Published June 21, 2009 08:34AM
With less than an hour to go until the male elite racers jump into the Potomac, things are already hustling and bustling in D.C. as the age group race takes Pennsylvania Avenue by storm.
Both sprint and Olympic-distance races are taking place along with the elite competition, and despite some murmurs of water pollution due to yesterday’s thunderstorms, the age group races went off without a hitch. “The swim was great,” said Leslie Anchor, 46, sprint-distance finisher. “The current actually made it a really fast swim.”
The age group race follows a similar course to the elite race, including grand tours of the National Mall and several famous Washington monuments. “I’m used to having to deal with all the cars and the traffic along Pennsylvania Avenue,” said local resident and sprint-distance finisher Andrew Pugh. “It was nice to be able to ride down Pennsylvania Avenue today without a car in sight and just take it all in.”