Introducing The Rookies: First-time triathletes sign up for 70.3 miles

LACONIA — Antonio Coates was moved to volunteer for the revival of the IRONMAN 70.3 Triathlon. Melissa Aupperle, who lives downtown, saw the finish line take shape right below her apartment. Each were awed by the accomplishment of the athletes who prepared themselves to be able to swim 1.2 miles, cycle 56 miles, and then run a half-marathon.

Not just awed, in fact, but inspired. Aupperle and Coates represent the first class of The Laconia Daily Sun Rookie Academy, a program that takes two locals, who have never done a triathlon before, and gives them all they need, through the participation of local businesses. That is, except one thing: the hours of training needed to be able to meet such a challenge.

The Rookie Academy isn’t a new idea. The Daily Sun is picking up a concept that was started by The Laconia Citizen. That newspaper closed in 2016, and the original Timberman race was suspended in 2017. When IRONMAN brought the Timberman back in 2021 — with the finish line relocated to the heart of downtown – local business leader Myles Chase suggested that The Daily Sun revive the Rookie program.

The idea behind the Rookie program takes head-on one of the things that keeps people from venturing into the triathlon world. It can be intimidating enough to become an endurance swimmer, cyclist or runner, what with all the gear one might need, and the training experience. But what if those excuses were removed?

What if Chase, who owns MC Cycle, would loan each of the rookies a bicycle they can train on? What if The Wellness Complex offered them access to their pool? If IRONMAN waived the registration fees? If Bootlegger’s provided them each with a pair of running shoes, and if Fit Focus opened their doors to their exercise equipment and set them up with a certified strength-training coach, and if Colin Cook of Peak Triathlon Coaching built them a training plan, could they find the finish line on Sept. 18?

There’s but one way to find out.

Of the two, Aupperle has come closest to the kind of endurance challenge that is an IRONMAN 70.3. She’s run two marathons before, most recently in 2018. Aupperle, 50, moved to Laconia last year to run the CAKE Theatre, the home performance venue for the band Recycled Percussion. She got a close look at the event when two of the band members, Justin Spencer and Ryan Vezina, decided to sign up for the event with about two day’s notice.

Seeing them finish, and seeing all the other finishers, made the feat seem possible, she said.

“All the body types and sizes and ages, seeing all these people achieving it, you thought, 'I could do that, too',” Aupperle said.

For Coates, who got an up-close-and-personal view as one of the many volunteers who helped put on the event, the sight was nothing less than glorious.

“I just saw God’s goodness,” Coates said. The event’s vibrations resonated with him. “I believe it was something inside me that was being brought out, the highest level self inside me being brought out. I saw that in other people.”

How are they feeling about the road before them?

“I feel a great deal of excitement,” Aupperle said. She’s “most scared” of the swim, but she’s optimistic about meeting her physical training goals. “Our bodies are capable of so much, it’s (going to be) a challenge mentally,” she said.

Coates, a 39-year-old who has lived in Laconia since 2007, is feeling the nerves but also has faith in the plan.

“The big word is just ‘let go.’... How am I going to do this? But everything I’ve done is for Him,” Coates said. He noted that butterflies are associated both with feelings of nervousness, and with transformation. “Who do I look forward to? It’s me in 10 years.”

Vezina, of Recycled Percussion, has performed before thousands of packed venues, and on stages around the world. Still, he said, crossing the finish line at the Timberman stands out.

“The sense of self-accomplishment is completely unparalleled to anything I’ve ever done before,” Vezina said. He had one bit of wisdom for the Rookies: “Train. Don’t (decide) two days before the event.”