Staff writer
Triple Threat Triathlon participant Alex Ratzlaff, 11, did nothing to train for the 5.1-mile race. She did what she always does in the summer — swimming and playing sports.
Her non-training regimen paid off, because she won the girls’ 10- through 12-year-old division with a time of 27 minutes, 21 seconds. She is the daughter of Damian and Amy Ratzlaff of Hillsboro.
“I love doing this,” she said before winners were announced. “I think I did better than last year.”
Ratzlaff finished second in her division in the 2008 triathlon. Her biggest improvements were pacing and the four-mile bike ride.
Before the race, she said she had difficulty sleeping because she was excited for the race.
The number of participants doubled from 2008, from 18 to almost 40, co-organizer Anna Woods said. The race began with a 100-meter swim, followed by a four-mile bicycle ride through Hillsboro. The final leg of the race was a one-mile run.
Mattaya Gibbs, 7, was the final participant to finish. The Parsons resident raced because two of her siblings competed, she said.
Tabor College volleyball players ran the last stretch of the race with Gibbs after directing racers through the course.
The triathlon was preceded by an all-ages five-kilometer run with 35 participants.
The overall boys winner was Nicholas May, and the overall girls winner was Emily May. Complete results are available at www.woodswellness.com.