One thousand four individual athletes and 111 teams successfully completed the 23rd annual Vytra-TOBAY Triathlon on Sunday morning, Aug. 20. The event, which was centered at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in Oyster Bay, consisted of a 1 kilometer swim in Oyster Bay harbor, a 15 kilometer bike ride heading east out of the park through Oyster Bay Cove and back, and a 5 kilometer run up to Planting Fields Arboretum and back to the finish up Bayside Avenue and back to the Park.

Dire weather forecasts for the big day on Sunday proved to be dead wrong, as a warm and sunny summer day greeted the athletes after some rain during the night.

As a prelude to the main event, 136 youngsters ages 8 through 13 successfully completed the 2nd annual Vytra-TOBAY Junior Triathlon on Saturday morning, Aug. 19. The Junior Tri consisted of a 200 yard swim paralleling the beach in Roosevelt Park, a 2.5 mile bike ride and a 1 mile run, with the bike and run courses entirely within the confines of Roosevelt Park.

The top finisher overall was Ben Turnbull of Southampton in 1:02:01. Ben had previously been the first overall finisher in the Montauk Triathlon in June. The first woman to cross the finish line was Kerry Simmons of Point Lookout in 1:08:15.

The top local finishers were John Lovejoy of Oyster Bay, who scored 4th overall in 1:03:49, and Natalie Penny of Bayville, who was the 8th woman overall in 1:16:30.

Other local award winners included Jackie Bruscella of Bayville, who was the 10th woman overall, Kelly Pickard of Oyster Bay, 4th female Masters (age 40 plus) finisher, Steve Quigley of Bayville (1st Open Clydesdale finisher), Nick Penny of Bayville (4th Masters Clydesdale finisher), Kenneth Corwen of Oyster Bay (5th, 30-34 age group), Dorothy Whalen of Oyster Bay (1st woman, 55-59 age group), Dan O'Connell of Upper Brookville (4th 55-59 age group), Steve Schloss of Muttontown (1st 65-69 age group), Arnold Juzefovic of Lattington (1st 70-74 age group), and William Lockwood of Oyster Bay (2nd 70-74 age group).

Finishing in first place in their age graded category in the Tri-Relay is Team NKS with a time of 1:21:40; Nancy Mancini (a teacher in Locust Valley Elementary) swimmer; Kristi Halpern from Oyster Bay, biker; and Sue Etts, runner, from East Norwich.

Notable among the teams was the TOBAY Lifeguard Team of Daniel Curiale, William Zang, and Jonathan Price, who scored in 1st place in the Corporate Teams Division, as were the third team entry overall to cross the finish line.

The Vytra - TOBAY Triathlon was a joint effort of the Town of Oyster Bay Parks Department and the Greater Long Island Running Club, with GLIRC's Ray Farrell and Jose Lopez serving as the co-directors of the event, and Recreation Supervisor Diane Blanchard serving as the Town's liaison. The title sponsor was once again Vytra Health Plans. Medical assistance was provided by the Emergency Medical Team of the Oyster Bay Fire Department, and key logistical support was provided by the Town's Department of Public Safety.

Plans are underway already for the "better than ever before" 24th annual Vytra-TOBAY Triathlon and Junior Triathlon, on August 18-19, 2007!