Several Whidbey Island Sailors recently competed in triple threat triathlon held at Ft. Lewis in Tacoma. The rigorous event began with a half-mile swim followed by a 15-mile road bike ride and was capped off by a three mile run.

HM1 Michael Roush and AT1 Michael Craycraft competed solo, while AM3 Brent Schuster, AT1 Robert Juhlin, and AE2 Curtis Vieke combined their efforts in the military team category. Roush tackled the elite category and showed why Vieke refers to him as “the machine” Even though Roush felt he could have performed better, he still finished in a remarkable overall time of 1 hour, 22 minutes to finish seventh overall. “I just wish I could finish one portion of the event as fast as he does”’ said Vieke.

AT1 Craycraft arrived from overseas just in time to strap on his gear and take part in the event. Feeling the pain after making good time through the swim, Craycraft finished with an overall time of 1 hour 44 minutes.

Seven teams competed in the men’s relay category, but none could match the speed of the “Lazy Squids.” “A lot of thinking went into that name, but there was nothing better than hearing first place go to the lazy squids,” said Vieke. “There was a surprise look from the army teams to hear a navy team beat them.”

Schuster scorched through the swim in 13 minutes and tagged off to Juhlin who left the completion in the dust and finished the bike ride in 40 minutes. Going into the run, Vieke had more than seven minutes on the next closest team. He pushed on through and finished the run in 20 minutes and 30 seconds, giving his team the win over the second place team, the 1-14 Cavalry Squad, by more than five minutes.

“Three miles is relatively short run for me” “I usually don’t get my body going until the second mile.”

The event is put on by Ft. Lewis MWR and is held at American lake and received a lot of praise from the athletes.

“It was a well-run event and very inviting for first timers who want to challenge themselves in a new way,” said Roush. “The location at American lake is beautiful, and makes for a good family destination after the event is over.”

Registration is already closed for the third and final even in the series, which will take place Aug. 20 at the same location. The upcoming race is a big event, which draws military teams from all over the country. Good luck to the Lazy Squids and all the other Whidbey Island Sailors who will be competing.