1999
CajunMan Race Recap
The fourth annual Cajunman Triathlon was held last weekend at the
University
of
Louisiana Lafayette
airport lake. This triathlon has
grown from a little over 200 participants in 1996 to 382 registered participants
in 1999. It is currently the second
largest triathlon in
Louisiana
following only the State Championship River Cities Triathlon in
Shreveport
.
This year’s triathlon was changed from the previous years.
It consisted of an 800 meter swim, a new 20 mile bike loop and a 5K run
that was run on the perimeter service road of the airport.
The overall male winner was three time defending champion Chris Eschbach
from
Mississippi
with a time of
1:16:56
. Chris was followed closely by Joseph Curro also of
Mississippi
with a time of
1:17:46
. Joseph ran the 5K run in
16:22
after a hard 20 mile bike. Maurice’s
own John Deshotel was the fourth overall male with a time of
1:19:39
. The female overall winner was Kathleen Scully from
Shreveport
with a time of
1:28:41
. Second was
Lafayette
’s Elizabeth Boudreaux with a time of
1:32:16
. Third was
Lafayette
’s Jennifer Braswell with a time of
1:33:30
. The male Masters winner was Kenneth Daigle with a time of
1:24:30
and the female Masters winner was Susan Boudreaux with a time of
1:38:58
. These are new course records because of the change of the bike course.
We look forward to next years race to see if these records can be broken.
Cajunman Triathlon is not only a race, it is an event. It is put on by a
group of area triathletes and sponsored by many local companies.
It gives those local athletes the opportunity to try their hand at a
multisport event without having to travel across the state. It is also a chance
for family members to experience the race and to see how much preparation goes
into a triathlon. The race itself is only part of the event. It is followed by a
post race party with a live Cajun Band, lots of fruit, beverages, pasta and good
Cajun Cookin’. It has become a
favorite for triathletes from
Louisiana
. But it is not just limited to
Louisiana
. There were athletes from
Texas
,
Mississippi
,
Tennessee
and even as far as
Ocean City
California
just to name a few. There were 600
plus combined participants, support crews and spectators at this year’s race.
Next year we expect an improved
race with more local athletes ready to train for and participate in our first
triathlon of the “New Century”. Feel
lucky? If you are interested in
finding out more about this years event and how you are your friends did, check
out the results at www.lafayettefitness.org.
See you in 2000.