Triathletes take to Wilmington Saturday

If you were out and about in Wilmington Saturday, you most likely saw the triathletes racing to the finish line.

The Second Annual Beach to Battleship Iron Distance Triathlon started at Wrightsville Beach with a 2.4 swim. Then, athletes rode bicycles 112 miles from Wrightsville Beach, through Wilmington, up toward White Lake and finished back in Wilmington.

At the Battleship North Carolina, participants put on their running shoes for the last leg of the race-a marathon.

Competitors could also choose to participate in the half-triathlon or one leg of a relay team.

Athletes told WWAY what it is like competing in such a gut-wrenching endeavor.

“112 miles is a long way to ride a bike, but I feel great, I’m so glad to finish and finish strong,” said Chris Mangum, relay team cyclist.

Triathlete Ashley Long said, “My goal was to break five hours and I went 4:49:59 so it’s a PR. I’m really happy.”

“This is a great venue. Wilmington is a great city to have this type of event, we really got to see the downtown area on the run, the bike course was pleasantly fast, and the run course, we thought the people along the way were was phenomenal, I mean it really helped to have all those people out,” said half-triathalon female winner Gail Kattouf.

This year more than 1,400 athletes took part in the race from 38 states and 12 countries.