Kerger conquers chilly, windy triathlon

How about spending a Sunday swimming 750 meters (half a mile), biking 18 miles and running 5K (3 miles)? That's just was PBS President Paula Kerger did yesterday in the 751-participant Kinetic Sprint triathlon in Spotsylvania, Va. She set the land speed record for PBS presidents with a time of 2:14:38. PBS spokeswoman Stephanie Aaronson told Current that Kerger has been in training since last September, learning a lot from friends who compete in such events and running two charity races to ramp up. Finding time to train was a challenge: get to office before 7 a.m., catch up on e-mails from night before, head to the gym and then back to the office. Race day was chilly (low-mid 50s) and windy (gusts t0 30 mph). That made the water portion of the race particularly challenging, with each leg against the current. Spotting her in the crowd was tough for husband Joe so Kerger wore a pink PBS hat. Crossing the finish line brought Kerger an "enormous sense of accomplishment," Aaronson said, and Kerger is now eyeing the D.C. Triathlon on June 20.