Springfield Woman Triumphs in Triathlon

Six days a week, Springfield's Lauren Seavy wakes up at 5 a.m. for workouts that would make even professional athletes wince. But whether she's blazing through long trail runs, hilly or flat bike rides, swim practices, track sprint workouts or gym time, she stays determined.

"It gets difficult with work schedules, but you make time even if it means waking up at 5 a.m.," she said. "The reason I can get out of bed that early is because I set goals and know that through hard work and sacrifice, I can achieve them."

Her goal this past summer was competing in this month's Danskin Sprint Triathlon in Sandy Hook, where she placed tenth among 1,436 competitors. The full race results can be found here. 

She mixing and matching the different sports in the triathlon. Some days were devoted to long runs; others to bike rides or swim practices.

Seavy's lifetime of athletic competition has prepared her for the training. A competitive swimmer since age 7, Seavy attended Duquesne University in Pittsburgh where she competed for 4 years of Division I swimming as part of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

After meeting a friend who competed in Ironman competitions while swimming at Berkeley master's swimming program, Seavy was inspired to start training for her first triathlon in 2009.

"I am a very competitive person and needed something to work towards to keep me busy and satisfied," she said in an email to Patch, and decided that triathlons would be her next challenge. "I was impressed and excited to meet someone who could achieve an amazing accomplishment."

Her sister Beth Heath and her friend Danielle McCleer—Springfield "residents both—joined her in training.  

The training provided us with time to spend together staying fit, laughing, and working towards a goal together," she said. "In the end, we all finished and had a blast.

After that positive experience, they we signed up for Danskin.

"We heard it was the largest and longest standing women's only triathlon in the U.S," Seavy said.

With the help of friends pushing her, she amped up her regimen for the Danskin.

And while placing tenth is no small shakes, she is already looking towards the next race.

"I was excited to be a part of something so big," she said. "I hope to be back next year and improve my standings!"