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Tag: Catherine Rocchi

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The night before our race, the two of us contemplated waking up at 4:30am to drive through a thunderstorm and compete in a triathlon in the pouring rain. (Throwback to the Season Opener.) Note: this course features a 2.5 mile, 10% grade downhill with vertical cracks and frost heaves so perilous that passing is discouraged.

Naturally, we decided to go for it.

In the morning, we woke up with the sun and made our way to Franconia Notch. While Sonia drove, Catherine enjoyed a smoothie that resembled "straight-up mud." Miraculously, the weather held up -- a perfect 70 degrees and overcast -- for the entirety of the race.

Despite some minor mishaps, including Sonia biking 5 minutes in the wrong direction, we were ultimately very successful. Sonia came in second and Catherine in third for all female athletes. This is where it gets interesting.

We sampled post-race treats ranging from muscle milk (hard no.) to "maple water" (soft yes…). So engrossed were we in taste-testing that we did not hear our names called over the loud speaker during the awards ceremony. Luckily, they called the women's awards a second time, later in the ceremony, commenting on the outstanding intelligence of Dartmouth students. At this time, we received our -- get this -- baby trees!

The rain gods were apparently on our side, as it began to torrentially downpour only moments after we drove away in Catherine's car. Luckily, the weather cleared just as we arrived for a short hike at the Flume Gorge.

There, we dazzled many a young family with our matching neon race t-shirts, Garmin watches, body markings, and Dartmouth Nalgenes. After a quick stretch in the parking lot, we hopped back in the car and were so engaged in writing this post that we got on the highway in the wrong direction.

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Catherine and Sonia

About the Authors

Catherine Rocchi is a tri team ’19 studying Environmental Studies and Ethics. She’s passionate about climate change and fossil fuel divestment, and loves to spend her off days having outdoor adventures.

Sonia Rowley is a '19 on the triathlon team, studying Psychology and Spanish. She loves peanut butter/banana/honey sandwiches from Collis.

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Sorry to miss competing in the Florida Intimidator Triathlon with the team over spring break, I decided to enter a race with a still sillier name: the Tuckerman Inferno Pentathlon. “I’m a triathlete,” I thought. “I’d be great at any multisport race.” Right?

Samesies, but different. The Inferno is a medley of mostly uphill endurance events around New Hampshire’s White Mountains: an 8.3 mile run (with 800 feet of elevation gain), a 5.5-mile class II whitewater kayak down the Saco River, a 16-mile ride (with over 2,000 feet of elevation gain up to Pinkham Notch), a steep hike up Mount Washington (with another 2,500 feet of elevation), and finally, a 2.5-mile ski through a slalom course in the famous Tuckerman Ravine bowl and down the Sherburne Ski Trail to the finish line.

Let’s just say that swimming is actually not at all transferable to whitewater kayaking, and that I couldn’t walk down stairs for the next three days.

All the same, I felt on top of the world after the race. The endorphins and caffeinated race gels might have contributed to my elation, but so did an immense feeling of gratitude for the teammates and coaches that made it possible for me to compete. Training for this event alone would have been miserable; I can’t be more thankful for the teammates who volunteered to go on extra runs with me after spin practice this winter, and who commiserated during a 3-hour trainer session in the infamous “Pain Cave.”

Coach Jim was also a massive help. I train for Olympic-distance triathlons, so this 5-hour endeavor was by far my longest race effort. A couple weeks before the big day, Coach Jim talked me through a fueling plan. I’d never eaten during a race before, but any excuse to shovel down more nut-butter-filled Clif bars is a win in my book! While I avoided “bonking” during the race, a severe calorie deficit definitely enhanced my post-race fueling experience. I remember pronouncing an egg sandwich “absolutely godly.”

Finally, when my friends ask me about the race, I tell them that the best part of the weekend was all the quality time with former Tri Team captain Sonia Rowley. It takes a true friend to suffer through a 4:45am race-day wakeup in a cabin in the woods, post-hole through a mile of snow to the kayak put-in, spend 30 minutes figuring out how to fasten said kayak to the roof of my Subaru, and cheer me on at each and every transition. Sonia’s company was just what I needed on that last hiking leg, and seeing the wonder in her face when we made it to the snowy bowl reminded me why I love these sports. Competition is exciting, but it’s really about the journey, the scenery, and the friendships. Many of my most blissed-out moments at Dartmouth have involved shenanigans with Sonia and other members of the triathlon team, and I couldn’t be more grateful for a community with a sense of adventure.

About the Author

Catherine Rocchi is a tri team ’19 studying Environmental Studies and Anthropology. She’s passionate about climate justice, fossil fuel divestment, and Lou’s sweet potato hash.

Photo Credit: Friends of Tuckerman Ravine

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We came up with a pretty wild idea while in the car back from the Buzzards’ Bay triathlon. Some combination of endorphins and too much saltwater made us think that biking nearly fifty miles to Rumney, New Hampshire (a world-famous sport climbing crag) and climbing as much as possible in one day sounded like a good challenge.

Two weeks later, early in the morning, we were pulling out of Collis with Dom, another convert, to embark on our adventure. To be honest, Russell was surprised that nobody had backed out yet. The morning was cold and foggy, we might have pushed the bike a bit much. We averaged nearly twenty miles per hour across the whole ride. (Catherine, for her part, was glad that Dom and Russell were too stubborn to give up pulling the entire way.) As we rode further north, the leaves slowly shifted from off-green near Hanover to deeper and deeper yellows and oranges. After twenty-five miles, after cresting a 1900-foot hill, we could see the whole Baker Valley in front of us, with Rattlesnake Mountain, our target, on the horizon. It was a satisfying downhill to the crag. Team captain Carly, on her way to a hike with friends, buzzed us in her outing club van and cheered us on.

We pulled into the crag just as our chauffeurs mountaineering club friends leading a beginner trip arrived with our climbing gear. The freshmen beginners’ eyes grew wide as they realized that we had biked instead of taking a hour-long van ride. Unfortunately, Russell and Dom packed light. They spent the entire day climbing in their biking bibs. After spending the morning further impressing the 22s by setting up their top ropes (and some 5.11s for good measure), we headed to spend the afternoon at Bonsai, a crag notorious for its steepness and requisite shoulder strength.

We woke up the next morning to that sort of proud, physical exhaustion. And a severe calorie deficit. (Russell managed to go through an entire package of Kind bars in under two days, and Catherine ate six separate meals on Sunday.) Everyone was so grateful to belong to a team so focused on overcoming challenges as a community.

About the Authors

Catherine Rocchi is a tri team ’19 studying Environmental Studies and Anthropology. She’s passionate about climate justice, fossil fuel divestment, and Lou’s sweet potato hash.

Russell Stewart is a ’20 on the team studying Chemical/Biochemical Engineering and Spanish. When he’s not TRI-ing or on related outdoor adventures, he loves to cook, read, and volunteer in combatting food deserts.