2025-26

I forgot my shoes. Me and my teammate Leo got up early, had breakfast, and drove 40 minutes to the race venue. We were racing the draft legal version of the race which started two hours before the classic. Once we got there we immediately realised something was wrong, I had forgotten my cycling shoes. I ended up setting the transition up and attended the athlete briefing although before the race started I asked the organisers if I could switch to the classic race, allowing my teammates enough time to bring my shoes with them. Thankfully, they allowed me to, and I wasn’t forced to cycle with running shoes. It was a hectic start to the morning but I ended up having a good time spectating Leo and taking some cool shots of him. 

The rest of the team arrived and brought my shoes with them. We headed to the start and jumped into the ice cold San Francisco bay. After a quick warm up the horn blasted and the race began. Open water swims are always fun, fighting your way to a good position, trying to keep each stroke perfect, all while keeping track of a yellow buoy 400 meters away. I got out of the water and ran up the hill to transition, grabbed my bike, and proceeded to obliterate 4 laps on the flat course. I gave it my all, attempting to pass as many people as I could. At the last kilometer of the bike I decided to put out a big attack (surge) and as I turned into the last U-turn my back wheel slipped. Almost crashing, I ended up skidding across the turn and kept my balance. The onlookers looked at me scared, but I just smiled back and gave them a shaka, signaling that I was okay. I had a good run and the race finished with a strong uphill. I walked across the finish and was met with a great buffet. After that I met up with the rest of the team, we talked about our races, I met their families who had come to support them, and talked to a few people from other schools who I met there.

My race at Stanford may have had a bad start, but I ended up enjoying the race and the organisers were of great assistance. The course was unique, fast, the weather was good, and I met some cool people along the way. In the end that’s what the sport is about, challenging yourself in the pursuit of excellence and growing with others while you do it.

- Omar 

It was a chilly morning in Daygo. We crept slowly through the darkness that engulfed Mission Bay until out of the fog appeared the silhouettes of carbon frames and freshly waxed chains sitting in transition. We had made it. This was Tritonman. Our ragtag team, comprised of Andrew (me) just 4 days post sickness, Eric, about to embark on his very first Triathlon, and Leo, on his first of two triathlons this weekend, found themselves amidst many of the greats of American collegiate triathlon talent. We set up our bikes and placed shoes into buckets surrounded by teams that had flown in from Hawaii to compete with us. We were ready to give it everything we had.

Alright, enough anticipation, time to race. We all hopped in the water and headed to the start buoys. On the way over I quickly became acquainted with Mission Bay’s water quality: sticks and feathers and foamy clumps of debris, all seemingly washed into the water from the previous weeks of rain, swirled about the group of floating athletes. Not the most appetizing start, but when the gun went off all fears of rashes and eye/ear infections went out the window as we clambered through the muck and over each other, fighting for position. The swim course was a simple out and back, which let me see how I was doing compared to the lead pack (not too shabby). Heading into the back half of the swim, my lungs burned as I attempted to push up to a faster group. I made a little ground up, but there was still a lot of work to do on the other legs. Hop out of the water, sprint to transition, clip in on the bike, and then head out to Fiesta Island for 3 laps. I spun my legs hard and flew around for one and a half laps until BANG! Disaster. A nasty flat that instantly ate up my CO₂ cartridge and left me stranded on the Island.

My race was over :(. Though as I trudged through the dirt along the side of the bike course, bike over my shoulder, I still got to race vicariously through my teammates as they raced past. I got back to the shore just in time to see Leo come through the line, and Eric soon after.

Overall, we did pretty great. Leo crushed his first race of the weekend before doubling back the next day for Tritonman Classic, and Eric had the biggest smile on his face as he crossed the line of his first triathlon. And though a victory with champagne on the podium wasn’t mine this time, I still gave all I had for as long as I could on the day; a victory in my book. Besides, we all got tacos afterwards, which made it impossible to not be happy. I’ve got so many great memories from this race. Can’t wait to see you again next year Tritonman!

-Andrew

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Triton Man is the only race I did this year and I almost didn’t go. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to race because I hadn’t been training for triathlon most of the year. But at the last second, I decided to go. As we were leaving for the race we convinced my roommate on the triathlon team, who hadn’t raced all year to come out and cheer. I went into it with no expectations and just wanted to have fun. I was excited to swim this year because the last two years the swim had been canceled. Which is pretty nice for me because I’m a much better runner than I am a swimmer. Going into the swim I wasn’t expecting much but I swam my fastest swim I’ve ever swam. I came out of the water a little over a minute behind Bryce who I am usually at least four minutes behind. I may have cut a little bit off the course at the end and gone on the inside of a buoy instead of the outside on accident, but it still would’ve been my fastest swim for sure. Seeing my roommate cheer me on was really fun and he let me know exactly how far behind I was. On the bike I had a lot of fun trying to pass people on tt bikes. My bike was solid and I don’t think I could have improved much about it. I always enjoy doing funny things for the camera at Triton man on the bike because it's always in the same spot. Going into the run I knew my lack of training was about to hit. I immediately cramped up and my back was fried from the bike. I finished it out and was honestly really happy with the result. Definitely one of my slower 5ks, but still pretty good. Getting some very well deserved fish tacos after the race was definitely needed. Triton man is always one of my favorite races and I’m happy I got to race it this year. Hopefully next year I can train a bit more and go a bit faster.

