RUHS Coach
Just Gets Faster

Randolph Union High School math teacher and running coach Ginny Richburg finds riding home up Slack Hill is just good training for her summer hobby of triathlons. (Herald / Tim Calabro)

When runners at Randolph Union High School turn out for the cross country team, they should know that it won’t be easy, perhaps not even possible, to catch their coach.

Math teacher and running coach Ginny Richburg may be 49 years old, but the older she gets, the faster she gets. That’s thanks to rigorous training and a full schedule of her favorite races—triathlons, which combine running, swimming and bicycling over distances of 20 to 35 miles.

She just finished the longest event, the annual Lake Dunmore Triathlon, in a personal best time of three hours and six minutes, before showering and showing up in time for the 2 p.m. funeral of Jim Hutchinson in Pico.

At The Herald’s request, Richburg reflected on what she does for summer fun—and why she does it.

By Ginny Richburg

These races all start at about 8 a.m., so I leave home around 6 a.m. and arrive around 7:15 to check-in and set up equipment.

Note to self: put shirt on top of helmet so that you don't try to put shirt on over helmet before biking. There are all sorts of tricks to making transitions smooth and efficient, like not being afraid to rip off that wetsuit, as long as your biking shorts stay in place.

I pack at least one gel pack, and on this past Saturday I had two stuffed into the small gap between the elbow pads and handlebars of my bike. At mile eight on the bike loop, it was "snack time", which means I got to take one out, open it and get it down, all while maintaining focus on nearby traffic, road conditions and my biking.

Hydration is also wicked important, so I have two full water bottles, one with an electrolyte replacement drink, the other with water, in the racks on the bike. Along most flat stretches, about every two miles, I make myself get at least two good gulps.

My running shoes have knots in the lower laces and spring clasps at the ankles so that slipping them on and tying them are also a quick process. And all the while, I'm trying to let my training pay off by staying relaxed and not getting in too much of a hurry, especially in the transitions.

What's everyone else doing? About the same thing, so we try to stay focused on our own progress. But after seeing many of the same athletes summer after summer or week after week, a camaraderie develops and we talk to each other. I don't say much during the swim, but out on the bike I give a cheery "good morning" while passing or being passed. On the run, we give a cheer of encouragement to each other.

The runs are out-and-back so that as I head out, I can see the runners just ahead of me coming back and know who to try to catch. On Saturday, I saw a woman in my age group whom I had finished ahead of at the last sprint, but she was ahead of me over the longer distance, so I said, "Aren't you getting tired yet?, because I've been trying to catch up with you." It got her to laugh and reminded all of us that there are lots of reasons to do this, in case anyone wonders,

"Why?" you ask. Yesterday, someone told me that I looked an age which was thirteen years younger than my actual age. All my clothes fit well, and I've actually gone down a size over the past year. I've been commuting to and from town by bike, so Slack Hill is no big deal, except for the traffic where the shoulders narrow.

I get over 100 miles per gallon of food and water. It's been tremendously satisfying to train and get results, like my improvement this year.

But most of all, athletes like us are just out there celebrating life and appreciating the landscape, like the view all along the way, or the gardens at the house just past Fern Lake.

This Summer’s Races

June 22—VT Sun Sprint Triathlon on Lake Dunmore - 600 yd. swim, 14 mi. bike, 5k(3.1 mi.) run:1 hour, 29 minutes.

July 5—Shelburne Athletic Club Sprint Triathlon on Shelburne Bay - 500 yd. swim, 15 mi. bike, 5k run: 1 hour, 32 minutes, a personal best time on this course.

July 13: VT Sun Sprint Triathlon on Lake Dunmore - same distances as June 22: 1 hour, 24 minutes, fifth in my age group.

August 2: VT Sun/Lake Dunmore Triathlon – nine-tenths of a mile swim, 28-mile bike, 10k(6.2 mi.) run: 3 hours, 6 minutes, also a personal best at this distance (previously 3:23), but only 8th in my age group.

Coming up August 23: Shelburne Athletic Club Sprint - same distances as July 5.