Door County Triathlon’s Fourth Annual Race: A Great Success

As we stood shivering and tense, ankle deep in cold water, with our bodies slurped into wet suits, my two best friends and I looked out to the grey morning’s horizon above a rough Lake Michigan. At the starting line on the beach at Murphy Park, about to take on a sprint distance triathlon, we looked into each others’ goggled eyes and asked, “Why are we doing this?!”

Triathlon participants await the start of the 4th annual race at Murphy Park in Egg Harbor.

With no logical answer at hand, the best I could come up with was “Well, at least we’re not doing the Half Ironman!”

Last Sunday, July 20, Murphy Park in Egg Harbor saw the start and finish of the fourth annual Door County Triathlon. This event included a sprint distance – 1/4-mile swim, 18-mile bike, 3.1-mile run – and new this year was a Half Iron – 1.2-mile swim, 56.3-mile bike, and 13.1-mile run.

The Door County Triathlon reached its 1,050 person max several months ago, with 643 people entered in the sprint distance and 407 people running the Half Iron. Jeff Tarkowski from Green Bay and Alicia Jones from De Pere each took first place for men and women respectively in the Half Iron. For the sprint distance, Lauren Birkel from Madison and Mark Hauser from Chicago were the top competitors.

Race Director Sean Ryan was very happy with the way the event turned out, even though he admitted to being tense and quite stressed prior to the start. Despite great planning and organization along with devoted volunteers, the weather had a mind of its own on race morning.

“We dodged a bullet,” Ryan said, referring to the dismal sky that greeted volunteers and competitors the morning of the event.

“The stakes were clearly higher because of the Half Ironman,” he explained, “and the weather forecast looked menacing.” Scattered thunderstorms were expected for that morning, and the sky over the lake looked daunting, while choppy water added to the feel of impending doom.

However, “at 5:30 am I called the National Weather Forecast and found out that everything was going to clear up,” Ryan said. “I certainly breathed a sigh of relief.”

And clear up it did. By the end of the race the sun was shining on Murphy Park. “Everything went according to plan,” Ryan explained. “The feedback was hugely positive…everyone loved the venue and the course for both the sprint and the Half Ironman.”

From a competitor’s perspective, the Door County Triathlon is very well organized, and has consistently improved each year. The course is fun and beautiful and the volunteers are cheerful and numerous. Water and Gatorade stations are everywhere you turn, and community members come out to cheer on triathletes from their driveways along the road routes.

Post-race, all competitors are offered free soda, beer and water, bagels, fresh fruit, pulled pork sandwiches and corn on the cob. Spectators can also enjoy the food for very reasonable prices.

Also available post-race for triathletes is a medical station with doctors standing by to ice, massage or bandage up battle wounds. Thankfully, no more serious medical help was needed for any participants during the day.

Murphy Park and the surrounding area of the course, which extends all the way into downtown Sturgeon Bay, make this triathlon one participants really enjoy and look forward to. Assistant Race Director, Craig Congdon was very pleased with the feedback he heard.

“I had triathlon veterans who have competed all over the country telling me this was a ‘world class event,’” he said. “I think it’s a great course for first-timers, but it is also very challenging. The DC Tri is known for being well organized and scenic, but it’s also a very tough course, especially the Half Ironman,” Congdon admitted.

Specifically, he is referring to the roads Bluff Pass and Harbor Heights, where runners meet with very steep hills.

“That’s why we post elevation charts and course maps online well in advance,” Congdon explained. “We want people to know what they are getting into.”

Despite the hills, almost all triathletes who participate in this event plan to return the following summer to once again try and “conquer the bluff.” Door County hospitality and breathtaking scenery combined with impeccable organization make this one race that leaves everyone feeling like a winner.