Competing in a triathlon is hard. Winning one is even harder.Waking up a 1-year-old and 4-year-old before dawn, packing them in the car for a two-hour drive, while also getting yourself ready to compete in a triathlon—and finishing quickly enough to feed your youngest child? That would fall into the category of impossible for most people.Not Nadine Moors.The 37-year-old mother of two from Sayville did all that on Sunday morning at the 20th annual Montauk Lighthouse Sprint Triathlon.And, oh yeah—she also won.Moors, who has been competing in the race off and on since 2001—it starts with a half-mile swim at Gin Beach, followed by a 13.5-mile bike ride, and then a 5K (3.1-mile) run through Camp Hero, with the finish line at the historic lighthouse—was the first female to cross the finish line, taking 18th overall, in 1:14:12. It was her first victory in the race. She was second in 2013, and did not compete last year.Tom Eickelberg, 26, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was the overall winner, in 1:03:22, taking the top prize for the fifth straight year. He set the course record of 1:02:33 in 2011. He finished well ahead of second-place finisher Adrian Mackay, 50, of East Hampton, who was second, in 1:07:03.David Powers, 48, of East Hampton finished third, in 1:07:29, followed by Anthony Cantanese, 29, of Mamaroneck (1:10:40); Kenneth Moore, 40, of Sayville (1:10:46); Christopher Bergquist, 44, of Mastic (1:11:30); Blair Ruhling, 37, of Plainview (1:11:33); Sam Martini, 41, of New York (1:11:40); Michal Pertzela, 40, of New York (1:12:06); and Doug Milano, 31, of Aquebogue, who rounded out the top 10 with a time of 1:12:32.Tara McWilliams, 29, of New York was second among females, in 1:18:44, followed by Katelynn Bdand, 23, of Massapequa (1:19:15); Elizabeth Eickelberg, 23, of Leonia, New Jersey (1:19:34); Courtney Baranek, 23, of West Babylon (1:21:36); Christine Grippo, 36, of Locust Valley (1:21:43); Alyssa Bahel, 18, of Wainscott (1:22:53); Erin Tintle, 43, of East Hampton (1:23:40); Angelika Cruz, 46, of Montauk (1:23:46); and Maria Chatman, 34, of New York, who rounded out the top 10, in 1:24:29.Complete results are at active.com.This year’s sprint triathlon drew a field of roughly 400 competitors, according to race director Jose Lopez. The event has drawn as many as 600 people in years past, but there were several other triathlons in the tri-state area on Sunday, including the New York City Triathlon, which likely kept numbers on the lower side this year, Lopez said.Moors said her loyalties will always stay with the Montauk triathlon.“I don’t know why someone would want to race the NYC tri instead of racing in a beautiful place like Montauk,” she said. “Swimming at Gin Beach or swimming in the Hudson? I’ll take Gin Beach.”At the same time, Moors said the route to Gin Beach is never easy for her, and it was no different this year, as it was complicated by getting two small children ready to go at an early hour. Moors also has been hampered by a shoulder injury, which she said will keep her from competing most likely for the rest of the season.Running late, Moors dropped off her bike at the transition area and had to run down to the beach and dive into the water, getting to the start line after the horn blew. She said her shoulder injury slowed down her swim, but she passed two other girls on the bike portion and held her lead throughout the run.Ultimately, no other females from other heats had better times, and she claimed the elusive top prize.Moors said she isn’t planning to compete in any more triathlons this year, opting instead to rest her shoulder. But she said she’ll be back to defend her title in the Montauk sprint next year. Before then, she’ll focus on running, planning on competing in the Suffolk Marathon in September.For Moors and many other, any sacrifices that need to be made in order to get to Montauk for the sprint triathlon are worth it. The race has an appeal uncommon to other triathlons, according to Lopez, who has been the race director for all 20 years of its existence.“Most people make a whole trip out of it, spending a few days with their family and then doing the race,” he said. Lopez added that the sprint triathlon is a “point-to-point” race, meaning competitors start and finish at two different locations.“The finish line at the lighthouse, hands down, there is no other finish line like it,” Lopez added. “It lends itself to a really cool finish.”
Cailin Riley on Jul 21, 2015