Nahant Triathlon wraps up season in style

NAHANT – The 34th Nahant Triathlon season concluded in style at Nahant Beach on Thursday.Fifty people competed — which organizer Bob Levine of Lynn said was the highest turnout – and overall winner Griffin Duffy finished the 450-foot swim, 4.8-mile bike and 2.6-mile run in a combined 34:16.?I have a sneaking idea that?s a course record,” Levine said.The top female finisher was Whitney Brown, in 40:22. The turnout included one team, Team Genovese: Sal and Lisa Genovese and their daughters May and Summer.Triathletes braved high and heavy surf on the swim, as well as headwinds on the bike and run.?There was a crazy headwind,” said Warren MacPhail of Winthrop, who finished second overall. “On the hills, my bike was bouncing. And the run was hard. Tonight was a tough one.”The field included several competitors in their first season, such as Angel Green of Lynn. Green finished her third triathlon this season yesterday, all at Nahant Beach. She has been running the cross country races at Lynn Woods for about five years, and she is also a member of the Stone Tower Spahtens group.?I started cycling in the spring,” Green said. “I?ve run for a long time. I know how to swim a little bit. You can stand up in the water and practice swimming. It?s the best place to start.”Brian Chisholm of Lynn finished his fourth triathlon and has his sights set on Washington, DC, for the Nation?s Triathlon.?My brother (Kevin Chisholm) got me interested,” Brian Chisholm said. “I?ve run a few marathons. It?s tough on the body when you get older. It?s better to do different exercises, use your arms more, less running.”Last night, he said, the waves were “quite high. They seemed to be 4-foot waves. They knocked you over.”As for the bike portion, he said, as opposed to the previous week when his chain broke, “I have a new chain and it?s working great.”The Thursday-night triathlon occurs a day after the Wednesday-night Lynn Woods Summer Cross Country Races, and some people compete in both events. This week, the agenda at the Woods included the 5.5-Mile Handicap.Paul Croft of Swampscott ran the handicap and competed in the triathlon finale. Asked how he felt, he said, “Sore.”?It?s hard to do the handicap race,” he said. “It?s a hard race. You?re chasing people down, then you come back the next day and try this race.”Croft, like Chisholm, found the waves tough.?They threw off any sense of rhythm I had,” Croft said. “It was a difficult swim.”The triathlon concluded with a pizza party under a crescent moon.?(The weather) was great. Blue skies, stars, the moon,” Levine said. “It?s fun. You get used to it. And the best thing, it?s free.”