The 7th annual Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon kicked off on Saturday, June 25th with 1,500 athletes running, swimming, and biking their way across the course (located on MLK Drive at Fairmount Park).
The triathletes started off with a .8K swim in the Schuylkill river before making the first transition to their bikes. Once on wheels, the athletes took off on MLK, crossed over to the Kelly drive side, and raced down to the Mt. Pleasant loop (and back). The bike course is a 25.3K double loop before the final stage of the event, the run; a blistering 5K which must be completed after the first two grueling first stages. The first male finisher crossed the line in an amazing 1:13:40.
The main race took place on, Sunday June 26th. An early 7am start was on tap for the athletes as over 2,500 competitors flooded the river and eventually, the streets. This race saw a course that included a .9-mile swim, a 24.8-mile bike ride, and a 6.2-mile run. It’s tiring just typing that.
34 year old Andy Potts set a course record for the men, finishing the event in just 1:46:05. He earned $10,000 for his efforts.
For the ladies, a course record was also set by 35 year old Rebeccah Wassner who finished just under two hours at 1:59:36. She also received $10,000. Wassner’s twin sister Laurel also competed, finishing in third place just 31 second behind Rebeccah.
[photo credit: Christian Hafer, story by Christian Hafer & Jacob Miller]
Full photo slideshow below:
