Named for the late Richard Smiley, the annual Smiley Triathlon was created to inspire new and experienced athletes alike. Richard Smiley, a beloved triathlete in the community who passed away in October of 2016. He promoted positivity and support into the community. The creator of the race, David Daggett, wanted to promote a race with the same mission for fellow triathletes as Richard Smiley tried to promote in his own community. One of the biggest goals when this event was created was to encourage a triathlon event to be non-intimidating to invite baby triathletes while still being fun and challenging for triathletes of all ability levels.
An inviting event
Some of our athletes stated that what makes this such a great event is that Smiley is very beginner friendly, with a shortened swim portion of 300 meters in a pool. Clemmons West pool has been gracious to the community to host this event the last several years. This modification creates a less intimidating environment for newbies as you can pretty much see everyone and everything around you unlike in open and more distanced waters. Everyone is required to submit a 100-yard swim time that is used to organize each athlete so that you are swimming around other athletes of similar ability. The swim is started in a time trial like event, so each individual starts one-at-a-time in 15 second increments. The best part? You don’t have to remember what lap you’re on because you’re snaking through each lane in the pool, once you reach the shallow end in lane 6, you’re done! Then it’s on to the bike.
Transition to bike is a pretty seamless process, as the location spot for your bike is marked the same as your assigned bib. Once you’re on the bike (hopefully you don’t fall over like our article’s author here), you’re following a 12-mile, 2 loop cycling course. Of course, as any triathlete knows, it’s your responsibility to know the course, but even so, the event is kind enough to have volunteers, police and supporters alike guiding our athletes through the two loops on the course. Remember to make that right turn after the second lap, we might get kudos on Strava, but it doesn’t help your time to do more laps here. Next, you’re on to the second transition and to the run.
We’re not gonna sugar coat it for you, there are some gnarly roller hills once you make it out onto the running course. Luckily there’s only a 5K left—with this being a runner’s club, piece of cake! Another favorable piece about this race is coming down that last hill and using that momentum to come in hot for that photo finish. This finisher experience comes with a special announcement for the newly inducted triathletes, “YOU ARE A TRIATHLETE,” a finisher’s medal, and a special congratulatory hug from David Daggett (if you so choose of course). Once you finish you get to roam around the expo and hit up the pavilion for some great catered food and watch your other fellow triathletes finish as well.
A memorable experience
This year is especially memorable for the Daggett Family. Last October, Annecy Daggett (David Daggett’s daughter) was on a group ride with a few teammates when she was struck by a car. She doesn’t remember much, as she was rendered unconscious, but she was informed she had multiple injuries including two fractures in her leg that required surgery to repair. After the initial accident while she was going to the hospital, her teammates rode on bikes to the hospital to support her until her mom could get there. Her father wanted to be there to support, but in the true triathlon spirit , of course she encouraged her dad to fulfill his opportunity to compete in an Ironman competition. Annecy was told she may be able to start to run by the time Smiley came around. Counting it out, she decided that would be her comeback as it would be special for both her and her dad. With any recovery from an injury, the healing process was difficult and, at times, incredibly frustrating, but having Smiley as the end goal kept up the motivation.
When race day came, she felt confident she would be able to complete it, but she also recognized that it may be a bit slower than she was used to. Her rehabilitation had gone really well for swimming and cycling, so she decided she wanted to go hard on those legs to see where it left her. Already knowing the run was going to be a challenge, she adjusted as necessary to appreciate more just being out there racing again. That brought a smile to her face and it stayed almost the whole race. There’s that corner you turn before coming back to the finish and, as she made that turn, she started getting emotional.
“It was so special to finish with my dad there waiting to give me a big hug. It was a really special moment, because he has inspired my love of triathlon, and I love being able to share our passion for the sport,” she said.
This race was really special to her, as it marked the true comeback to her sport after nine long months.
“It was a testament to my dedication and determination. It was my official ‘I’m back’ moment, although this feels like just the beginning of my comeback because I have so many more goals to chase after,” she says.
After a remarkable finishing time that placed her third in her age group, I think we’d all agree. As far as the future of the resilient Annecy Daggett, she’s back at school looking to finish her master’s degree in mental health counseling and hoping to compete at triathlon nationals with her team next spring. As for David, he himself is hoping to recoup from a personal physical setback to compete at Ironman Florida in November. Good Luck to you both.
Perspectives on resilience
From David’s perspective, he found Annecy’s experience and recovery to be incredibly inspiring to him and his wife, Cynthia. On race day, of course he had some anticipation anxiety, but he never doubted for a second that Annecy could do it. Coming around that corner really sealed the recovery and he too wept tears of joy as she crossed the finish line. He was already anticipating a huge hug, but it was better and more emotional than he could have imagined.
“Certainly, that will be one of the most meaningful moments in my life forever,” he says.
This is truly a year that David will never forget.
Victories all around
Annecy’s mark of her official return to the sport was great, but there are several other athletes who had their own personal victories that day as well. To start, Rajesh Dubal is the world’s only triple amputee Ironman finisher, and he came up from Florida to do the race and to see Annecy finish. There were also two challenged athletes, Toby Lynn who was a Make-a -Wish recipient and was pulled on the bike by former U.S. national team cyclist Aaron Frahm. There was also the first ever Ainsley‘s Angels triathlete in the Triad, Gabe, who was pulled on the bike by Jame Carney – two time Olympian, two-time world champion, 22-time U.S. champion, and perhaps the most decorated cyclist in U.S. history. Aaron and Jame are good friends and we were so glad that they came and made such a definitive impact on the lives of Toby and Gabe. In addition, we had 70 first-time triathletes that received a championship experience and warm welcome into the sport. Congrats to EVERYONE on their accomplishment at Smiley.
Being that this is a run specific club, we wanted to shed some light on other activities outside of just running. Athletes face struggles all the time to remain motivated for their sport and running is no exception. Triathlon is a great sport for cross training as well as a sport for struggling athletes who may want to just try something new without giving full commitment to a whole different sport with all new equipment. Instead of financially committing to a sport with new equipment, you’d already have what you need for running, you’re just adding to that for swimming and bike if you don’t already have them on hand. Like any endurance sport, triathlon is no easy feat, so there’s plenty of accomplishments to go around. Swimming, cycling and running are cardio intensive sports and it can be incredibly intimidating. Much like how Twin City Track Club is beginner friendly, the Smiley Triathlon exudes that beginner-friendly atmosphere that we strive for as an organization. For anyone looking to try something new, we couldn’t recommend enough for our locals to give this event a “tri” next year on July 27-28, 2024.
