.”
Called euphemistically a sprint triathlon because the distances are rather shortened compared to the famed Ironman Triathlon. There’s a 400-meter swim, a 5K run and a 12-mile bike ride.
The test, Roybal said, is trying to stand out in a crowded race schedule.
“The market is pretty saturated,” she said. “Santa Rosa already happened, Socorro is in two weeks, Los Alamos is this weekend. That’s our challenge because there are quite a few to choose from and it can be rather costly. But we have a great venue, we have the altitude and Santa Fe is a great city to visit after the triathlon is over.”
Maestas, who began competing in triathlons in the 1980s when he was in his late 20s, said he competes in three or four every summer.
“I was just immediately attracted to competing in a triathlon,” he said. “The training, the intensity, the physical fitness. It’s all very exciting.”
Maestas competed in the Socorro event and the open-water Santa Rosa Triathlon at the Olympic distance of a 1,500-meter swim, a 40K bike ride and a 10K run.
He did so well that he’s ranked fourth in his age group in the USA Triathlon series, and he also qualified for the national triathlon on Omaha, Neb., which just happens to be the same day as the Santa Fe Triathlon.
“So I’m not keen on driving for 12 hours. I may not,” Maestas said. “I’m registered to compete, but I may not make the trip. I may instead compete in our local triathlon.”
He works out two to three times a day, keeping an eye on the city’s various facilities as he trains.
“Santa Fe offers so many different training rides, I can run the rail trail and get off pavement,” Maestas said. “I can run the paved portion of the rail trail or the Acequia Trail. There are so many options here in Santa
Fe, and it provides for a great environment and makes fitness fun by competing in a triathalons.
“Not everyone has to be super intense and wanting to win, it’s just getting out there and having fun. And really proving to yourself that this is what you can do when you’re physically fit and have fun and be fit.”
As for the Santa Fe Triathlon, “it’s a community gathering,” he said. “It’s not just for intense triathletes, it’s meant to be a community event and a family event, as well.”