Shortly after 7 a.m. Sunday, 2,000 swimmers splashed blindly through the surf like a flock of lemmings simply following the feet in front of them as they swam a half-mile up Zuma Beach for the first leg of the 16th Annual Malibu Triathlon.
This year the sold-out event netted more than $100,000 for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the largest donation to date. Three years ago, the event got a title sponsor, Nautica, which, along with other participating sponsors such as Nature Valley Granola Bars and Men’s Health magazine, covers the costs of production, leaving all proceeds from entry fees and competitor fundraising to support pediatric aids research.
Winner Marc Lees had just competed in an Olympic Class race the day before up in the Bay Area but he flew down to do this one “for the kids.” Women’s winner and silver medalist at the Sydney Games, Michelle Jones, echoed his sentiment, saying, “I came out for the charity.”
A group of researchers from UCLA runs, swims and bikes every year “for the kids.” And, as this is Malibu, dozens of celebrities joined in, training for months and competing with great distinction “for the kids.”
Coming in early was Will Ferrell of “Saturday Night Live,” with a harrowing tale of swimming blind at the start.
“It’s really very easy,” Ferrell comically quipped. “I recommend it to everyone. I even had time to stop at Starbucks.”
Ingo Rademacher of “General Hospital” won the Celebrity Men’s Division at 1 hour, 38 minutes and 17 seconds, and David Duchovny from “X-Files” ran in just a few minutes later, still looking strong. The actual second place winner was Daniel Alexander of “Shark Attack 2,” who was just 31 seconds behind Rademacher, and the third place finisher was David Ono of KABC.
When asked how he trained for the event, Duchovny said, in a line as cryptic as one from the show, “I had two dates for breakfast.”
The triathlon consists of a charge into the sea to splash and crawl a half-mile up the coast, choking on waves sprayed up by everyone in front, then a wet trot over to a rack, while tugging off a wetsuit, to take an 18-mile bike ride as fast as possible. After whipping back to the racks, bike shoes are chucked off and racers pack together to run pell-mell another three miles on sandy concrete, only to end the race in a deep slog across the beach.
A sandcastle-building contest took place on Saturday afternoon. The winning entry was a fat and sassy Buddha sitting taller than five feet. Capping off the weekend was a Tot Trot for children ages five and up, where the reward for plowing their way up the beach was a beribboned medal and a big hug from actress Minnie Driver.