Valerio pursues rugged sport

By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Remember Melanie Valerio, a native of Campbell who won an Olympic gold medal in swimming as a member of the United States' women's 400 freestyle relay team at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta?
Well, Valerio, now 37, who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., has added running and bicycling to her swimming interest and has turned her attention to the grueling three-event sport of triathlon.
Valerio, who is sponsored by Timex, completed her first Ironman Triathlon with flying colors for a rookie June 25 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
She placed 17th out of 185 female competitors and 359th overall, in the Ironman, which consists of a 2.4-mile swim in open water, a 112-mile bike ride and a marathon (26 miles, 385 yards) run -- one right after the other.
Can lead to Hawaii
The Ironman in Idaho, sponsored by Ford and Timex, is one of seven such triathlons held throughout the U.S. in which entrants can qualify for the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon (Kona), considered the Super Bowl of triathlons.
The Hawaii Triathlon will be held in October and televised on NBC.
"The Ironman [Triathlon] is the biggest you can do," said Valerio, the daughter of Elaine (Bond) and Tony Valerio of Campbell, who now is a contract researcher for the Federal Drug Administration and a member of the Timex Multi-Sports Team.
"Hawaii is the objective."
Valerio, a graduate of Gates Mills Hawken and the University of Virginia where she was a swim standout at both schools, believes she did well in her first Ironman.
"I missed [qualifying for] the Hawaii Ironman by eight spots which is outstanding for a rookie," said Valerio, who likes the triathlon because "it is the only sport that a [non-professional] person can take part in and do it with a professional athlete."
Competed at shorter distances
She has competed in other triathlons but they all had shorter distances in all three events than the Ironman. And she competed in a half-Ironman Triathlon last March, in which the distances are cut in half from the Ironman Triathlon.
Valerio's times in the Ironman in Idaho were 50 minutes, 14 seconds in the swim, 6:18.14 in the bicycle ride and 4:27.00 in the marathon for an overall time of 11:42.52.
The qualifying time to make Hawaii in her women's age group (35-39) is 10:45 overall, so she wants to cut her overall time by 57:52 before she enters another Ironman, which would give her a good chance to qualify for Hawaii.
She said her big cuts will have to come in biking and running where she has room to improve. Although a swimming specialist, she has been running and biking for only about 11 months.
"I started training a year ago. I learned to ride bike a year ago and I ran my first run a year ago, and in 11 months I figured a lot of this [triathlon competition] out," said Valerio.
Swimming advantage offset
She said her swimming advantage can't offset her running and biking disadvantages right now because of her inexperience
"You have to know the 20 minutes I gain on people in the water has little bearing on the overall time."
She plans to run in some marathons and practice her biking to get her times down before entering another Ironman.
"My next goal is to run a 3:15 marathon. If I can do it, I can make Hawaii," she pointed out. She is hoping to knock off 72 minutes from her 4:27.00 marathon that she did in Idaho.
"My goal on the bike is 5:45," added Valerio, which means she wants cut 33.14 from her 6:18.14 biking time in Idaho.
If she reaches her running and biking goals, she will have knocked 1:45.14 from her overall time, although only needing 57.52 to become a contender for Hawaii.
Valerio's swimming still is solid. "I was the first female out of the water at 50.14 minutes [in Idaho]," she said.
Ironman site needs open water
She said each Ironman Triathlon usually is held in an area that has at least 2.4 miles of open water.
"They pick a remote site that has open water that can handle a large event and it usually is a small town," said Valerio, noting that the only break you get in a triathlon is between the three events when you are switching clothing and gear.
"You can take all the time you want in between but you obviously don't want to take a lot of time," because you are timed from entering the water to crossing the marathon finishing line.
"They are pretty quick transition times [between events]."
Valerio said that the triathlon is timed electronically by a computer chip that is attached to each entry's ankle. She said each event is timed separately as a split, and then all three splits are added together to get the overall time.
"The chip you are wearing is waterproof and sweat-proof and it is pretty much indestructible," she said of the technology.
kovach@vindy.com