Triathletes Get Ready for San Diego Event

Gidget was the only missing piece of the puzzle.

When producers of Chicago’s United States Triathlon Series event came to town and peeked at how California staged a triathlon, they were greeted and treated to something strongly resembling “Beach Blanket Bingo.”

“When the fog had lifted,” said Jim Curl, co-founder of the USTS nine years ago with Carl Thomas, “there were girls in bikinis, surfing, bands, people dancing. They just stood there and said, ‘Oh my gosh, California really is like this.’ ”

At 6:30 a.m. Sunday, 2,200 triathletes--50 in the professional division--will begin the .9-mile swim, 24.8-mile bike, 6.2-mile run at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, marking the 99th stop of the USTS. With 2,800-3,000 participants, Chicago is the largest race in the 11-event series, but San Diego, the second largest, is still the most popular, and was the very first of its kind.

“People schedule their vacations around this,” Curl said. “This triathlon still has an aura around it. This is where it all started, and this is where most of them go.”

It is also where many of them live. In 1982, 600 raced in the inaugural event, won by Dave Scott and featuring what would become one of the best rivalries in the sport. Scott of Davis, Scott Tinley of Del Mar, Scott Molina of Boulder, Colo., and Mark Allen of Cardiff became known as the “Big Four,” and they dominated the sport throughout the 1980s.

Of the four, only Tinley will compete this weekend. Scott and Molina are still racing but bypassed this event, and Allen is gearing his training for the Ironman next month in Hawaii, where he is defending champion.

“There is still more volunteer support and larger crowds here then at any other race,” race representative Tim Down said. “People are very in tune with this kind of thing. They’re into any kind of outdoor activity, and they pull up their beach chairs just to watch.”

By his own admission, instead of putting on triathlons and other events, Curl could be making twice as much money as a lawyer, his former profession.

“I’ve managed to stay in business, feed kids, pay for the house,” he said, “but no one’s driving a Mercedes in my family. The most important part of this is that it’s creative and enjoyable.”

More importantly, triathletes have fun, more than he can say for the participants in litigation.

“The end result is not harmful,” he said, “It’s pleasant. In law, someone always loses. Here, everyone wins.”

Triathlon Notes

Harold Robinson of Santa Rosa is leading the USTS series and will wear the red jersey here. . . . Only 100 points separate the top four men in the series. Brooks Clark of Westchester, Penn., Mike Pigg of Arcata and Andy Carlson of Irvine are chasing Robinson. Pigg is a two-time national champion three-time USTS winner. . . . Joy Hansen of Westchester, Penn., has a 200-point lead and is being chased by Jan Ripple of Baton Rouge, La., Colleen Cannon of Nederland, Colo., and Laurie Samuelson of Cupertino. . . . Winners receive $1,000, and the total race purse is $5,000. . . . Australians Greg Welch, Brad Beven and Steven Foster, who all live and train in San Diego, finished first, second and third in the Triathlon World Championships last week in Orlando, Fla. All three will compete here.