"CHRONICLE, A CLASSIC" NEXT.
♪
>> THE FOLKS YOU SEE BOBBING IN
THE WATER OUT THERE ARE
TRIATHLETES, SWIMMING THEIR
HEARTS AND LUNGS OUT ON THE
FIRST LEG OF THE CAPE COD
ENDURANCE TRIATHLON.
AFTER THIS 2.4 MILE OCEAN SWIM
COMES A 112 MILE BIKE RACE
FOLLOWED BY A FULL 26 MILE
MARATHON.
THEY ARE PARTICIPANTS IN THE
FASTEST GROWING SPORT IN
AMERICA.
♪
>> FROM 25 STATES AND THREE
COUNTRIES, 18 WOMEN AND 215 MEN
HAVE FLOCKED TO CAPE COD FOR
REASONS AS INDIVIDUAL AS THEY
ARE.
>> I’M 37 AND I JUST WANT TO GO
FOR IT.
>> I’VE BEEN TRAINING FOR A LONG
TIME AND THEY TRAIN WITH ME.
>> IT TAKES AN AWFUL LOT OF TIME
TO TRAIN AND THAT’S WHERE I
THINK THE OBSESSION COMES IN.
>> THEY ARE REMINDED OF THE
MENTAL BATTLE AGAINST FATIGUE
AND MY BATTLE THEY WILL FIGHT
THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND INTO
DARKNESS.
>> LAST YEAR, DID THIS AND I HAD
HYPOTHERMIA AND HAD TO STOP.
♪
>> WHAT’S YOUR NAME?
>> I’M FROM NEW JERSEY.
>> HOW ARE YOU DOING, CHARLIE?
>> WE ARE GOING TO KEEP THIS
BLISTERING PACE FOR THE NEXT 4.5
HOURS.
♪
>> IT’S ALMOST FIVE HOURS INTO
THE TRIATHLON NOW AND THESE
ATHLETES ARE BEGINNING TO FEEL
THE EFFECTS OF THE HEAT, THE
SUN, HUNGER AND THE SALT WATER
FROM THE OCEAN SWIM.
FOR MOST, THIS EVENT IS FEELING
LONGER THAN THEY EVER IMAGINED
BUT IT IS STILL MUCH TOO EARLY
TO THINK ABOUT THE FINISH.
THEY STILL HAVE 56 MILES YET TO
BIKE AND A FULL 26 MILE MARATHON
TO RUN.
>> FEELING REALLY GOOD.
WHERE AM I?
>> I AM TOTALLY EXHAUSTED.
MY BACK IS IN SPASMS, MY LEG IS
IN SPASMS.
>> HE DID IT.
I HOPE HE FINISHES.
>> I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH I HAVE
LEFT BUT WE WILL FIND OUT.
>> WITH AN ARTIFICIAL LEG, HE
HAS ALREADY COMPLETED THE OTHER
TWO EVENTS AND NOW, HE’S READY
FOR MORE.
>> I’M SO FAR AHEAD OF WHERE I
WANTED TO BE NOW THAT MAYBE I
CAN TAKE A LITTLE BIT EASY.
>> THIS 24-YEAR-OLD, THE LEADER
IN ALL EVENTS, IS THE FIRST TO
CROSS IN NINE HOURS AND FOUR
MINUTES.
MASSACHUSETTS HAS A NEW HERO.
[APPLAUSE]
>> I’M JUST GOING TO FINISH.
I JUST HURT SO MUCH THAT I WANT
TO FINISH.
I’M ALMOST DONE.
>> GOOD TO SEE YOU.
SEE YOU LATER.
♪
>> ONLY ONE WORD, FINISH, IS ON
THE MINDS OF THESE ATHLETES.
WHAT TIME THEY FINISH IN MAKES
LITTLE DIFFERENCE ANYMORE.
THEY JUST WANT TO FINISH.
♪
>> IT’S A KICK IN THE BUT BUT
YOU GET A LOT OF SATISFACTION
OUT OF FINISHING.
ORDINARY PEOPLE DOING
EXTRAORDINARY THINGS.
♪
>> YOU LOOK AT A LANDSCAPE AND
SOMETIMES ALL YOU SEE IS SKY AND
A SPIT OF LAND AND WATER AND I
LOVE THE SIMPLICITY OF IT.
>> HERE, ON THE VERY TIP OF CAPE
COD AND PROVINCETOWN, SPRING HAS
A PAIRED DOWN BEAUTY.
WIND WHIPPED WATER, BLINDING
SUNSETS, AND A SIGNATURE
LANDSCAPE OF THE SEAGRASS AND
DUNES WITH NOT A SOUL IN SIGHT.
♪
>> I AM STANDING FOR THOUSANDS
OF YEARS AGO, CAPE COD ENDED.
THE GLACIER STOPPED HERE BUT
OVER THE CENTURIES, THE WIND AND
THE SAND BLUE AND BLUE,
EXTENDING THE CAPE BY MILES AND
CREATING A SANCTUARY WHERE THE
LAND ENDS.
AND OLD CAPE COD IS REVIVED IN
TRURO WHERE ONCE LIFELESS BODY
OF WATER IS LET DESHA SUDDENLY
PERKING UP THANKS TO TOWN
RESIDENTS AND THE CAPE COD
NATIONAL SEASHORE.
PILGRIM LAKE IS A FORMER HARBOR
THAT WAS CUT OFF FROM THE SEA
ENTERED INTO A COASTAL LAGOON.
>> IT WAS CLOSED OFF
INTENTIONALLY BY MAN IN 1868.
IT WAS DONE IN ANTICIPATION THAT
THE RAILROAD WOULD BE BUILT TO
PROVINCETOWN.
>> YEARS OF SEPARATION FROM
OCEAN WATERS LEAD TO OXYGEN
DEPLETION AND FISH KILLS.
A PLAN WAS HATCHED.
IN 2002, SCIENTISTS AND
ENGINEERS OPENED A SMALL
CULVERT, RECONNECTING PILGRIM
LAKE TO CAPE COD BAY.
>> IT’S A DRAMATIC INCREASED
RESTORATION OF THE SERENITY OF
THE LAGOON AND THERE’S BEEN A
REALLY SURPRISING
REESTABLISHMENT OF MARINE
ANIMALS THAT HAVE FOUND THEIR
WAY THROUGH THIS SMALL FOUR FOOT
DIAMETER CULVERT INTO THE 350
ACRE LAGOON.
>> THE LIFE AND BEAUTY OF THE
AREA CARRIES ON INTACT, THE WAY
NATURE INTENDED.
♪
