At MIM triathlon, finishing is the goal
The small crowd gathered quickly once Miguel Merriweather began jogging the final yards of the 38th annual Memphis in May Olympic triathlon.
Merriweather was the last runner on the course, and he heard the cheers spurring him on. Jeff Sass, who dresses as Elvis every year for the race, walked toward Merriweather and ran alongside him for the final distance
As Merriweather, a 34-year-old Memphis resident, crossed the finish line Sunday at Edmund Orgill Park, he remembered the motto he had when he signed up for the race on a whim.
“Don’t die out here. Just finish,” Merriweather said.
On a day when Kirsten Sass captured her third consecutive Memphis in May triathlon win, Merriweather was on the opposite end as a first-timer who signed up for the race on a whim.
He never had done an Olympic triathlon – 1.5kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike ride, 10-kilometer run – and hadn't swam since he did a sprint triathlon – half those distances – four or five years ago. But after completing three marathons in his career, he called Sunday's race the hardest thing he's ever done.
“20 seconds in, I wanted to quit so bad. But I would’ve been mad at myself,” he said. “I knew I was going to try this again, so I might as well stick it out and finish.”
The win was Sass' ninth overall Memphis in May championship. It also marked the 20th anniversary of her first race in 1999, and she thought of her father, Dr. Volker Winkler, who died in February 2018.
“My dad’s the one who signed me up for this race when I was a kid, and we’ve got a lot of good, happy memories,” said Sass, who finished in 2:09:38.
Jordan Green was the men's champion, finishing in 1:59:34. In total, 192 racers competed on Sunday, and each one had his or her own story for showing up.
Matthew Russell, 18, and Emma Kelley, 19, ran the Olympic triathlon for the first time after competing in past sprint races. Kelley said the bike portion was the hardest because she had trained for it the least.
Russell’s biggest challenge was swimming because of the longer distance. He was also worried because he saw weather reports Saturday night that there might be lightning.
Those fears faded by the time he took the course.
“Right when I crossed the finish line, it was just this surreal moment of, ‘Wow, I really just did that,' ” Russell said. “Compared to the sprint, it felt like a true accomplishment and something to be proud of.”
Memories also brought Laura Mathews back to Memphis in May. She skipped the race last season to focus on her pro career, but the Memphis native returned to see familiar faces and dominated the course Sunday in a blistering 2:03:56.
Although she wasn’t eligible for prizes because she's a pro, Mathews was happy to measure her progress and enjoy the atmosphere.
“Memphis in May is where I started (competing in triathlons) six years ago, so it’s fun to come back and test myself,” Mathews said.
The same could be said for Merriweather, who vowed to return next year. Except this time, he’ll change his training regimen just a bit.
“I might swim a month in advance to get prepared, but I’ll be back," said Merriweather, who officially finished in 4:17:19. "It was definitely cool.”
You can reach Evan Barnes on Twitter (@Evan_b) or by email at evan.barnes@commercialappeal.com