Nationally ranked triathlete has humble Charleston roots
BY DAVID QUICK
Of The Post and Courier Staff

In the summer of 1993, then-medical student Vinnie Monseau was in Charleston visiting friends of his girlfriend and looking for a 5K race to run. There wasn't one, but there was a sprint triathlon at James Island County Park.

Monseau, who had been an All-American wrestler at small college in West Virginia and ran 5Ks in about 16:30, had never done a triathlon and wasn't a swimmer, but decided to give the Charleston Sprint Triathlon Series event a shot. He rented a used bike from a shop for the day for $15.

At the triathlon, his girlfriend, Ronna, who had coached some swimmers, told him "don't freak out" when he got in the water with the other triathletes. When he got in, however, he started flailing his arms in a panic. One swimmer told him, "Hey, man, just stand up."

Ronna recalls thinking, "This is going to be ugly."

Monseau managed to fake his way through the swim with some breast strokes and walking in the shallow pond at the park, admitting that "I nearly drowned." Still, he came in third to last in the swim, with only two people in their 70s behind him.

Coming off the bike, he was so far behind that the course monitors weren't paying much attention and he had to yell, "Which way do I go?"

Monseau still put in a fast 16:30 for the 5K, but finished the whole event in about one hour, 15 minutes. He was both disgusted with himself and humbled.

But the experience set his passion for triathlon on fire.

Today, Dr. Monseau, an emergency room doctor in Morgantown, W.Va., is an accomplished triathlete and has made the USA Triathlon All-America for the past two years. He has completed seven Ironman distance triathlons (2.4-mile swim/112-mile bike/26.2-mile run) and is headed to the Ironman World Championship for the second consecutive year this October.

And on Sunday, he and his now-wife, Dr. Ronna Monseau, also a triathlete and emergency room doctor, return for the first time to the Charleston Sprint Triathlon Series. He will compete in the open-elite division.

Vinnie and Ronna Monseau's story is not unlike many who get "hooked" on the sport of triathlon by participating the local sprint series.

Sprint series founder and director Paul King says he is gratified by hearing stories like the Monseaus' and that they are coming back to race in Sunday's sprint triathlon.

"Triathletes, by the very nature of their commitment to their sport, are passionate people, and over the years I've been lucky enough to have shared the good, the bad, and the triumphant with our athletes," says King. "I'm anticipating a great event on Sunday, particularly knowing it is something really special for Vinnie and Ronna."

King adds that open-elite men's field will be highly competitive on Sunday.

Besides Monseau, two triathletes -- Czech Radek Parnica, who lives in Savannah, and Gregg Cromer of Charleston -- are expected to compete. In April, Parnica won the Triathlon at Hilton Head and is heading back to Czechoslovakia this summer to compete in the Czech National Triathlon Championship.

Meanwhile, Cromer finished first once and second twice in three sprint series events last year, breaking the one-hour mark all three times.

Contact David Quick at dquick@postandcourier.com or 937-5516.