PLEASANT PRAIRIE TRIATHLON-DUATHLON
High praise from all corners for a triathlon that's just a
year old By Greg Marr With most events, the first couple of years finds organizers working out the
kinks before they get the details dialed in. The Pleasant Prairie Triathlon Duathlon did it right the first time. American Tri Magazine named it the "33rd Best Race in the USA." If you think of the literally thousands of triathlons across the country each year, that's high praise indeed. Building on its first year success, USA Triathlon has awarded Pleasant Prairie the midwest regional
championship for the international distance this year. To support the event, Volkswagen of America Inc. and Audi of America Inc. have signed on as title sponsors. In its second year, Pleasant Prairie is adding some features that will make it even more attractive to athletes. Last year, it was an international distance triathlon (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run) and a duathlon. This year, organizers have added a
sprint distance and youth events for the races on August 17. The sprint tri is a .75K swim, 20K bike, 5K run. The youth, ages 7 8 and 9 10, compete in a 100m swim, 4K bike, 1K run, while ages 11 12 and 13 14 do a 200m swim, 8K bike, 2K run. 
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| Paul Marcou, 34, of Elm Grove, Wis., and Christine McDonie, 40, of Gurnee, Ill., won
last year's inaugural Pleasant Praire Triathlon. |
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Last year's success even surprised John Corrigan of JMC Partners, the firm brought on to manage the race.
"It was amazing for a first year event. I don't think I've ever received so many complimentary e mails on any event we've done." That speaks volumes since JMC has been involved in hundreds of events over the years, including the Galena Triathlon and the Chicago Marathon. "Chicago Amateur Athlete ranked triathlons last year and we came in second to Mrs. T's. We were even ahead of Galena, which is a great event." Corrigan credits the community for the race's success. Corrigan was initially contacted by the Kenosha Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, which wanted to showcase the community's new, $12 million Lake View RecPlex and raise some money for the RecPlex Therapeutic/Special Needs Recreation program.
"How it all started," points out Mary Galligan, president of the CVB,
"was when Prairie Springs Park was developed, it seemed the setting was just perfect to hold a triathlon. It's just a gorgeous setting for an event like this. The water temperature is in the 70s, there's no contaminates, no pollution, and most of the event is self contained in the park. Rolling hills, fresh water it's hard to find that at a lot of venues."
"One thing I think people liked is that the swim wasn't lethal," Corrigan
adds with a chuckle. "Last year, the water quality was questionable at a lot of venues but this was a sparkling, spring fed lake."
Corrigan agrees that it's hard to find a better venue for a triathlon.
"I went to take a look at the site, to make sure they were not getting into something they weren't ready for, and it was one of the better sites I've ever seen. The facilities are fantastic."
"The RecPlex is incredible," Corrigan points out. "The village built it and runs it. There's an indoor water park, pools, a gymnasium. The gym is so large, it can be split into four quads or two. We have a large area for both registration and our Expo."
The events are held at the 425 acre Prairie Springs Park (where the RecPlex is located), surrounding the 100 acre, spring fed Lake Andrea, which hosts the swimming. The bike portion is largely on rural roads
with some hills. The run is primarily all in the park on either paved trails or roads.
"The roads are nice and the run is pretty," Corrigan says. "It's a course that won't beat the heck out of you. It's a fair course with some diversity and elevation."
What really set the event apart, however, in Corrigan's mind, is the tremendous support of the village of Pleasant Prairie. It's almost become cliche to thank the volunteers but Corrigan really means it.
"They really wanted it to happen and they were willing to put the time and effort into it. They weren't like a lot of groups that don't do anything but ask you when it's going to happen. These people rolled up their sleeves and got to work right away. There's a lot of pride in the community."
"They have great volunteers, just fantastic," Corrigan adds. "There's 100 percent support from the village."
Corrigan illustrated the kind of community support by telling a story about something not quite legal in triathlon circles.
"I didn't find this out until much later, otherwise I might have had to do something about it," he says with a smile, "but this just illustrates the kind of people supporting this event. There was a crash and a guy wrecked his bike. Someone ran to his house, got his bike, and gave it to the guy so he could finish the race."
One comment that Corrigan heard a number of times is that Pleasant Prairie reminded people of triathlons that were held in the early days of the sport, when the races weren't so big and impersonal.
"It's a friendly race and people like that," Corrigan says. "But that's a double edged sword. We want it to grow but don't want to lose that friendly feeling. We didn't cap it this year but we might have to in the future."
""Last year, people did feel like it was their own little race," Galligan agrees, "but we can accommodate a lot more people and still keep that atmosphere. Last year, we had three first time triathlons in the Kenosha area. One, the Danskin, was at Pleasant Prairie and that had 2,400."
Last year's event saw a crowd of over 500 and this year, as of this writing, there's been about that number in online registrations alone. This
year's growth is part word of mouth from last year's participants and part recognition that the site is "almost a Chicago suburb, even though it's in Wisconsin," says Corrigan, "and at that time of day (when the race is held), the drive up is a breeze."
What's somewhat puzzling for organizers is Pleasant Prairie drew over 60 percent of its participants from Illinois and only about 10 percent from Wisconsin. Close to Milwaukee and reasonably accessible from
the Wisconsin's Fox Valley and Madison, Corrigan hopes to see more people from the Badger State this year.
"Our main goal," says Galligan, speaking for the Convention and Visitors Bureau, "is to create an event and draw from outside the area." While there were relatively few Wisconsinites, Pleasant Prairie did draw from 17 states.
"When people got here for the first time, they were just amazed at the setting," she adds.
Rod Zentner, who participated in Pleasant Prairie last year, was so impressed with the event, his comment to the organizers ended up on the event's Web site: ""I have done numerous triathlons over the past 15 years, and this triathlon was the best overall organized race I have ever participated in."
High praise indeed and now the challenge is to match that in 2003.
"We're optimistic for this year," Corrigan says, "and people are really enthused."
DETAILS
The Pleasant Prairie Triathlon Duathlon is August 17 at Prairie Springs Park and Lake Andrea. There are three adult events: Sprint Tri, .75K swim, 20K bike, 5K run; International Tri, 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run; Duathlon, 2 mile run, 20K bike, 5K run. For youth, there's a junior age division (7 8 and 9 10 years), 100m swim, 4K bike, 1K run, and a senior age division (11 12 and 13 14 years), 200m swim, 8K bike, 2K run. Adults go out at 7 a.m., youth at 8:30 a.m.
The individual triathlon/duathlon fee for USAT members is $69. Non USAT members must either join USAT or purchase a day pass, available on site, for $9. The three person relay fee is $160 and youth $25. Participants will receive a swim cap, goody bag and T shirt.
The race is at Prairie Spring Park two miles north of the Wisconsin Illinois border off I 94 in the Village of Pleasant Prairie.
For more information, contact Lake View RecPlex, 262/654 7307; info@pleasantprairietriathlon.com; www.pleasantprairietriathlon.com. Online registration is at www.signmeupsports.com.
A Sports and Wellness Expo is held at the Lake View RecPlex on Saturday, Aug. 16, in the Michael Pollocoff Field house, and will feature speakers, vendors, packet pickup and course information. A pasta dinner will be offered the evening before the race.
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