Photo above: Josiah Tobin was the first to cross the finish line during the annual Sea Island Rotary Club’s Adventure Biathlon at Hunting Island State Park. Tobin’s race partner was Pete Greene. Photos by Bob Sofaly.
Saturday’s annual Hunting Island Adventure Biathlon takes on all kinds of weather
This past Saturday, nearly a hundred athletes from all over the US and abroad came to participate in the annual Hunting Island Adventure Biathlon hosted by the Sea Island Rotary Club. The event begins with a 6 mile kayak race through the lagoon and finishes with a grueling 4.5 mile run on the Park’s nature trail.
Some athletes complete the course in teams, where one paddles and the other runs – which is called a Relay Team. Or both members of a team could paddle in a tandem kayak and then both run and then must finish together – which is called a Tandem Team. Recently the Rotary added an SUP (stand up paddleboard) category to try and stay up with the times for this event.
Chuck Ingle, President of the Sea Island Rotary, said, “We average about 180 athletes who compete in 57 award categories for great prizes. After the race we meet at Boondocks for our Official Post Race Party where we enjoy free beer and chili, and fellowship (or bragging as some like to call it).”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this” said Mary Cunningham as she stretched before the race. Cunningham teamed up with husband, Jack, who paddled their kayak in the first leg of the race.
In all, there were 35 teams running the race as a relay while another 41 paddled and ran the race by themselves. To see all the race results, please go to www.goraceproductions.com/race-results.
From left: Kayakers beach their boats on the sand of the Hunting Island lagoon and race toward another area when they either pass the baton, so to speak, to their running partner or shed all the safety equipment as quickly as they can and begin running the 4.5 mile course. Middle: After generating a huge lead with his kayak, Pete Greene of Beaufort, beaches his kayak and trades places with relay partner Josiah Tobin. Greene posted a time of 41 minutes flat while Tobin ran the 4.5 miles in 30:11.The duo won the team event with a combined time of 1:11.11. Right: Some of the 41 individual kayakers paddle their way through the lagoon Saturday morning at Hunting Island State Park.
