Published: May 31, 2009 12:20 am         

'Til It's Over: Greencastle's Bretscher breaks TH Triathlon record

TERRE HAUTE — Records are meant to be broken, and it came as no surprise that Greencastle native Daniel Bretscher broke the course record Saturday in the 24th Terre Haute Triathlon at Hawthorn Park.

Bretscher, a 25-year-old who was the USA Triathlon Elite Rookie of the Year after an impressive 2008, finished the Terre Haute course in 1 hour, 35 minutes and 56 seconds — he was just a tad bit ahead of my time of 2:21.24.

Bretscher came out of the 800-meter swim in fourth place with his time of 9:47.10, but with quick transitions and a 25.7 mile-per-hour bike ride on the 25-mile course, he was in the lead going into the 8-kilometer run.

A former cross country runner at DePauw, Bretscher averaged a 5:25 mile on the run, beating 48-year-old Michael Smith by just 1:10.

“Being from Greencastle this is the closest thing that I have to a hometown race so I’m pretty excited to come here,” Bretscher said afterward. “Got caught towards the end [of the bike portion] which I wasn’t expecting to tell the truth. Then got on the run and really had a race. Luckily I got out on the trail and found my stride and really found myself.”

Bretscher turned pro last year — his sponsor is Jelly Belly, which makes Sport Beans with electrolytes and vitamins.

Sponsorships allow Bretscher to compete all around the country and make a living as a professional, which requires many hours of training.

Bretscher said he typically swims between 20,000 and 30,000 yards per week, logs 300 miles per week on his bike and runs more than 70 miles each week.

For the record, he also mentioned quality naps as helping make all that training possible.

Bretscher prefers to race half-ironman distance, which consists of a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run.

His best finish last year was third in the Ironman 70.3 Muskoka (Ontario). The 70.3 reference is the total mileage for the race.

“I’ve really just found I race really well at that distance, and I can do several races a year and recover pretty well,” said Bretscher, who has yet to race a full Ironman. “When I look long-term at my career that’s where I’d like to end up.”

Bretscher said he always knew triathlons would be his calling as an athlete so he decided to race for a year or two after graduating from DePauw University. It obviously went well as he went professional last year.

“I didn’t quite know what to expect going out to that new level of racing. Just put in the training and the racing was there, it went great,” Bretscher said.

Bretscher’s advice for taking up triathlon as a hobby?

“First off, start slow, do a nice short race,” he said. “Then just research local clubs, local groups that work out together and get in with a workout group. Others can teach you so much. Just start out nice and short, maybe do a relay.”



• Terre Haute club — Forward Motion Athletics is a club here in Terre Haute that was well represented Saturday.

I was one of a dozen athletes to compete for the club, which was founded by Ryan Oilar and wife Emily (Morris) Oilar of Terre Haute. As coaches, the Oilars offer an introduction to the sport with a detailed training regimen to compete in the Terre Haute race each year.

This was how I got started, and it’s a great way to get an understanding of how to train for your goals. Speaking of goals, I was way off on my goal for the swim portion Saturday, but was pretty pleased with my bike ride (19.8 mph average) and run (8:08 pace) for my third triathlon experience.

Congratulations to Butch Bosworth and Kelly Jedicka for taking home age-group honors for the club team Saturday.

The club will be sponsoring a kids triathlon July 11 at 8 a.m. at Deming Park. Register on www.forwardmotionathletics.com.

• Record participation — Race director Paul Asay said he had to turn away 50 potential participants due to a record number of 383 athletes racing Saturday.

Asay said many athletes drive from cities like Chicago and Columbus, Ohio.

“It keeps getting bigger because there’s a lot more people doing triathlon. It’s just a really popular sport,” said Asay, who, like Ryan Oilar, qualified for the age-group nationals in Portland, Ore., last year.

“I turned 50 last year and went to age group nationals in Portland, Ore., so that was kind of a way to celebrate my 50th birthday. I didn’t do too well, but it’s super competitive.”



When he’s not getting lost on his bike on country roads in the Wabash Valley, Craig Pearson can be reached by phone at (812) 231-4357 or

e-mail at

craig.pearson@tribstar.com. Read his blog at

blogs.tribstar.com/craigpearson.