For ironwomen only

Hundreds of lime green, hot pink and bright yellow caps bobbed amid a sea of splashing arms off the shoreline of Liberty Lake Sunday morning.

The women of Team Extreme lined up against the Chili Bugs. The After Thoughts took on 2 Hens and 1 Chick. And first-time “total novice” triathlete Kimberly Harris battled her greatest fear: seaweed.

Harris, a nurse from Liberty Lake, was among more than 500 women who dived into the 60-degree water as part of the Valley Girl Triathlon, a women-only sprint triathlon starting with a swim of one-third of a mile, followed by a 12-mile bike ride, capped by a three-mile run.

“I feel I won just by swimming in the weeds,” Harris said. “I think they made me go faster.”

Harris, the swimmer in team Philippians 4:13 – named for the Bible passage that reads “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” – said she enjoyed the camaraderie among the women.

“It’s a leap of faith,” she said. “It’s just plain fun.”

With its relaxed feel and mix of ages and fitness levels – many participants said they just wanted to “make it” – fun is exactly what Valley Girl co-founder Marla Emde, co-owner of Emde Sports in Spokane, wants the event to be.

“Whether you are a seasoned athlete or a first-timer, it is just incredible,” she said. “We have a little bit of everything out there.”

Shirley Heartburg, a retired administrative secretary who lives in the Spokane Valley, said her goal was simply to finish.

“I didn’t break any records,” she said of the swim portion. “I swam in our local pool, and it just doesn’t compare.”

Heartburg, 70, said she might compete in next year’s Valley Girl Triathlon because of the encouraging atmosphere.

“Everyone is nice,” she said. “There’s no pushing or shoving.”

And word about the event is spreading fast. Participation in the second-annual triathlon jumped from 320 last year to more than 520 on Sunday. Emde said participants, many of whom are from the Spokane area, feel more comfortable racing at Liberty Lake because they can train for the event on the actual course. She said she modeled the race on the Danskin Women’s Tri Series held in August in Seattle. Funding comes from entry fees and sponsors such as Qdoba Mexican Grill, which catered the event for free.

“There’s a big market for women’s-only events given our geographic location,” she said. “We’ve really paved the way for it.”

Amanda Lucas, 21, traveled from Cheney to compete competitively as an individual triathlete. She finished eighth out of more than 300 racers in her category with a time of , 1 hour, 8 minutes, 35 seconds, nearly a minute and a half under her goal.

“Your goals kind of evolve during the race,” she said. “I wanted to place in the top 10 in my age group.”

Lucas, a junior studying dental hygiene at Eastern Washington University, became interested in racing after life-guarding for a triathlon class several years ago.

She competed in her first sprint triathlon in the summer of 2003 and has since raced in a handful of others. Lucas said she lost 35 pounds along the way and gained self-confidence.

“Triathletes are so supportive,” she said. “I just love it. It really is addicting. If you have to be addicted to something, it is a good thing to be addicted to.”

Lucas looks up to professional athletes, especially cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, someone she said is an inspiration to her after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 9.

“You analyze things when you go through things like that,” she said. “It definitely made me a stronger person mentally, which helps me be physically stronger.”

Lucas makes her triathlon training a daily hobby she shares with her friends and boyfriend, also a competitive triathlete.

“It’s, like, our dates,” she said. “And it’s a stress release.”

Her next stop: Ironman Canada at the end of August.

“I still have six more hours of training today,” she said.