The Sharon Triathlon — Hometown Race

This is one I have been chasing for 5 years! 

There is nothing like having a triathlon ½ mile from your house especially when its one with nearly 3 decades of history like the Sharon Triathlon. Ever since moving to town this race has been on my calendar - even when I was in a walking boot in 2022 I was still out there volunteering for the day. It’s also great to take a break once a year from the long course stuff and see what speed I still got.

Despite many close finishes I have never managed to grab the top spot at my hometown race finishing 6th, 4th, and 3rd, but despite a strong elite field this year I knew I would have a chance

I have never been able to keep up with the short course swim speed and the non-wetsuit swim made it more challenging. Of course I came out of the water last of the elite field, but for once had company right with me. I knew that if I could keep the guys in front of me in range on the bike I would have a chance to overtake them on the run. 

We all rode aggressively, all beating the best bike split from last year. I came into T2 in 4th some 2 minutes down, so I knew I had to make some magic happen on the 4.4 mile run. I took off hard, opening with a 5:30 mile, and kept pushing, closing the gap within the first two miles. Not wanting to leave any opening I kept pushing on the backside of the lake closing with two more sub-5:40 miles to take a 1.5 min victory (almost 6 minutes faster than my 2021 time at this race).

Now that I’ve taken the win for the hometown - you can bet that ill be back next year to defend that title. 

Shout out to @maxperformancetri for putting on a great event as always and to all of the friends/volunteers/familiar faces that make this race so particularly special for me