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Updated August 2nd, 2007
Local Mom Competes in Sprint Triathlon
Claudia Alequin (second from left), a local resident and the current
secretary to La Cañada High School Principal Damon
Dragos, recently completed a sprint triathlon. Alequin, a 1985
LCHS graduate, is joined by (from left) fellow LCHS grad Mina Santorsola, Gunter Kocourek
and his wife,Amy.
By CHRIS SUTTON
LCF Outlook
It was not just any ordinary
Sunday for Claudia Alequin, but one
she had dreamed of for two years:
the day she was going to compete in
her first sprint triathlon in San Luis
Obispo, three days before her 40th
birthday. One hour and 49 minutes
later, she crossed the finish line of
the July 22 SLO annual triathlon.
It began with her standing on the
deck of the SLO Swim Center,
joined by 39 other participants in her
division. After swimming 36 laps
(equivalent to one-half mile), she
transitioned to the 15.3-mile bike
ride through rolling hills, where the
temperatures were in the 80s. Her
final leg was the 3.1-mile run on a
trail and city sidewalks, with a long
hill toward the end.
“I had set a goal for myself to
finish under two hours,” said Alequin, a 1985 graduate of La
Cañada High School. “When I
crossed the finish line, having
reached my goal, I was elated, as
well as crying, exhausted and hyperventilating.
I am competitive and did
not want to do the swim too fast, so
when I got there I decided to buy a
watch, one of those triathlon watches.
I used it to pace myself. That
really helped, as well as seeing my
husband and children cheering me
on at the transitions, with signs and
pompoms.”
Alequin has been training for the
last two years, and was planning to
compete in last year’s SLO
Triathlon, but a week before the
event, she injured her back. Since
spring, she has worked out six times,
a total of 10 hours, per week, riding
an average of 60 miles, swimming
three hours and running 10 miles.
“My strength is cycling, which I
have been doing for years,” Alequin said. “Even though I had not trained
running hills, although there are
plenty of them in La Cañada, when
I saw the hill toward the end, I
thought I might have to walk it, but
would not give in, knowing I came
to run it. The next thing I knew, I
was coming up to the finish line.”
She did not have any lucky outfit;
instead, once there, she decided
to buy a triathlon suit to save time
during competition that otherwise
would have been used changing
during the two transitions.
“I am so glad I did,” Alequin
said. “All I had to do was change
shoes.”
Thinking about her accomplishment,
she now realizes how much
will, desire and mental toughness
play into competing in a triathlon.
“This was so important to me,
as I have never been an athlete,” she said. “Now I am one.
“This is one of my biggest personal
accomplishments. My first
thought was, this is like childbirth,
you think you will never do it
again, but quickly forget the pain. I
have to laugh, because I know I am
hooked. The next day, while my
family and I were driving home, I
was using my cell phone to search
the Internet for the next triathlon
and have already registered for the
one in Lompoc on Aug. 11. At
least I will have my suit and
watch.”
Her brother, Günter Kocourek,
and his wife, Amy, also competed
in the triathalon, as well as Mina
Santorsola and Leslie Turnipseed.
Alequin, Kocourek and Santorsola
are graduates of La Cañada High
School. Turnipseed is a Spanish
teacher at LCHS, and Alequin is
the secretary to LCHS principal
Dr. Damon Dragos. Santorsola was
a student aid to Alequin before she
graduated in 2002 and is now pursuing
her doctorate in psychology.
“My brother beat me by seven
seconds,” Alequin said. “But he is
younger.”
Turnipseed completed the
triathlon in two hours and three
minutes, with Santorsola coming
in right behind her with a time of
two hours and six minutes.
With the exception of a couple
of years, Alequin has always lived
in La Cañada Flintridge. Her
biggest fans are her husband,
Mike; her daughter, Samantha,
who attends LCHS; her two sons,
Nick and Alex, students at Palm
Crest Elementary School; and her
parents, Kurt and Ingrid Kocourek.
“I really had something to celebrate,” Alequin said. “It was a
milestone in more ways than one.”
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