Rota teacher tops 5150 Triathlon

Rota resident Jared Inselmann crosses the finish line of last Saturday’s Paupau 5150 Taga Triathlon. 9Kimberly B. Esmores)

Jared Inselmann, a Northern Marianas College instructor who resides on Rota, topped the Paupau 5150 Taga Triathlon last weekend with the fastest time overall.

Inselmann was the first to cross the finish line of the 1.5-km swim, 40-km bike, and 10-km run after completing the race in just 2:24, unofficially. This was impressive given he was penalized mid-race and was held back a few minutes for a violation and still managed to dominate the competition.

The kicker, Inselman said this was the first triathlon he has ever participated in and wasn’t even sure he won.

“This was my first triathlon. I didn’t even know if I won the race or not because there were teams out there as well,” he said.

According to Inselmann, he only pieced together everything he needed for the event a day before the big race but that was because he flew in with the sole purpose of participating in the Aquathlon.

“I live on Rota and just came out for the Aquathlon. I borrowed a bike and went over to the bike shop to get shorts just yesterday and so I just kind of pieced it together,” he said.

When asked about the hardest part of his first triathlon, Inselmann said it was probably the bike portion. However, he added, thinking back, it was during the bike portion of the race that he ultimately gained a slight advantage over his opponents.

“I think the bike may have been the hardest. I borrowed quite a nice bike so it helped me pick up a little bit of time on the bike portion but that was what I was most nervous about. There was a lot of really fast and experienced bikers out there. I think I held my own on the bike and its seems I picked up a little bit from there and on the run, I had a pretty strong run. The running, which I have background in, I felt was the easiest for me but it was at the end so it ended up being the hardest. For the swim, it wasn’t so long I figured that if I stayed in the middle of the pack or in decent position I should be good,” Inselmann said.

Jared Inselmann, second from the right, a Northern Marianas College instructor who resides on Rota, topped the Paupau 5150 Taga Triathlon last weekend with the fastest time overall. (Kimberly B. Esmores)

Overall, Inselman said even though the event was exhausting, he had fun and enjoyed racing with members of the CNMI community.

“It was awesome and tons of fun. It was exhausting but a good community to participate with. I’m coming from Rota and we were very welcomed by the other athletes. I had a good race so that was nice,” he said.

On top of the loads of fun he had, Inselmann said he was able to achieve the goal he set for himself for the event, to push himself to the limits.

“I have an endurance athlete background and I just wanted to try something new and test my limits and see. I was mostly just going for the experience and testing my limits so it’s was just ultimately to push myself to see what I could do,” he said.

Inselmann, who runs, bikes, and swims weekly, said he prepared for the event by adding more of what he already does into his routine for a few weeks or so.

Inselmann also wanted to thank all those who made the even possible and hopes to see similar events on Rota soon.

“I hope more events [like this] could happen on Rota. My appreciation to goes out to Ricky Castro and the association for putting on the event. It was well done and a lot of fun,” he said.

Castro is the secretary general of the Triathlon Association of the CNMI, which organized the Paupau 5150 Taga Triathlon.

Results for other categories will be published throughout the week.