Elite dedication on display at Benderson Park

It might not seem like it, but when a triathlon comes to Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, it offers spectators great entertainment.

You can watch the entire swim. You can watch as the competitors transition onto their bikes, and then are gone in a flash. You can even watch most of the run portion, following the athletes as they cross the park's bridges and as they approach the final stretch.

It's too bad there were not many spectators at the park March 13-14 (other than family of the competitors) for the 2021 Sarasota-Bradenton Triathlon Elite Cup. I wish there had been. There's a reason many triathlon competitors collapse in a heap after crossing the finish line. Their bodies just can't go any farther. 

The competitors were impressive. The event featured some of the best triathletes in the world traversing a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer bike ride and a 5-kilometer run. There were also junior and youth divisions with modified race distances. 

While watching these athletes, I asked myself how one becomes a top triathlete? How does one develop the mental fortitude necessary to push a human body to those limits? 

What I discovered is that the people winning these events are often just as remarkable in other areas of their life. 

Gina Sereno, 25, won the elite women's division by finishing in 55 minutes, 49 seconds. That was 12 seconds faster than second-place Sandra Dodet of France. Sereno, who is from Madison, Wis., was in 16th place after the swim, but made up time on her bike and completely dominated in the run (16:40). She was the only competitor to run the course in less than 17 minutes. 

Sereno said she never competed in triathlons as a kid. She did run, though, and earned a scholarship to the University of Michigan. After she graduated, she was approached by Team USA's Collegiate Recruitment Program about trying it. Three years later, Sereno's talent has begun to reveal itself in full. The Sarasota-Bradenton Triathlon was her first elite triathlon win — the first of many, she hopes. 

Though impressive, Sereno's athletic ability might not be the most impressive thing about her. No, that would be her brain. When not training to be an elite athlete, Sereno said, she works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Sereno is assigned to NASA's Psyche mission, which involves getting a spacecraft to land on a metal asteroid so it can be researched.

It's a challenge that requires a lot of work and a lot of time. However, Sereno said triathlon practice has become like brushing her teeth. No one asks busy people how they find time to brush their teeth, she said, because it's implied that brushing one's teeth is a requirement, not a choice. Sereno has made practice a requirement in her life. Every morning she practices two of the three events, she said, then gets to work.

"I think you just have to want to do it," Sereno said. "You're not going to snap your fingers and be really good. You have to be motivated to work at it." 

It shows a level of dedication that I've never had. Triathletes must have that dedication. Just ask men's elite winner Kevin McDowell, of Geneva, Ill. McDowell won the men's race in 49:15, 19 seconds better than second-place Matthew Sharpe of Canada.

Unlike Sereno, McDowell did run triathlons as a kid, but his career hit the pause button in 2011 after he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. McDowell took six months off from training to complete chemotherapy. He beat the disease, and one year after his diagnosis, McDowell was back competing at a high level, finishing 23rd at the 2012 Edmonton ITU World Cup. For a first race back, that is extremely impressive. 

McDowell said his journey to the top has had as many downs as ups. He took the 2013 season off to let his body recover, for instance. It simply had been through too much in a short amount of time.  But through it all, he persevered. 

Now, a decade after being declared cancer free, McDowell is a U.S. Olympic hopeful. 

"I'm thankful for everything I have been given," McDowell said. 

These are the types of people that compete in (and win) triathlons. Me? It sure is cool to watch.