This triathlon doesn’t take itself too seriously

SMITHFIELD — The Three Little Pigs Triathlon is a fun test of endurance — with the emphasis on fun.

“It’s not as serious as an Ironman triathlon,” said Martin Tetreault, a Smithfield attorney and one of the founding organizers. “It’s not really intimidating.”

The name says as much. “It’s the Three Little Pigs triathlon,” he said.

Tetreault said he and Dale Ham, now director of the Smithfield Recreation and Aquatics Center, wanted to create a local triathlon. “In 2009, when he came over here to open the SRAC … we’re like, ‘Let’s do it,’ ” Tetreault recalled. “So we started talking, and we wanted to have a fun race.”

With all the pig-themed events in Smithfield, including the Ham & Yam Festival and Hog Trot, the triathlon name had to fall in line, Tetreault said. “So we were like, ‘Let’s call it the Three Little Pigs,” he said. “And there’s three disciplines — swim, bike and the run. So there’s a pig for each of them.”

The triathlon is a 250-yard swim at the SRAC, a 14-mile bike ride through rural Johnston County and a 5k run around Community Park.

But it is more than a triathlon, Tetreault said. “We have a bouncy house, and people are painting kids’ faces,” he said. “We really try to make it not just a race where you come and do it, then leave. … It really turns into a social event as well.”

This year’s triathlon, the 14th, drew 230 competitors to town on June 15.

Frazier Keck, 63, of Cary has been competing since it started. “There’s always a good turnout,” he said. “Chick-fil-A does a great job of sponsoring it, and there are good competitors here. It’s just a feel-good kind of environment.”

He prepares by keeping up his routine, Keck said. “I just do what I typically do for my workout every other day,” he said. “I compete in a bunch of these other … races and other triathlons around North Carolina.”

Keck said he likes to compete close to home. “I like it being local because 35 years ago, a lot of the races were down in Florida or up in Virginia,” he said. “You’d have to travel to those destinations to do a race. But now, since there are a lot of North Carolina triathlons, I can sleep in my own bed and get up to compete in the race.”

Keck isn’t the only competitor who’s come to Smithfield from the start. Sharon Roggenbuck is another long-term participant.

“This was my 238th triathlon,” said Roggenbuck, 86, of Hillsborough. “I’ve been participating in triathlons since the 1980s.”

She competes to stay active, Roggenbuck said. “I just like staying fit,” she said. “I more or less train all the time. I only run maybe once a week, but I teach spin classes. I bike twice a week, and I swim a little bit. But I’m doing something almost every day.”

Like Keck, Roggenbuck enjoys the local competitions. “There’s just a lot of friendliness and camaraderie,” she said.

Another participant, Jessica Rohrman, 37, of Raleigh, has competed in the triathlon for five years. “I love these local races,” she said. “They are my favorite ones because I see my friends and see the same people who are always here. You can cheer for everyone.”

“This one is my favorite because there are always three little pigs,” Rohrman added, referring to the real pigs that are always present. “It’s a good place to host a triathlon. It’s a really good run course.”

Local events are great for first-timers, Rohrman said. “Don’t let the course scare you; I let it intimidate me for too long,” she said. “Just come out and have fun. Everyone will support you. It is the most supportive and uplifting community here.”

Rohrman brought a group of friends with her to compete in Smithfield. Justin Mugno was among them.

“I only started doing this in December, so this is my second ever triathlon,” said Mugno, 35, of Raleigh. “I don’t really train for this. We do these types of things in our everyday lives. So this is just a fun little weekend, I guess you could say.”

He enjoyed his first experience at the Three Little Pigs, Mugno said. “It was great,” he said. “It’s short, so I know there is an end, and I know I won’t be on a bike or running for hours. You can really push yourself for an hour and then know that you get to go home.”

It’s easy to understand why local events are popular, Mugno said. “The local events really build the community and allow other people to kind of get into the sport without feeling the pressure of performing,” he said.

Being new to triathlons, Mugno was afraid others competitors would look down on him. “But that’s not the case at all,” he said. “Everyone is really friendly.”

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