Rachel Morrison/Pioneer
Number 26, John Shelton grabs a bottle of water after running the triathlon June 11. Shelton placed 25th overall.

Rachel Morrison/Pioneer
Number 56 Mellissa Kohout runs the last leg of the triathlon June 11. Kohout finished 19th in the women’s overall and 75th overall.

Rachel Morrison/Pioneer
Cale Lorenzen holds a handmade “Way to Go” sign and cheers for his dad triathlon competitor number 102 Chris Lorenzen. Lorenzen finished 38th overall in the OCCC hosted triathlon.

Rachel Morrison/Pioneer
Lee Mahan races down Portland Ave. to finish the second leg of the triathlon June 11th. Mahan, number 118, finished 31st overall in the OCCC Triathlon.

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They came. They saw. They persevered.

This is the story of SuperSprint 2011: 500-meter swim, 14-mile bike ride, 5-kilometer run. The event took place on campus June 11.

This story is about the athletes, and also about the volunteers, some of whom had to report at 4 a.m. in the morning, and who were still cleaning up after all the competitors had gone.

Their legs must have hurt as much as those they enabled to participate.

The winner among the men was Eric McCreary, first overall with a time of 58:34.

Taking second was Talbut Cox, who came in with a time of 1:02:06 and a smile on his face.

The top two women were Belynda Tidwell and Laura Holt with times of 1:12:39 and 1:18:25 respectively.

Both Cox and McCreary said they liked running at OCCC because, as McCreary put it, “you don’t have to dodge traffic.”

This sentiment seemed to prevail among the racers.

Almost all athletes said they liked how organized everything was.

“The staff is great,” said John Shelton who came in 25th.

“They keep me coming back. The people make this sport great,”

Shelton, who lost the lower half of his leg in a motorcycle hit-and-run accident years ago, ran the 5K race on a springy metal prosthetic, painted in green flames.

“This is one of my favorite venues,” he said.

The person responsible for this lack of chaos was event director Marlene Shugart, head of the OCCC Triathlon Club.

“It keeps growing every year,” she said.

About 150 people participated in this event, aided by some 50 volunteers. It started at 7:30 a.m. in the Aquatic Center and ended around 10:22 a.m. with the 5K run.

At least another 100 people came out to support loved ones and friends.

With mostly sunny 80-degree weather and pleasant people, it resembled a large family reunion.

Practically everyone seemed to know one another.

The athletes started out the day by swimming 500 meters; then they biked 14 miles, and finished off with a leisurely 5K run.

When the athletes finished the race, there was food and drink available for them, plus a massage table, which attracted quite a long line.

For complete results, including age group, visit www.onlineraceresults.com/event/view_event.php?event_id=6735.