ELON COLLEGE – Not many college students will eagerly compete in a triathlon to successfully complete a course.
But at Elon College, more than half of the 22 students enrolled in a six-week course on triathlons currently are training to enter an endurance competition this spring. The class requires students to either be a full participant, a team member or a volunteer at a triathlon.
More than a dozen students will participate in the Nelson Bay Triathlon on Saturday, May 1 at Sea Level, a small community abut 30 minutes north of Morehead City.
Carrie Spiker, a junior from Adamsville, Ohio, who has competed in a triathlon, is looking forward to matching her swimming, bike riding and running skills against other competitors in the Nelson Bay event.
“I ran cross-country and swam in high school,” Spiker said, ” so I figured if I could do two of the sports, I also could do the biking. I have never done an ocean swim before.”
In the classroom, students learn about the triathlon’s history and social structure, training do’s and don’ts, nutrition and the psychological aspects of such endurance competitions from Tom Arcaro, a sociology professor and an active triathlete, and Paul Miller, an exercise physiologist.
“This is a writing course as well,” says Arcaro, who is writing a book titled “Dead Triathletes: Voices from the Middle of the Pack,” a compilation of race reports from triathletes. Students in the class are required to write their own race reports, and the best ones will be included in the book’s first edition, he added.
“Another component of class is that students are learning about the triathlon’s social structure and organization, which is very complex,” Arcaro said. “They will be able to go out into the community and help produce one of these events or a similar one.”
Most of the students in the class are athletic, Arcaro said. To participate in the Nelson Bay event, they have to be able to swim 20 continuous laps in an Olympic-size pool.
Acarco says the Nelson Bay triathlon is challenging because competitors must complete a one-half mile ocean swim. “The water will be about 65 degrees. The bike course also is tough with the wind,” he said.
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