42nd Greenfield Triathlon draws more than 200 athletes

GREENFIELD — More than 200 endurance athletes braved the rigorous Greenfield Triathlon at the Green River Swimming and Recreation Area on Sunday morning.

The 42nd iteration of the event began under overcast and comfortable conditions. It was around 70 degrees when the horn sounded to begin the swimming portion of the International race. As the morning progressed, the sun did make an appearance as the humidity crept onto the scene.

International participants attacked a .63 mile upriver swim, a 30-mile bike ride and a 6.5-mile run to close out the event.

Matt Rabasco of Worcester won (2:16.25) for the second time in three years in the International Division. Kristian Whitsett of Shelburne Falls placed third (2:29:48).

“I was two to three minutes down after the swim,” Rabasco said. “I had to catch the leader on the bike. I think I caught him by the end of the third lap, it took about an hour to catch him. He had a good gap on me.”

Rabasco does not consider swimming to be his strong suit. When he exited the water and hopped on a bicycle, he had a lot of time to make up to grab the first overall position.

“My weakness is the swim,” Rabasco said. “Thankfully it’s the shortest leg, I got into the sport from a running background. Initially running was my favorite but I’ve grown to like biking the best. Which is good, because that’s the longest leg.”

Lauren Lounsbery of Lake Luzerne, New York, was the top finisher (2:37:43) for females in the International Division. Hannah Goodrick of Deerfield placed 15th (2:50.34).

“For the swim I definitely like to go fast and just try to keep up with the top people, keep them in my sight,” Lounsbery said. “For the transitions, you have to go quick… I am glad other people are out here. It’s a great sport. I wish more women got involved in this, too. It’s a great way to stay active throughout life. I saw people out on the course who were 65 and 75, I hope I can be like that too when I am that age.”

Marcy Cabanas of Greenfield was part of a trio who won (1:11:01) the Three Person Sprint Relay competition. In the relay, one competitor does a portion of the event. Cabanas did the running for her first place squad. Isaac Bingham did the swimming while Terry McKean took to the bicycle.

“We all trained individually,” Cabanas said. “We met up last weekend just to all get together and get a plan. Team building. Today, we just practiced the timing chip hand off… it was fun to be here. It was great today. Great volunteers on the course.

Daniel Moran was first in the Sprint Triathlon (1:14:01) Greenfield’s Daniel Bensen placed second (1:14:37).

JoEllen Reino of South Deerfield (1:22:06) was the winner in the female category. It’s Reino’s 11th win at the Greenfield Triathlon. Reino just beat out Linda Fijol of Amherst (1:22:30). Kinsley Kolega topped the non-binary field (3:05:57). Tri Hard and Don’t Die won the three-person International Relay (2:32:17). Team Lai won the two-person sprint relay (1:19:01).

Some swimmers dealt with unfavorable conditions almost immediately.

“The current was strong as hell,” Aaron Griffin of Agawam said.

Competitors moved out of swimming portion immediately to a line of bikes set up near the finish line. From there, they began the 30-mile ride on Nash Mill Road.

Available at the finish line were two kiddie pools full of bottled water and shots of pickle juice for electrolytes distributed from a Gatorade cooler. There were medals as well as ample amounts of bananas.

When competitors concluded their race under the blue inflatable finish line, there was a wide range of reactions. Some doubled over while some calmy grabbed their medal and a water. One competitor broke down in tears of joy for making time. Another competitor added a little flair with a cartwheel as he finished under the finish line. Some fell to the ground due to exhaustion.