DECATUR - Andrew Starykowicz ran his first triathlon on a bet that he couldn't beat a friend from high school when he was 18.

Nine years later at Sunday's Rodney T. Miller Lakeside Triathlon, Starykowicz was the one to bet on. He completed the course in one hour, 24 minutes and 45 seconds, taking home the $1,500 first-place prize in the elite division. Starykowicz's time on the bike bested second place by 3:22. By the time he reached the running stage, he was all alone.

"I came, I saw, I raced exactly how I wanted to and I finished exactly where I wanted to," Starykowicz said.

After running his first triathlon, Starykowicz continued his athletic career at Purdue, playing in seven national championships while competing in water polo, cycling and triathlon. After graduating, he worked at Caterpillar for five years and competed in his off time. But recently, he decided to make a career change and become a full-time professional triathlete.

"Live your dreams, man," Starykowicz said. "I have this dream to compete in the Olympics or in world championships. But years go by fast. I was good and I was getting better. At some point, I just thought, `Screw it, I gotta go for it.' That's what I decided to do, and I'm glad I did."

`Why today?'

Patty Shafer didn't feel right even before beginning the swim portion of the triathlon, but she wasn't going to let her asthma stop her from competing.

Her asthma had other ideas. The 52-year-old Shafer, of Springfield, made it through the race's first 100 yards before summoning a rescue canoe.

"I just couldn't go on," Shafer said. "My arms and legs were willing, but my lungs weren't."

Decatur Park District lifeguard Kerrick Sprague, in his second year volunteering for the triathlon, paddled to Shafer on a body board and called a lake patrol boat to assist. They wasted no time pulling her from the water and bringing her to shore.

"I had them follow me in a canoe because I knew something was going on before the race. When I put my hand up, they were right there," Shafer said. "We got to shore and they gave me oxygen and an EKG. I felt like I was at a hospital. They were great."

After a few minutes on land, Shafer decided she wanted to continue. She was granted permission and signed a release that allowed her to return to the course. She finished the biking stage before her sister talked her into calling it a day.

"I saw my sister at the transition and told her I was having an asthma attack," Shafer said. "Sometimes sisters knock sense into you. She said, `You're not doing the run.' "

Shafer has competed in triathlons and half-ironmans for 10 years. She suffered an attack during the running portion of an event two years ago and was diagnosed with asthma. But her doctor said she could keep competing.

"I'm going to go back to him and see what's going on," Shafer said. "Why today?"

Her kind of cause

The $1,500 in prize money, which Lauren Jensen claimed by taking first in the women's elite division, was only part of the draw for the pro triathlete.

Jensen, of Muskego, Wis., has six relatives who are either police officers, detectives or firemen. The Decatur triathlon's namesake, Rodney T. Miller, was an officer in Decatur who was killed in the line of duty. The triathlon and the Rodney T. Miller fund, which aids Decatur and Macon County children in sports-related programs or activities, were both established in his honor.

"I really connected to the cause," Jensen said. "And when I saw all those police officers gathering before the race this morning, it touched me knowing they were honoring one of their fallen heroes. This really is a great event, and the community support for it is terrific."

At 41, Jensen said she's one of the oldest pros out there. She estimated she's competed in 300 triathlons since beginning her career in 1985 as a freshman at the University of Illinois. Currently, she makes half her living competing in triathlons and half training triathletes.

"I love seeing the young up-and-comers and I love sharing my passion for the sport," Jensen said. "But I have to race against them, too, and man, they're fast."

Don't forget about Saundra

When the public address announcer at the awards ceremony announced there was no winner in the women's 60-year-old age division, 60-year-old Saundra Hutchins of Decatur had just finished running the race's 4.5-mile run. But she didn't mind running an extra 10 meters up to the awards stage to correct the mistake.

"I didn't do all that work for nothing," Hutchins said.

Hutchins competed in triathlons as a younger woman, but hadn't done one in years when her daughter Laura came to her wanting to try one. Hutchins decided to compete with her and has done five in the past two years, including the Lakeside twice.

"I can still do them with pretty much no problem," Hutchins said. "As long as I don't have any major injuries, I don't plan to quit doing them any time soon. I'll be back out here next year."

Worst to first

Recent Mount Zion graduate Lauren Hooks surprised herself by winning the girls 15-19 age division in her first triathlon.

In cross country last fall, Hooks placed eighth at the Class 2A Urbana Regional and helped lead the Braves to the state meet. She also placed 14th in the 3,200-meter run at the Class 2A state meet and will continue her running career next year at North Central College in Naperville.

Hooks and her dad are avid bikers, and she had some experience swimming. But Hooks was last after the swim portion, trailing leader Taylor Morthland by more than 11 minutes. She made up for it by winning in both the bike and run legs, finally overtaking the leaders by running the 4.5-mile course in 28:57.5 - more than five minutes faster than anyone else in the division.

"I love to do all three, so I thought it would be fun," Hooks said. "I'd never really done distance in the lake before, so that was tough. But ever since I was a little girl, my dad and I had went on bike rides. And I knew I'd do OK in the run. I didn't think I'd win, but it was a blast."

jconn@herald-review.com|421-7971