It was a crisp early Sunday morning for the NAUTICA Malibu Triathlon participants as the athletes lined the iconic Zuma Beach for their 7:15 a.m. start. When the starting gun fired racers sprinted across the sand dove into the ocean and began the half-mile swim. This was followed by an 18-mile bike ride and the final four-mile run down scenic Pacific Coast Highway.
In its 24th year the triathlon has become an annual late-summer tradition for the Malibu community. But the event is not all fun and games.
The NAUTICA Malibu Triathlon benefits the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and its Pediatric Cancer Research Program. Last year the triathlon rose over $1 million through sponsorship. Major sponsors of the event include NAUTICA Paul Mitchell Herbalife Men’s Health K Swiss Wynn Kaiser Permanente and Giant.
In a race involving more than 1500 participants Pepperdine students Lindsey Watson and Lindsey Ito felt fortunate to be able to participate as entering the philanthropic affair is immensely popular and online registration fills up in a matter of minutes.
With excitement and thoughts of preparation the racers awoke near 5 a.m. on Sunday. Ito formerly enrolled in Pepperdine’s triathlon course said the triathlon went by fast but her heart was pumping the hardest when she was waiting to begin the race.
“The most intense part was waiting on the beach when our heat came up Ito said. The excitement building up to it kind of pulsates…walking up to the starting line was intense.”
Watson finished the 22.5-mile race with a time of 2 hours 3 minutes and Ito finished closely behind with a time of 02:31.
Watson said she felt good after the race for a short period before she crashed and slept.
“I actually felt very energized for about the first hour afterward because there is a lot of adrenaline and endorphins she said. After that I was super tired because I only got 5 hours of sleep the night before and I just raced for two hours straight.”
Watson and Ito found pleasure and excitement through participating in the philanthropic triathlon and they both said they plan on doing more in the future.
“It was a first-time adventure but now I really want to do more you know when you get a travel bug? I have a tri-bug Watson said.