Team Empire conquers the 2007 Pacific Crest Triathlon

Surveying the landing area for the swim.

When the water temperature is only 62 degrees, a wetsuit comes in handy.

Is Roy scratching his back, or is he just striking a pose for the camera?

Julian entering the Bike-Run transition.

Jon heading out for the 10km run.

Roy finished first among Team Empire.

Julian: "I'm alive!"

Jon after crossing the finish line.

Team Empire and friends.

It was less than a year ago that Jon and Roy participated in their first Triathlon. That was enough to get us hooked – it was clear that Team Empire was just getting started and the bar needed to be raised. With an anticipated 4,000+ athletes, family and friends expected to attend from across the nation the 2007 Pacific Crest Triathlon was clearly the next challenge for us.
 
The day of the race Jon, Roy and Julian woke to 28-degree sunny weather and started to prepare for the days events. This time around the challenge was to compete in an Olympic distance race, consisting of a 1500 meter swim, a 26 mile bike ride, and a 10 km run. Just a little over three hours after the race had begun, we were all reunited at the finish line and got to celebrate our accomplishment.
 
For our team member Roy this event was even more than a physical and mental accomplishment. As part of the Team in Training program Roy raised over $3,400 for leukemia and lymphoma research. Hats off to all the effort he put into raising money for charity.

Below are the official finishing times:

In the end it wasn’t just about the race, but about the friendships and proving we could all do it together. Just wait to see what Team Empire does next!