From Doug

November the 29th had been on the calendar since early in the year when several of the team decided to take on the Beach to Battleship Iron distance Triathlon up in North Carolina. Just a few weeks out from the event everyone on the team scheduled to compete in the full 140.6 realized that due to circuimstances and new and exciting things God was doing in each of our lives none of us had fully trained as much as we would have liked. We talked about maybe just racing together as a team and encouraging each other throughout the day. We decided we would start off that day and then see how everyone was feeling and just break off as we needed.

That morning the temperatures were cold and light rain with high winds. At the start of the full there we were on the beach, Mike Roby, Chad Rutledge, Micah Dowdy, Chris Gott and myself. We began with a prayer and then the horn went off and we were on our way to begin the swim and what would be a full day of racing.

I must admit that I regretted the swim and had not looked forward to it one bit, As we were off on the swim I felt the comfort of the water as it was much warmer than the cold temperature outside. As I was swimming I would look towards the land with each breath I took and I noticed that the current was working in our favor and this swim would be fast. God was bringing calmness with each stroke. Somewhere about halfway through the swim I heard my name being called out and I paused to see where it was coming from only to see Chad Rutledge right next to me smiling and throwing his hand up for a high five. We quickly laughed and got back to work. At the finish of the swim as I exited I could feel the cold wind cut through me as I came out of my wetsuit. Running to transition I remember thanking God for how fast the swim went and then seeing my wife Donna and my sister in law Brenda who came to cheer me on in the race.

In the changing tent I changed into my bike clothes and hoped that what I chose would be warm enough to keep me comfortable for the 112 miles ahead of me. I was working hard to catch some of my teammates that left transition just a few minutes ahead of me. Heading out the headwinds were strong and intense at times, working hard it seemed to maintain a 16-18mph pace. Soon I passed by Chris Gott and Mike Roby who had stopped on the side of the road where their families were. I hollared as I rode by thinking it was only a quick friendly visit to say hello.

Thinking to myself that soon everyone would come riding past me and I would plan to hang on as long as I could but it seemed they would never get to me which made me wonder if everything was okay and if I should have stopped with them in those early miles. Around mile 75 there was a welcomed turn down a smooth road with wind now seeminly at my back. The pace had picked up and I was now averaging 22mph. At mile 100 I stopped briefly to stretch and relieve myself so tha I could finish strong and be ready for the run. While on the side of the road Chris Gott quickly road by and yelled out to me which lifted my spirits as it was great to see a friend and teammate at such a lonely time in the race. I quickly got on my bike and worked hard to catch Chris. With the wind at our backs I was able to catch up with Chris and ride the last 10 miles together.

We soon were in T2 and ready to head out on the run. It was great to have someone to join in the journey for most of the run. Chris informed me that Mike had to drop out as chest congestion had overtaken him during the bike. We would see Chad and Micah as we were finishing our first loop and they were starting out. During the last loop of the 26.2 miles it was great to see family, friends and now teammates Mike Roby, Tim Dowdy (who completed his first 70.3 distance) and Brenda Herrington (who took the 2nd overall in the 70.3) all of them cheering and encouraging along the way. I felt strong throughout the race and I give all the glory to God. He had given me strength to again do what most people only dream about.

As I approached the last 3 miles I quickly shared a couple of thoughts with Mike Roby and headed back across the two bridges towards the finish line. Out of the darkness of the night Brenda Herrington appeard and ran next to me with encouragement as she commented as to how well I was doing. Soon I found myself in the shoot headed to the finish line where I slowed down to enjoy every step and every face there cheering. As I crossed the finish line I was met by Chad Rutledge who as usual was there to offer to get whatever I needed, bringing me a mylar blanket, pizza and getting me a place to sit down.

I sat there and smiled thinking of what all had taken place and how God has blessed me. I finished the race in 13 hours and 17 minutes, but I experienced much more than a race on this day. I experienced the support of family, the encouragement of a team, and the power of God that once again proved that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"