What’s in a name? Quite a bit.

Saturday, June 10, 2000

What’s in a name? Quite a bit. Natalie Mathis, Pat McGinnis, Joe Laber, and Chris Carte dubbed themselves "The Fabulous Four," and that were when they competed in the annual Great Greenbrier River Race April 29 in Marlinton, W.Va.

The foursome, all students at Ironton St. Joseph Central Catholic High School, finished 22nd overall among 54 entries, and they were second in the Youth Division.

The river is the first leg of the mountain triathlon. A four-mile paddle that deposits the racers just below the Greenbrier River Trail.

The next leg is an eight-mile, out-and-back bike race.

The final stretch is a 5K run to the finish line.

The team had a 44:34 time in the paddle, a 31:36 in the bike race, and a 23:16 in the 5K run. The overall time was 1 hour, 39 minutes, and 26 seconds.

The first place team had a 1:36.58 total time, less than three minutes ahead of the Fabulous Four.

Carte said it was Mathis’ father who steered him in the direction of the triathlon race.

"John Mathis (Natalie’s father) and I started riding bikes together at Beachfork. He told me I ought to do these triathlons. I tried it and I loved the race and the excitement," said Carte.

Laber said the group decided to participate on a whim. But once they competed, they were hooked.

"One of my friends (Chris) had a paper on it that Natalie’s dad had on the race, and we were just goofiing around and decided to do," said Laber.

"I’d do it again. It’s more of a family-type event. I’ll probably take time to do some extra training the next time."

McGinnis and Mathis handled the canoe race, hand off to Carte to bike, and then Laber ran the final event.

Laber said wasn’t in the best of shape to run the 5K, but the event was his be default.

"Nobody else wanted to do it. But it was fun," said Laber.

The lack of training was a problem for McGinnis and Mathis as well. Neither had ever been in a canoe race prior to the triathlon.

"I’ve just been in a canoe at Lake Vesuvius to have fun," said McGinnis. "What I was worried about were the people with the fancy kayaks.

"We practiced one and we did fine, and then we worked everything else out in the canoe. I just went all-out the whole time."

Mathis said the lack of practice was due to the late decision to enter the triathlon.

"We did everything the last-minute and just experienced it. Next year we plan to prepare more. I want to bike or canoe. I don’t want the running part," said Mathis.

"I have always gone with my family and it’s been a big family thing and I always helped get everything ready, but I’ve never been in one. It was tiring, but it was just a one-time thing and I knew it would be over with soon enough, so you just give it all you have."

Considering the lack practice time, the high finish surprised the group.

"It seemed like more people passed us, but we did pretty well for the first time and not practicing," said Mathis with a laugh.

Despite all the difficulties and hard work, McGinnis was upbeat regarding any future races.

"I’m looking forward to doing it again," said McGinnis.

Mathis said she was looking forward to getting others to join in the fun.

"We’re going to get a lot more of our friends involved. A few of our friends already seem interested," said Mathis.