VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Third annual “OnondagaMan” has a new event
Matt Davison: Welcome back. While most of us are just hoping for a nice weekend outdoors.
Will Dewire: But tomorrow more than 150 athletes will be swimming, biking, and running their way through one of Central New York’s toughest endurance events.
Davison: Our Joey Cicini is live in Jamesville with organizers and athletes as they make their final preparations for race day. Joey.
Joey Cicini: Yeah guys. The third annual Onondaga Man Triathlon starts here at Jamesville Beach County Park tomorrow morning, taking athletes 70 miles through Onondaga, Madison, and Cortland counties. A new event this year has athletes needing to see distances they have to see to believe. Tomorrow, bright and early at 8 a.m., over 150 athletes will line up at Jamesville Beach County Park for the third annual OnondagaMan Long Course Triathlon.
Mark Wilson: There’s something about swimming, biking, and running that just makes you feel like a champion. I can’t explain it. Once you cross the line, you just feel like a million bucks and you want to do more. You want to go farther. You want to go faster.
Cicini: The 70-mile race is put together by Wilson Endurance Sports, featuring a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride, and a 13-mile run. This year, a new event will be held, an intermediate-level course.
Tonia Wilson: Intermediate gives an opportunity for athletes that aren’t prepared for a long distance to also be part of the fun.
Cicini: Intermediate might be an understatement, as it’s still a 31-mile course, and after a long winter season, athletes at today’s packet pickup were eager to dive in.
Brian Rogers: It’s been so cold the last few months, I’m excited to put all the training into good use tomorrow. I was a college athlete as well, and it’s always been a fitness goal of mine to try to do one of these events, so here we are.
Cicini: The team wants beginners. They want community members to take on the hurdle, because that feeling of seeing the checkered flag is second to none.
Tonia Wilson: To run across the line with tears streaming down their face because they actually did something that they didn’t think that they could do, that is the absolute best.
Cicini: Months, even years of hard work will come to fruition at the finish line tomorrow. I even heard just now there’s going to be some Gannon’s ice cream to greet those that cross the finish line. Live in Jamesville, Joey Cicini, NCC News.
JAMESVILLE, N.Y. (NCC News)— More than 150 athletes will gather at Jamesville Beach County Park on Saturday morning, May 30, for the third annual OnondagaMan Long Course Triathlon. This event is a grueling endurance event that spans 70 miles across three Central New York counties.
The race is organized by Wilson Endurance Sports and begins at 8 a.m. The course features a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13-mile run through Onondaga, Madison and Cortland counties.
Race director Mark Wilson said the event continues to grow because of the sense of accomplishment athletes feel after crossing the finish line.
“There’s something about swimming, biking and running that just makes you feel like a champion,” Wilson said. “Once you cross the line, you just feel like a million bucks and you want to do more. You want to go farther. You want to go faster.”
This year’s race introduces a new intermediate-distance option designed to make the event more accessible to athletes who may not be ready for the long-course challenge.
Race coordinator Tonia Wilson said the addition gives more people an opportunity to experience the excitement of triathlon competition.
“Intermediate gives an opportunity for athletes that aren’t prepared for a long distance to also be part of the fun,” she said.
While shorter than the featured race, the intermediate course is still a formidable test of endurance, covering approximately 31 miles. For intermediate participants, a relay team option is available to divide the run, swim, and bike portions up as well.
Athletes picked up race packets Friday and prepared for a day many have spent months, and in some cases years, training for.
Brian Rogers, who will compete Saturday, said he is eager to finally put his 33-week training period to the test after a long winter.
“It’s been so cold the last few months,” Rogers said. “I’m excited to put all the training into good use tomorrow. I was a college athlete as well, and it’s always been a fitness goal of mine to try to do one of these events, so here we are.”
Organizers hope the event encourages beginners and community members to challenge themselves, regardless of experience level.
For Tonia Wilson, the most rewarding part of race day comes at the finish line.
“To run across the line with tears streaming down their face because they actually did something that they didn’t think that they could do, that is the absolute best,” she said.
The event is a “grassroot event” meaning no cutoff times. After months of preparation, participants will celebrate their accomplishment with a custom finisher’s medal and some local legends like Gannon’s Ice Cream waiting at the finish line.