WAYNESBORO – What a difference a year makes.
Last year on this weekend, rain greeted the participants of the 2022 Strokes, Spokes and Strides mini-triathlon.
There was no rain in sight, and the morning of Saturday, June 10 dawned a bit chilly for what people may be used to so close to summer.
But it isn’t the weather that draws folks (or keeps them from coming) to what has become an iconic event in Waynesboro, and the 8th annual event hosted by the Waynesboro Area YMCA went off without a proverbial hitch as dozens of people took part in the swim, bicycling and 5-kilometer run beginning just after 8 in the morning under sunny skies.
The event, which also serves as a fundraiser for the Waynesboro YMCA Waves swim program, started in the pool. Each competitor swam 300 meters, or 12 laps in the 25-meter pool.
The soaking wet triathletes then emerged from the dimly-lit natatorium to the parking lot to get on their bicycles for the approximately 13 mile ride before returning from for the final leg of the triathlon, a 5K.
Matt Clark, 34, of Westminster, Maryland, was in a familiar position. Clark drove just under an hour from his home in Carroll County and won the overall race for the second straight year. Clark bested 44 others who completed all three events, finishing the swimming portion in 5 minutes, 25 seconds, the 20.3-mile bike race in 38:25 and another 19:20 for the 5K.
“This is my fifth or sixth race here, I’ve won two times in the past, and I was really happy about that,” said Clark. “It’s hard to do that; there’s a lot of good competition out there. You never know who’s going to show up that day. You could be getting some competition from someone from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia or D.C.”
Mark Himelfarb, 48, of Lititz, was second overall, followed by Christopher Young, 38, of Sharpsburg, Maryland; Ryan Barnhart, 27, of Springfield, Massachusetts; and Christopher Kimple, 34, of York Springs, in the top five.
Allison List, 19, of Fayetteville, was the top female overall finisher, turning in a time of 1 hour, 16 minutes and 20 seconds.
Here’s the list of this year’s triathletes in order of finish: 1. Clark; 2. Himelfarb; 3. Young; 4. Barnhart; 5. Kimple; 6. Don Gray, 55, Finksburg, Maryland; 7. List; 8. Adam Heebner, 36, Waynesboro; 9. Audrey, List, 53, Fayetteville; 10. Andrew Bryan, 14, Waynesboro; 11. Timothy Brinkman, 33, Waynesboro; 12. Travis Martin, 30, Gettysburg; 13. Reuel Zinn, Morgantown, West Virginia; 14. Michael Farrar, 46, Boca Raton, Florida; 15. Mady Barker, 13, Waynesboro; 16. Karen Young, 54, Boyds, Maryland; 17. Wynn Fertig, 63, Waynesboro; 18. Matt Schuh, 36, Waynesboro; 19. Doug Pauselius, 49, Waynesboro; 20. Alexander Clark, 27, York; 21. Nicole Harris, 30, Mechanicsburg; 22. Patrick Gavet, 56, Fayetteville; 23. Val Indye, 67, New Market, Maryland; 24. Carrie Thompson, 45, Waynesboro; 25. Sean Stamm, 29, Littlestown; 26. David Rotstein, 56, Olney, Maryland; 27. Caitlin Ross, 21, Sanibel, Florida; 28. Timothy Schnupp, 38, Severna Park, Maryland; 29. Patrick Donnelly, 53, Gettysburg; 30. Theresa Shank, 62, Waynesboro; 31. Joshua Kerstetter, 40, Carlisle; 32. Sandra Patnotti, 59, Reisterstown, Maryland; 33. Bill Stahr, 62, The Plains, Virginia; 34. Leonardo Figueroa, 53, Forest Hill, Maryland; 35. Marlee Ecton, 20, Chambersburg; 36. Jeremy Boettinger, 34, Rosedale, Maryland; 37. Matthew Wetzel, 19, Fairfield; 38. Justin Horan, 31, Gettysburg; 39. Greg Farrar, 75, Greencastle; 40. John Commander, 76, Hagerstown, Maryland; 41. Lisa Angstadt, 59, Gettysburg; 42. Susan Russell, 70, Fayetteville; 43. Ryan Farrar, 15, Boca Raton, Florida; 44. David Curtis, 51, Waynesboro; 45. Mark Kachik, 57, Sherrills Ford, North Carolina.
As for Clark, he says he competes in 10 to 12 events per year, not all of them being triathlons. But he won his age group at a recent mini-triathlon in Texas, and he’s planning to compete in another one soon in Maryland.
“You see a lot of the same people throughout the year at these events,” Clark said. “It’s nice to have friends when you’re racing. You encourage each other and cheer each other on. That’s the nice thing about triathlon, everyone is very encouraging.”
