A familiar face crossed the finish line first at today’s Wilmington YMCA Sprint Triathlon as Wrightsville Beach resident Matthew Wisthoff won the race for the fifth time today, posting his fastest ever time for the race. But for the veteran local athlete, he was still 35 seconds off of his goal of breaking the one-hour mark.
“The conditions were perfect,” Wisthoff said. “It was a little windy, but that didn’t slow us down too much.”
Top finishers described a race helped by favorable temperature, mild currents for the open water swim and mostly light winds. Wisthoff won the three-stage race with a time of 1:00:35. The race begins with a 1,350 yard open water swim between the Blockade Runner, continues with a 20 kilometer bicycle race that takes bikers into Wilmington by route of Oleander Drive and Greenfield Loop and Airlie roads, and concludes with a 5 kilometer run around the Wrightsville Beach “loop.”
Finishing behind Wisthoff were Tom Clifford at 1:02:14 and Harrison Brown at 1:04:24. Clifford is the founder of Without Limits personal training service, where Wisthoff is one of the coaches. Brown is the track and field coach as Cape Fear Academy.
Erin Green of Wilmington was the top female finisher at 1:18:37 with Bridget Phillips finishing second at 1:19:15 and Lindsey Hess taking third with a time of 1:19:53.
The YMCA’s Tom Lamont said many of the participants use the triathlon as a training run for the upcoming Wilmington Ironman Triathlon, formerly known as the PPD Triathlon. However, the Ironman is a much longer race, taking about five times as long for elite racers to finish, and racers like Wisthoff said he wasn’t competing in the race, while Clifford would compete in the half-Ironman race.
Several of the racers reflected on the long history of the race, which is one of the oldest triathlon races in the country, and how it creates a sense of community among the racers.
“It has more participants because of the history of the race,” Brown said. “It’s great in that respect.”
Clifford said the the race has a storied history. It began in 1979, around the time of the first Ironman races Hawaii, and was originally a longer race of the “international distance,” stretching as far south as Fort Fisher and finishing in downtown Wilmington.
“It’s one of the oldest triathlons in the world,” Clifford said.
Lamont said that the Wrightsville Beach location is scenic and inviting for visitors, which is why most of the race is now contested within the town limits.
For Phillips, who was the top female finisher for the 40 and over “Masters” division in her second time competing in the race, the race provides competitors with “great energy.”
“A lot of people have participated in this race over the years,” said Phillips, who was thrilled to pass her husband Kyle in the run after he passed her on the bike. “There’s a strong sense of community out there.”
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