June 17, 2020

Students and staff member take top honors in Self-Directed Duathlon

By Robin Brooks

Our Intramurals Program recently hosted a Self-Directed Duathlon where participants had the month of May to complete the biking and running distance of either an Olympic, half, or full Ironman. They could set their own goals and break up the running and biking distances however they chose.

Thirty-nine individuals participated in the event, with seven competing in the Olympic Ironman, five in the half, and 27 in the full Ironman. In total, participants ran 1,218.36 miles with a time of 223:27:22 and biked 4,433.42 miles in a time of 386:19:40. The top competitors in the events were Sara Lee with the most miles biked in the Women’s Division, and Cassie Taylor with most miles run in the same division. Greg Barnes took top honors with most miles run in the Men’s Division, and Joshua Chu biked 421.13 miles to take the top spot in this division.

We reached out to the top competitors to get their thoughts on competing and some got back to us with their thoughts; here are their responses, lightly edited.

Sara Lee

Most miles biked, Women’s Division: 300 miles

Rec: What is your past experience with intramural sports?
Sara: I am graduating this year with my Masters in Teaching from UW. I also completed my undergrad in biology at UW and graduated with my bachelors in 2019. During my undergrad I participated in various intramural activities such as volleyball, soccer, softball, and inner tube basketball. I love playing sports and I love meeting people so intramurals were a great way to do both!

Rec: Why did you participate in the Self-Directed Duathlon?
Sara: I participated in the Self-Directed Duathlon really on a whim. I had seen that UW was during virtual intramurals and I was curious as to what that meant. So one day I clicked the link and saw the duathlon. A friend and I usually do intramurals together so I reached out to her and asked if she would do it with me since we couldn’t do softball anymore. She said she would and so I registered. I thought it would be a good way to get some good exercise and challenge myself since I wanted to get back in shape.

Rec: Do you have a favorite walk, run, or bike ride from the event that you could share with us?
Sara: My favorite ride was along the Orting trail. If you go up and down it’s about 30 miles even, which was just the right mileage for me.

Rec: What was the biggest challenge you faced while participating?
Sara: Before the duathlon, I had only ever ridden my bike for fun. I don’t even think I had ridden my bike in the last two years before this May. It was hard to get into the routine of riding consistently plus my muscles weren’t used to training as hard as I was. I was so sore in the beginning and had to push through it in order to reach my goals by the end of the month. I also learned how to ride with clipless pedals which meant I fell … a lot. But it is definitely more efficient now that I am more used to it. Motivation was challenging but my friends were very supportive throughout the whole thing.

Rec: Did you set any goals for yourself during the event? If so, what was the outcome?
Sara: My goals for the Self-Directed Duathlon were to bike 300 miles and run 30 miles. There’s no real reason why I chose these numbers; I just thought it would really challenge me and yet it was achievable. A couple of days before the duathlon was to be finished I almost gave up and settled for the mileage I had at the time. Luckily my dad pushed me to reach my goals and I accomplished my goals on the very last day of the duathlon. 🙂

This challenge pushed me way harder than I expected when I first registered back in April for fun. I am so glad I did it because it kick started my fitness journey once again. Thanks for the opportunity!

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Cassie Taylor

Most miles run, Women’s Division: 115.16 miles

Rec: What is your past experience with intramural sports?
Cassie: This was my first time ever participating in intramural sports at UW.

Rec: Why did you participate in the Self-Directed Duathlon?
Cassie: One of my loyal Strava followers (I have seven) sent this to me the day before registration closed. My roommate and I ran a half-marathon in April where we ran one mile every hour for 13 hours, so this felt like a good way to continue challenging myself. Also, the IMA is closed.

Rec: Do you have a favorite walk, run, or bike ride from the event that you could share with us?
Cassie: Lake union loop, it’s about a 10K, pretty flat the whole way and [it] has good views.

Rec: What was the biggest challenge you faced while participating?
Cassie: I have never been a serious and consistent runner until the gyms closed, so I learned a lot about pacing and timing. Also, I had to keep finding new music and routes or I would get bored. I used to play soccer so I run with my arms too high so after long runs my arms hurt.

Rec: Did you set any goals for yourself during the event? If so, what was the outcome?
Cassie: I wanted to run one continuous half-marathon and I ended up running three. <3

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Greg Barnes, software engineer, UW Clinical Informatics Research Group

Most miles run, Men’s Division: 63.11 miles

Rec: What is your past experience with intramural sports?
Greg: When I was a graduate student (30 years ago), played on the Computer Science Department’s softball and ultimate Frisbee teams. The ultimate team won the championship a couple of times. When I returned as a staff member (20 years ago), I joined up with the astronomy ultimate team (I was not affiliated with the department), and we won a few other championships.

Rec: Why did you participate in the Self-Directed Duathlon?
Greg: I run and bike regularly for exercise (particularly with the stay-at-home order), so it seemed like a natural thing to do.

Rec: Do you have a favorite walk, run, or bike ride from the event that you could share with us?
Greg: Sure. May 31 is my birthday, and I decided to do a cycling loop from Auburn to Enumclaw I found in a 30-year[-old] book I own. There were a few changes I had to make, as some of the roads in the route no longer exist, or, in one case, were abandoned and are now a trail. Still, it was a fun 40+ miles on quiet, mostly rural roads with a lot of animals. I attached a few pictures. [See below.]

Rec: What was the biggest challenge you faced while participating?
Greg: I did all my running and biking outside. On May 30, it was raining, with occasional thunder, but I had to do seven miles. I didn’t want to get too far from home, so I ran a ridiculous route where I was trying to cover every block within a few streets of my house. There was a lot of backtracking and running up and down the same street, but I got it done. There were a couple times I wanted to do a hike or kayak, but decided I should bike instead.

Rec: Did you set any goals for yourself during the event? If so, what was the outcome?
Greg: To finish the required Ironman distances, obviously, although I knew this would almost assuredly happen. I had a running plan (I was, and still am, training for a half-marathon), so I wanted to stick to that, and did. I also wanted to ride the bike twice weekly. After dehydrating myself on one run, I had to skip the bike ride the next day.