-Jack

In celebration of the Wilson triplets’ birthday this year, members of the triathlon club at UC Irvine took on the 15 km course of the LA Tough Mudder event this year. An unconventional event for the triathlon club, but an event with over 20 obstacles and of course, lots of mud.

This was my first time participating in such an event and it did not disappoint. I expected the obstacles to be more individually demanding, but soon I realized most of the obstacles really did require teamwork of all eight individuals on the team. The first obstacle that required each and every team member was called “The Block Ness Monster.” Teams jump into a shallow pool where there are multiple rotating blocks for individuals to get over. These blocks are tough to rotate as half of each one is above the water and the other half is submerged in the water. Oh and they are also 500 lbs, requiring teams to push the block and jump over it as it is rotating. Even though it was not too hot that day, it was nice to cool off in the water and wash off all the dried up mud on our clothes and skin. I thought this obstacle was super chill and expected all the other team-based activities to be like this. Oh how my dreams soon became crushed.

Another event requiring arguably the most teamwork was the “Pyramid Scheme”. Teams jump down into a mud pit and then face off against a 15 foot wall to climb over. The wall is not vertical but at a gradual incline, gradual enough that one may think they can simply walk up it. Wrong. Getting down into the mud pit before approaching the wall immediately eliminates this possibility of walking up it as your shoes become too slick, and the only option is for team members to climb on top of one another to get to the top. I remember being at the bottom of our team’s human ladder. I was gripping for dear life as one and then another one of my teammates stood on my shoulders, praying that at least one person made it up. A few people eventually made it over the top, however, we reached a plateau when one of our teammates almost made it to the top, and came slipping all the way back down. At this point, we had gotten half of our team atop this wall the other half at the bottom. In doing so, the half of us remaining at the bottom were depleted and even our teammates at the top pulling people up were exhausted. Then all of a sudden this stoic man with a beard and kilt approached us, slapped his leg, and said “Climb on me!” Our savior had come and he helped each of our last team members reach the top. Other teams also decided to help, and that’s when I realized the real team spirit of the tough mudder event.

Although it was a very unexpected event, it was not too far from our interests. The tough mudder was a fantastic way to conclude the spring 2026 quarter. Approaching the end of the collegiate triathlon season, it is definitely an event I hope we continue to participate in in the future!

-Lance

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The Triathlon Club of UC Irvine took on the Tough Mudder at Lake Elsinore on March 21, which was a challenging 15K course packed with demanding obstacles. Representing the team was Lance, David, Leo, Jayden, Ema, Bryce, Trevor, and Reid.

The course itself was far from a typical 15K course. It was on the Lake Elsinore dirtbike tracks where the runners would go up and down the jumps and whoops along with many unique obstacles that would test their strength. Not even 50 meters into the race the runners were faced with a deep mud pit which was incredibly thick and could take a shoe if they were not tied tight enough. There were other mud sections which an army crawl was required to get through, as barbed wire was above them.

One of the more physically demanding obstacles was the large A-Frame, which was at least 50 feet tall and required teamwork to even start the climb. This required a volunteer to hoist people onto their knees and shoulders like a ladder to even allow them to start climbing, as the first portion was a slick and muddy wall. There were other zones where the area was like an American Ninja Warrior course which had ropes to swing on, monkey bars to scale, and spinning rings to grab onto.

Although these would test the strength of each runner, there were less physically challenging obstacles that were arguably more mentally challenging. One of these was a tear gas type of enclosure that an army crawl was needed to get through while tear gas was filling the area.

Another spot was a deep mud pit filled with holes that were not visible, where people could fall into and lose their balance. Although this was not incredibly dangerous, there were metal wires and mesh hanging down that was electrically powered, meaning it would shock the runner if

they bumped into it! These were definitely memorable stages as they were quite shocking (no pun intended) to see on the course.

Although each obstacle required physical strength, it ultimately required teamwork. This is what made the event so rewarding, as each of the team members would work together to overcome the challenges before them. Everyone pushed through even the hardest parts and did not have to skip any stages or obstacles, proving that they could work together.

Overall the Tough Mudder was definitely tough and muddy, but it allowed for a memorable experience that highlighted the team’s determination and their willingness to take on new and unique challenges together.

-David