It all started on a Sunday afternoon, two years ago. There were eight of us, a slew of decent hangovers, some ragged old bikes, and a beautiful sun perhaps a bit too bright for our liking. After wading into the seasonally "warm" Puget Sound, we swam around the iconic Indianola dock, ran barefoot up the dock's stairs, and rode our bikes around the block. Our impromptu athletic adventure left some of us feeling refreshed, while others turned white and started shaking uncontrollably. It was fantastic!

As we stretched out in the sun, recovering from our feat, the eight of us joked about the possibility of our spontaneous triathlon one day becoming an official Indianola Days event.

Over the next several months this idea percolated a bit. I began to piece together my concept, and in stepped Ted Schmid, eager to take it to the next level.  With our powers combined we decided to get REALLY crazy and actually put up flyers and make road signs. Exactly one year later, at 5 am on a beautiful Sunday morning, we started setting up for the inaugural I - TRI. We didn't know if anyone was even going to show up. But, much to our surprise, a whole bunch of people did, some of them in fantastic costumes, some of them hungover, and some of them fit and ready to race as honest to goodness triathletes. People sweated, people cheered, and the race was a fantastic success.

However, things got interesting after the I - TRI winners were crowned, and we introduced a surprise fourth leg. We headed up the street and joined the Indianola Days block party where we danced into the sunset.

Despite our sore muscles, we decided there was little question about I - TRI's future. It would have to happen again.

Thank you for being a part of I - TRI. I'll see you at the races.