- Jun 2, 2018
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The 42nd San Andreas Triathlon - Athletes making their mark
An official SAN News report
The preparations -
Earlier this week, the San Andreas Government and the Department of Sporting Events hosted it's 42nd annual triathlon. A public and open event, participants had to pay a small entry fee of 20 dollars. As with every year, the money collected by participants is to be donated to a randomly chosen charity. This time, the Bully Association of America was picked as the donation receiver. We here at the Network congratulate the BAA on being chosen, and wish them good luck with nipping socially deviant behavior in the bud.
However, thanks to the generous sponsorship several interest groups, a prize was proclaimed for the winner of the Triathlon: The Bank of Los Santos announced a house for the winner, provided he did not have a house of his own. The Young Men's Biking League also promised a state-of-the-art mountain bike to the first person to cross the finish line.
The event's starting line was set near Santa Monica Beach in Los Santos, and ended near a bridge at the Back O' Beyond, the infamous stomping grounds of Bigfoot. The weather throughout the whole event was sunny and pleasant, not interfering with its conduction at all.
Like with any triathlon, participants had to compete in the big three of aerobic exercise: Swimming, bicycling and running. Seeing as this type of competition is not for anyone with a medical condition, the Los Santos Medical Department conducted on-site checks of each participant prior to starting. Stalls were also set up at each checkpoint by event volunteers, providing adequate hydration, sanitation and first-aid to whoever was in need.
As it happened -
(Photo: John Strickland)
The starting line was a sight to see: a wave of people stood at the cliff's edge, waiting for the man in the striped polo shirt to fire his gun. Some, in their haste, mistook car sounds for the signal and jumped preemptively, much to the schadenfreude of the others. A voice blared eventually from the speakers : ''3...2....1...''. The gun fired and the first courageous athletes braved the jump into the still-cool morning waters of the Los Santos Sea.
Triathletes taking a leap of faith (Photo: John Strickland)
The water splashed with the eager hands and legs of the participants. While the crowd at first was evenly spread out, it quickly became apparent who had taken their swimming classes back in the 6th grade. Several people started to stand out from the mass of thrashing individuals, and eventually made it to the beach on the other side.
From there, the bike ride would take them across the scenic San Fierro highway, into the depths of the overgrown woodland regions. By this point, things had started to thin out. Indeed, for some, mere participation was enough, to know that they had ran and given money for something greater than themselves. But for others, braving their body's tiredness and seeking glory was more important. The true challenge now lay in the final challenge.
Some get ahead, some fall behind (Photo: John Strickland)
The running section of the track was perhaps the hardest of them all. Even the strongest of people found it difficult to co-ordinate their body in relation to the muddy and slippery ground. Many gave up. Very few made it to see the bridge. But for those who did, even if they did not ''get the gold'', well, they could at least have the satisfaction of knowing they had conquered mind over matter.
The scene at the finishing line was amicable and lively. People, upon seeing our reporters and camera crew, lined up for shots and posed for the camera. We all waited to hear the winners announcement, snacking on chicken sandwiches and sports drinks.
A contestant poses for the camera (Photo: John Strickland)
((Special thanks to @Shield for the snapshot))
The Winner of the Triathlon, Miss Rize Tedeza, posing with the SAN News van. With no property to her name, she will receive both the promised house and brand new mountain bike to get around town!
(Photo: John Strickland)
It is on moments like these that one remembers his duty to guard his body and live up to his physical potential. As Socrates said, ''No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training…what a disgrace it is for someone to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which their body is capable''.
Conclusion -
With these thoughts in mind, we would like to finish this article with some video footagee from the event, taken by drone by the video crew at SAN News and commentator John Strickland. We hope, through its depiction of physical prowess, that it inspires more people to become active and healthy.
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