Mt. Rainer Duathlon - Enumclaw, WA

Budu Racing is the company and product of much hard work, a great husband and wife team, and the source of my many paychecks. It never feels like work though, so it’s one of the most enjoyable jobs a person could have. I’ve been working with them for a couple of seasons now and we’re just getting warmed up to the beginning of triathlon season! Among the many different types of events they hold, like mountain bike races and duathlons, triathlons are my favorite! A lot of racers that I talk with dread the swim part of the tri’s, but that would be my favorite. So I always have a good laugh when we exchange looks of disgust for one another’s “favorite” part of the race.


On this particular day, Budu was holding a duathlon in Enumclaw called the Mt. Rainer Duathlon. This is the first duathlon I have ever worked, let alone witnessed in my life. So I was plenty curious in seeing how it all played out. With an early start of 5:30 I was out the door and on the road. The sun was rising, I had my favorite album playing on the car stereo, and I was one of the lone people driving along this country road passing horses munching on their morning serving of grass. It was heaven. As much as I dreaded the early morning, this made me want to wake up every morning at this time just for the spectacular view of mountain ranges and the sun rising. I actually snapped a picture of Mt. Rainer because I couldn’t stop fixating on how stunning it was, and the picture sure doesn’t do it any justice. (I was also driving so don’t mind how illegal and unsafe I was being, just focus on that beautiful mountain!)

Arriving at the Enumclaw Expo Center, we began registration. Everyone was in a great mood and all were excited that the weather was so fantastic. Part of registration is to give a quick synopsis of what’s in their packets and instructions on the days schedule. So to inform all of you who aren’t quite sure what the heck a duathlon is, here’s the scoop. DUathlon means two, whereas triathlon must obviously mean three. So the event consists of two things: running and biking. First the racers run a 5k (I believe, it always depends on if its the long or short course, but this is what we’ll go with until I’m corrected otherwise), and then bike 14 miles (long course did two loops, so 28 miles), and then they must run another 5k, or however long it is. Run, ride, run. Simple as that. Included in your packet is your run bib number, your bike’s bib number and your timing chip which will give you your overall time and splits between each “leg” of the race. I thought I would snap a photo on my phone of all the happy Budu Racing employees at registration. I love my coworkers!

Upon the start of the race, Olivia (best friend) and I got started on setting up the food table while cheering on any participants making it to the transition area to begin the bike course of the race. This is how what transition looks like...

Not soon after, I was rushed off to follow the last biker as he left transition and headed out. Cruising along with the boss’ daughter we found some great scenery and had to snap a photo to commemorate the 28 mile trip (we had to go around twice, one for following and another for cleanup of all the signs and cones).

The last guy we ended up following was so awesome and as an older man, definitely persevered through the biking part of the race. It was a hilly course, so many struggled with that aspect. But, when we got back to the start/finish he was just coming in to run under the finish banner and I had to go up and give him a big hug and smile to let him know that he finished first in my book. Ironically after saying that he ended up winning first for his age group! That is one of the special parts of working such events, the spirit of it all is so light and fun. First place is cool, but finishing is rewarding in itself. It’s very inspirational and with triathlon season coming up quickly I am even considering entering into one myself. Best friend Olivia says she’s going to do one this summer, so I am very excited to get to cheer her on and see her cross the finish line with a huge smile on her face.


I love my job! :-)