Women's triathlon: Ex-Canadian Olympian wins Danskin Triathlon

For the record, 36-year-old Julie Daigneault Pittsinger, of Wenatchee, won yesterday's Danskin Women's Triathlon that started and ended at Genesee Park. The 1984 Canadian Olympic freestyle swimmer completed the course in 1:03.14, comfortably ahead of Janelle Bakke of Puyallup at 1:03.49.

But Pittsinger recognizes the focus of the event extends far beyond placings and clockings. While some participants are elite-class triathletes, most are "ordinary people" who leave the event as extraordinarily proud of their new courage and accomplishments.

One young woman, tracing her route, told her personal cheering section, "When I got in the water, I wondered, `What in the heck am I doing?' "

Organizers know that woman is not alone, that even the idea of undertaking such an endeavor can be frightening. "I did it four years ago, my first triathlon ever, and I was scared to death," Pittsinger said.

Still, women as young as 14 are invited each year to discover their potential, to change their health and fitness habits for the better — all while increasing awareness for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

By donating a portion of its entry fees to the charity, the Danskin series has contributed more than $417,000 since its inception in 1990. The number of participants has grown steadily from about 2,000 that first year to approximately 16,000 on the current seven-city tour. That's 16,000 lives that have metamorphosed from unaware to empowered.

"I'm in it to compete, but I've met a ton of nice people," Pittsinger said. "Everybody's in there, doing their best."

A former communications major at the University of Miami in Florida, Pittsinger, a mother of two, is naturally curious about the women who turn out for the annual Danskin event. "The first time I did it, I met six older women who were cancer survivors," she said. "And I thought, `This is spectacular!' It's what got me hooked."

Now, four years later, she's the U.S. World Cup Team alternate on the International Triathlon Union circuit, a professional and far more serious group of athletes.

Pittsinger and Bakke tromped out of Lake Washington neck and neck following the swimming segment and stayed within 20 seconds of each other throughout the bike portion, before Pittsinger pulled away in the run.

Competitive urges emerged. However, most of the 4,560 entrants — who officially made this event the world's largest triathlon in the sport's history — competed with themselves or their own outdated attitudes.

Seattleite Mary Beth Heffernan is one of them. She had never been a triathlete before. She enjoyed skiing and playing tennis for recreation, but never had she tried a half-mile swim, 12-mile bike race and a 3.1-mile run — and certainly not all in less than an hour and a half.

A friend had urged Heffernan to try the Danskin Triathlon before. But when the teacher at Bellevue Community College wasn't planning lessons for her international business courses, she was busy with vacations and other plans when the world's largest and longest-running multisport series came to Seattle.

A skin-cancer diagnosis six months ago changed Heffernan's thinking.

"It's time to get healthy," she told herself. So, despite two outpatient surgeries for what she called "not a full melanoma," she began to train for this year's event. The experience, she said after completing the course, "brings me to tears."

Heffernan said she was inspired to see women wearing T-shirts that indicated they were participating to honor their sisters or mothers. "That was really enlightening. Everybody was really supportive and positive. The volunteers have been awesome, too. I was out there telling people, `Woo-hoo! Let's get going!' I talked the whole way through."

She left with more than a medal around her neck. "Being fit used to (conjure) the Barbie-doll image. I've learned that `healthy' means taking care of your skin and yourself," Heffernan said. "There are a lot more adjectives to describe health than tanned."