Camille Baptiste is Breathing New Life into the Local Race Scene
When this athlete felt uninspired by the lack of local races in her area, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
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This is part of our annual Multisport Movers & Shakers awards, highlighting the people you should know about who are helping to shape the sport in the year to come. Read about all of our 2022 Multisport Movers & Shakers.
When Camille Baptiste first started feeling the effects of burnout and a lack of enthusiasm for triathlon training and racing she did the opposite of what most of us might do. She didn’t quit; instead, she formed her own events company. Tired of having so few local races in her home base of Austin, Texas, Baptiste decided to do something about it and launched SwimBikeRunFun Events at the end of 2019. Despite struggling through the pandemic, she has now doubled down on her mission and proudly oversaw a number of races in 2021, including The Chucks & Pearls 5K and 10K trail runs, the Sisters Super Sprint Tri, and the Veteran’s Day PinkStrong Shero Ride, in honor of women who served. These have helped drive plans for even more in 2022.
Our goal is to create enjoyable events that keep triathletes involved in the sport for a longer period of time, as well as to foster an environment that exposes and encourages new women to participate in triathlons, duathlons, and cycling,” Baptiste said. “Our PinkStrong Multisport Challenge Series sums up our message: ‘Be bold, be strong, say yes to adventure!’”
This PinkStrong Multisport Challenge Series is already off to a strong start in 2022 with the first clinic of the year proving to be a great success, despite inclement weather.
Baptiste said: “It was heartening to see so many ladies show up to our kickoff clinic just hours after an ice storm passed through central Texas. With visible ice everywhere, we had approximately 70% of women in attendance who were new to triathlons, duathlons, and cycling in general. Our excitement for 2022 is at an all-time high.”
She said she feels she’s “doing something right” by spreading the word about sports she loves and providing newcomers with a place to “learn, grow, and rediscover their love for all things duathlon, triathlon and cycling.”
Baptiste has also set up a nationwide gear donation program, which sees athletes from all over the U.S. donating kit and equipment for novices to use.
For the season ahead, the main events on the SwimBikeRunFun Events calendar are:
Be Bold Austin’s Women’s Duathlon & Trail Run – April 24, 2022
Be Strong PinkStrong Women’s Pool Triathlon – June 5, 2022
Be Brave PinkStrong Shero Ride – Oct 30, 2022 (Co-Ed)
In addition to the above, there are a number of trail 5K run events and clinics. The full schedule is available here.