After seven years of absence, the Deerfield Triathlon was brought back by Dean of Ethical and Spiritual Life Jan Flaska and Ocean Feng ’24 during the fall of 2022. Feng described his inspiration to take on the responsibility of organizing the Triathlon after the pandemic. “I thought it would be a good idea to get people outside and bring people together,” he said. “There were a lot of people who wanted to see it happen.”
There are two different Triathlon courses: the White Course, which has 8 laps of swimming (200 yards), 1 lap of biking the Big Loop (3.2 miles), and 1 lap of running the Small Loop (1.9 miles), and the Green Course, which has 16 laps of swimming (800 yards), 3 laps of biking the Big Loop (9.6 miles), and 1 lap of running the Big Loop (3.2 miles). Participants choose from these two courses when signing up as well as decide whether to compete individually or as a team of three.
Mr. Flaska described how the Triathlon includes locations familiar to students on campus, saying, “You get in the water every Friday morning, ride bikes around campus, and do the small loop on a run. Everybody has done [the Triathlon] in its distinct parts, but nobody’s ever done it in one event. [The annual Triathlon] is the chance to try.”
In the 2022 Triathlon, around 20 teams and 20 individuals competed, totaling 150 participants, including faculty members and students alike.
Despite a significantly smaller number of faculty competing in this year’s Triathlon than last year, Feng said, “It’s fun to see faculty out there competing because they bring a lot of energy and make the whole event more fun and attractive.”
This year’s Triathlon had about 125 participants, with 54 volunteers, 20 individuals, and 17 teams. One of the teams included Head of School John Austin, who ran the White Course for his team, which also included Mr. Flaska, who swam, and Zohan Subhash ’26, who biked.
Feng stated the reason he organizes outdoor activities such as the Triathlon is that he wants people to enjoy themselves. “I got to see smiles on everyone’s faces, people being involved, and cheering each other on. It’s something that we overlook a lot here at Deerfield. I hope people do that more often: appreciate where you are, and love where you live.”
At the race, both participants and volunteers received a Deerfield Triathlon T-shirt and wristband. Additionally, The Meat Club, stationed at the center of the Triathlon, provided grilled food for community members.
Although Feng will be graduating this spring, he plans to pass down the managing responsibilities to Declan Kelly ’25 and Zachary Li ’25. Feng hopes, through the continuation of the Triathlon, Deerfield can continue to embrace the mantra of “love where you live.”