Military World Triathlon Championships (MWTC)

Every prior year, since I started racing for the Air Force in 2003, has had suspense in the roll down. I’ve never automatically qualified for a spot. Troops are always having to go to war or other TDYs or deployments or just can’t get away from work. This year I was able to qualify automatically and it feels pretty darn good.

The US men's elite team and Armed Forces finish place: Nick Dason - 3rd (Army), Ken Corigliano - 4th (AF), Michael Bergquist - 6th (ANG), John "Jay" Calvert - 9th (Navy), Eric Bates - 10th (Navy), and Phillip Giarraputo -18th (Marines).

The team would consist of 17 athletes from all branches of the US military. We send six elite men and women, three masters men and two masters women. In all, there were five from the Army, four from Air Force, four from Navy, three Marines and one Coast Guard. Although I’ve been on Active Duty for each of the last five MWTCs, I’m one of two Air National Guard (ANG) troops representing AF. I volunteered for full-time duty to help out during the rough times, but know I have it far better than a lot of our troops. My friend, Jolene Wilkenson, wasn’t able to race for the Air Force this year, so she has been missed. I was pleased that my friend/training partner Mike McCoy qualified to compete in the master’s competition. In fact, he qualified for a roll down spot in the elite division, but we only give a masters athlete an elite spot if all the masters’ spots are taken and he/she is faster than the next elite, which has happened only once.

We compete against top ranked ITU racers in the elite division, so we’re primarily competitive in the masters division. Unlike a lot of other militaries, our athletes are actual military troops. For a very select few, we have a program called World Class Athlete Program (WCAP). If they qualify, then they become a full-time athlete for up to two years leading into the Olympics, but must be a military member before getting a spot in the program. We had three this year (Tim O’Donnell, Justine Whipple and Jolene Wilkenson). Other militaries have permanent spots in their military for top athletes in certain sports. The catch is that their national federation puts their top athletes into these military positions. Once an athlete fails to be more competitive than an athlete waiting for one of those positions, then he/she is removed from the military. Our WCAP athletes return to the job that they had as a military member after the Olympic Games and have to wait another two years before applying again.

I consider myself one of the lucky ones. Although I’m an elite amateur, the US has only one sanctioned ITU race for those of us who are not pro. That race is the Armed Forces National Championship. I get a week off work with pay and an all-expense paid trip to compete. Once an athlete qualifies for the MWTC, he/she gets two more weeks of the same. We have our team of 17 athletes being taken care of by a team captain, assistants, docs, etc. We don’t have to worry about missing work or pay, because that is work. We actually get paid more. All of our travel, housing and food is paid for and taken care of for us. The only thing we need to do is be an athlete for another two weeks. It’s the sweetest of deals. Going top six at Armed Forces is tough work, but not so tough that I feel like I deserve this.

In the first week being on Team USA, I’d get extra sleep, took as much time as I needed to comfortably fit in my training and otherwise had a great time. I’d go body surfing with McCoy, watched movies I’ve been wanting to see for months, dined out a few times and yes, I rode my bike more than 50 miles!!! It was absolutely great after such a rough work schedule this last year … several years. We were issued Team USA gear. We were given T-shirts, polos, shoes, socks, shorts, sweats, bags, hats/visors, warm-ups and a couple racing suits … I’m sure I’m forgetting something. Our official racing suit for worlds never came in, despite having been ordered well in advance, so it’s a good thing we had back-up suits. Speedo and Adidas took really good care of us. It’s tough to order suits in advance for a team that hasn’t been selected yet. That said, we weren’t able to have our names on the suits like you see in other major events, but I’m OK with that. Unlike other world events for amateurs, I didn’t have to buy my gear. The back-up Speedo Fast Skin has a tag of $270 alone. Between travel, gear, wages and other expenses, the price tag for me over the month was in the ball park of $7,000 to $8,000. Needless to say, I’m really grateful.

The team traveled to Estonia through Atlanta and Stockholm. After arriving in Estonia, we had a three-hour bus ride to the race site, but it was along with athletes from a few other countries. Things were starting to get interesting and fun. I chatted with Paul from Austria. He’s a pro that I met last year in India for the Military World Games. This is my third consecutive year, so the faces and names are starting to get familiar. It made the long ride go by quickly, but I was also pretty tired and ready for the 30-hour day to end.

We arrived on site late in the evening, but the sun was still up. In fact, we were so far north that my 11 PM run was just after the sun set. We ran a 3.65-mile run on a beautiful trail that reminded me a lot of the back side of the trail around Medical Lake. My body was tired and got winded from the pace around 7:30/mile, but it felt good to move my legs. When we got back to the bed and breakfast that housed Team USA, I was ready for a shower and a long night of sleep. After the water concerns in India last year, it was great to have water that was safe to drink and shower in. I slept really well as the rest of the team had jet lag. After working nights for years on end, being 10 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time, I was going to bed fairly close to when I normally did.

The next day I unpacked my bike and made sure it was working, but didn’t feel like riding it. I didn’t feel like swimming either. To be truthful, if I didn’t have a streak of nearly four and a half years of running daily, then I wouldn’t have exercised at all. My goal was to see the athlete village, talk to as many strangers as possible and take in the experience. We had a 2nd floor pool, computer room, a resort dining facility, track, weight room and plenty of other things that you’d find at a resort/athlete village. It was Friday and our race was Sunday, so I’m pretty sure my fitness wasn’t going to change much anyway. After last year’s flat in India, I was shooting for a little revenge. Last year I didn’t feel like I belonged. Though I’m fully aware that the race of my life wouldn’t be competitive here, I was determined to do my best ever.
Marines on the left, Navy in white, Army in light green and AF on the right.

My second morning there was also after another great night of sleep … around 12 hours. My legs and back were pretty stiff, so I needed to get out and about to limber up. My run was really uncomfortable, so I decided to hop on the bike to preview the course and loosen up some more. Despite riding a very comfortable 17.5 MPH, my hamstrings and back were still too tight. The course was constantly rolling hills in the woods around the lake, which made for a scenic getaway. Aside from my body, everything was working fine and in order, so I got cleaned up for the opening ceremonies, athlete dinner and social. We all wore our full service dress during the evening. I was proud to march in there as a member of Team USA. We weren’t just athletes wearing a military uniform, like several other countries. We were members of the US Military who were there to compete as athletes against 18 other countries. Regardless of each individual’s service in his/her military, it was truly an honor to be there.

My evening ended early as I headed back to get some rest before the big day. The masters men would start at 10 AM, the masters women at 10:01, the elite women at 10:08 and the elite men (and me) would start at 10:16. I had plenty of time, but didn’t want to take any chances. I was there to represent my country and the US Military, not to stay out late doing selfish things that would prevent me from being at my best.

* This just in via e-mail. Team Mate, Justine Whipple was the World University gold medalist. She’s a two-time collegiate national champion, two-time Armed Forces national champion, last year’s Military World Games silver medalist and reigning under 23 national champion (6th at worlds).

More to come in a day or two …