Mitchell native to compete against top athletes in world triathlon event
Sep. 17—Kamie Cross-Petersen was hooked from the moment she competed in her first triathlon fours years ago.
For Cross-Petersen, the challenges of trekking over 70 miles by way of running, swimming and biking is what fuels her passion to continue competing in triathlons around the Upper Midwest. On Saturday, Sept. 18, the Mitchell native will face her biggest triathlon challenge yet in St. George, Utah, where she's among roughly 3,000 of triathletes competing in the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare Ironman World Championship.
"In the beginning when I began competing in triathlons, I was just competing to finish the race," she said. "I got hooked after my first one, and I've been going hard ever since. This is a dream come true to compete in the worlds championship against the best triathletes in the world."
While Cross-Petersen has put over a thousand miles on her bike, feet and in the water over the past six months in preparation for the 70.3-mile triathlon, she said the steep peaks and hills of St. George, Utah, will be unlike any terrain she's experienced in her four years of competing in triathlons. But she's ready to put her training to the test on the biggest stage she will compete on.
The Ironman Worlds Championship triathlon will entail a 1.2-mile swim in the Sand Hollow Reservoir, followed by a lengthy 56-mile bike course through steep terrain with hill climbs as high as 3,442 feet of elevation and a 13.1-mile run that will end in downtown St. George. Cross-Petersen has set a goal to finish the triathlon in 6.5 hours.
"The course is going to be very challenging. I feel like I'm very ready for this," said Cross-Petersen, who resides in Sioux Falls. "I'm just going to do my best and hope for the best."
Athletes representing over 85 countries from across the globe will compete in the triathlon, and Cross-Petersen is one of a handful of Americans who will be representing the state of South Dakota on one of the biggest triathlon stages in the world.
As a mother of three, the 46-year-old triathlete still finds time to put in hours of training. Since February, she's been swimming roughly 4 miles, biking about 100 miles and running 25 miles per week in the Sioux Falls area to prepare for the worlds championship.
To qualify for the Ironman Worlds Championship, Cross-Petersen had to finish in the top 10 of an Ironman triathlon this year in her age group. The Ironman events are held in states across the nation and in other countries around the world. In June, she managed to crack the top 10 by finishing an Ironman triathlon in Des Moines, Iowa, in under 5 hours, earning herself a chance to compete in the worlds event that rotates countries each year.
While she's only been competing in triathlons for four years, Cross-Petersen has been an avid long distance runner for over a decade, which she said helped build a foundation of skills to work with. From a young age, Cross-Petersen developed a love for sports competition. The 1993 Mitchell High School graduate was a standout athlete in multiple sports, including track and field, basketball and rodeo.
"Long distance running is the second longest portion of most triathlons, so that's been a strong suit for me," she said. "I always loved sports growing up in Mitchell, but I never imagined I would have gotten this involved in triathlons. I thought I'd be barrel racing in rodeos, not competing in these races."
When Cross-Petersen hits the water of the Sand Hollow Reservoir to begin her triathlon, the special moment of seeing her family cheering her on in downtown St. George, Utah, is what's motivating her to cross the finish line.
"I am blessed to have my kids and husband who are always cheering me on at every triathlon," she said. "They motivate me to keep doing this."
