They came. They raced. They conquered.
Athletes from all over traveled to Central Texas to push themselves to the limit and race to the finish.
Over 1,000 athletes found themselves along the Brazos River before sun up for the 10th annual Waco Triathlon.
"I've been doing them my whole life since I was about six, just for fun," Alicia Stevens, a TriWaco athlete, said.
And nothing has changed, except that Alicia Stevens no longer crosses the finish line alone. She's five and a half months pregnant.
"You don't lose yourself just cause you're having a kid," Stevens added. "So, I want to keep doing what I'm doing as long as it permits."
But, not all of the TriWaco athletes have been competing in triathlons since they were kids.
"I just started in November... just kind of as a whim. I've always run, and I wanted to try to break up my training, and I started biking... and then I said, why not swim, too?" Frank Venegas, another TriWaco athlete, said.
Venegas might only have four triathlons under his belt, but finishing TriWaco has been a goal of his since he signed up in December.
"This will be my longest triathlon. So, I'm actually just trying to just finish standing up and smiling. That's really my number one goal," Venegas added.
His number one goal... for now.
"I'm hoping to do the half Iron Man in October here in Waco. So, this is kind of like my checkpoint. So, I'm kind of excited, and nervous and scared," Venegas said.
Turns out, Venegas had nothing to be scared about. Not only did he finish in a timely manner, but he was all smiles as he crossed the finish line.
"You come across the suspension bridge, and you know, that's just like an exhilarating moment, especially since you're done," Venegas added.
Alicia Stevens plans on competing in one more triathlon before she has her baby. That race is set for when she is seven and a half months pregnant.
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