Twice the Fun – Wildflower Squared

Shay & Catherine Hutchings

of the Oakland Triathlon Club.

Next May, Shay & Catherine Hutchings, of the Oakland Triathlon Club, will be racing Wildflower Squared! Together, they plan to join the ranks of the select few who have completed the Long Course on Saturday followed by the Olympic Distance race on Sunday (WF2).

Shay Hutchings, a Coast Guard recruitment officer, discovered triathlon four years ago while living on the East Coast. After years of acting as Shay’s Sherpa, his wife Catherine decided it was her turn to get out on the course. The Hutchings Duo, having recently moved to Northern California,  joined the Oakland Tri Club for its amazing tri-community.  Not only did they meet inspiring new friends, but they also noticed different challenges to their fitness. “We were previously living in Wilmington, North Carolina, a small coastal town with warm waters and flat bike courses,” explained Catherine. “You can imagine the change we experienced in our training with the California hills and chilly bay waters!  It has made our training that much better.”  While ramping up the demands in all three disciplines, the duo has also increased their distances.

This year, Shay and Catherine completed long-distance triathlons and next May, they plan to double up at Wildflower — one of triathlon’s greatest festival race weekends of all time. “For many years we’ve heard about the infamous Wildflower Triathlon and now we can’t wait to experience it ourselves! Several of our friends back east will be joining us and we are looking forward to having an action-packed reunion weekend of camping with our old and new tri-club friends.”