Tri-Yote-athon ‘a good way to challenge’ participants

Swimming, running and biking were the names of the games Sunday at the Wellness Center for the inaugural Tri-Yote-athon.

Competitors had set rules and times for each of the three events.

“Competitors have 20 minutes in the DakotaDome pool, 20 minutes in the outdoor track and 20 minutes in (the Wellness Center) on a stationary cycle,” said Jordan Mooney, graduate assistant for the Wellness Center and the Tri-Yote-athon race coordinator. “The goal is to accrue as much distance as you can in each of those events and then we would determine champions based on who gets the furthest in each of the events.”

There were 15-minute breaks in between each event.

Chandra Man Karki, a senior chemistry major and mathematics minor, was one of the four students that competed.

“Running is my favorite,” Karki said. “I just tried to push hard last minute.”

Registration was open from Aug. 21 to Sept. 7. Mooney said the money from registration – $6 per person – went toward the cost of T-shirts for participants and any paid Wellness Center employees who supervised the event.

Tri-Yote-athon was open to all members of the community.

Mooney said the timing may have contributed to the event’s low turnout.

“The time of year might have been a little early as far as the semester goes,” he said. “But with (an event) being outdoors on the track, we wanted to make sure we had nice weather before it got cold here. That was one of the reasons why we chose an earlier time of the year.”

The fact that the Wellness Center doesn’t have its own pool could’ve also played a role, Mooney said.

Looking to next year, Mooney said having allowing team registration could increase participation.

“I would consider allowing an option to build a team of three people so you could have one swimmer, one runner (and) one biker,” Mooney said. “That way it’s not one individual in all three events because that might be intimidating for someone who’s not a fitness buff or who has not done a fitness event like this in the past. I also think it’s easier to motivate groups.”

Jessica Hofer was one of the event’s volunteers.

“It gives me a little bit more experience in my field of choice,” Hofer said. “It’s a great way to see how a triathlon works.”

Hofer said the triathlon was a “unique event.”

“It just really helps our members of the Wellness Center to give a little shot of a competition for them,” she said. “It gives them some motivation to whatever they’re at in their training, as far as their workout. So if they want to push themselves and see what they can get out of a triathlon, it’s a good way to challenge themselves and make a goal out of it.”

This is the first year Tri-Yote-athon has been held.

“I know with six people I still wanted to run the program because it would give the name of Tri-Yote-athon to build itself,” he said. “If we can give those six people a good experience this time around, then (they could) tell one person or two people (about the event). You have to start somewhere.”