Triathlons are often excruciating, playing mind games on the people who compete in them.

This is no different for members of the ISU Triathlon Club.

Club member Kristina Sinnott said there are many things that go through her head during a race.

“I usually do not think of very nice things,” Sinnott said. “I try to think to myself, ‘Don’t give up, don’t give up!’ Things like that. I basically try to say positive things to myself.”

Andrew Carney, junior in agricultural engineering, also said numerous thoughts go through his mind during a triathlon.

“I’m just thinking about what’s coming up next and how fast I’m going,” he said. “A lot of people think you get bored on a bike ride, but a lot of things go through your mind.”

Approximately 13 club members are preparing for the April 16 Collegiate National Triathlon Championships at Lake Havasu, Ariz. This triathlon is a competition for all college students and consists of a 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike ride and 10-kilometer run.

Carney said he is hoping for a top-five finish on the ISU men’s team. Three-year member Luke Anderson said members of the ISU Triathlon Club should do well at Lake Havasu.

“Nationals take the three best men’s times and women’s scores and add them together,” Anderson said.

“Lars [Brudvig] and Derek [Wallen] are both grad students and are mighty fast. We’ve got really good potential. Kim Landau and Nancy [Altofer] are really going to be good for us this year.”

The members scheduled to participate are training mightily for nationals, Carney said. They swim together twice a week and bike together three times a week, and most work on their running separately.

Anderson said there are many obstacles in training.

“Basically, it is hard to train because you have to work around school — exams and stuff,” he said.

“And being this early in the season you know it’s cold outside and you can’t get a good training workout outside. All of our training has to be done indoors, which isn’t too fun.”

Carney said the schools in California and Florida have an unfair advantage.

“It’s difficult for us because we have to train inside during the winter, where they can train outside,” he said.

“We have to run in snowdrifts. So in these early season races, we are usually a little more out of shape than they are.”

There are some members who have experience with the national meet.

Anderson said this is the first triathlon for 60 to 70 percent of all the students attending. The intense workouts and competition do not intimidate new member Stacy Kennedy.

“I just wanted to do [a triathlon], and this was the first one of the year,” Kennedy said.

“It’s going to be crazy; it will be exhausting. I am not expecting an easy time — my goal is to just finish.”

With the excruciating pain and the possibility of dehydration, why would a person partake in a triathlon?

“Triathlons are definitely a different environment,” Carney said.

“Even sometimes people talk to each other during a race, and afterward people just hang out together. This is a great sport to make friends; the camaraderie is pretty high.”

To raise money for the trip, the triathlon club will hold a “Doughnut Run” on April 10. The race will take place at 9 a.m. in Brookside Park.

The race is a five-kilometer run with eight stations all handing out doughnuts. For every doughnut a runner eats, 15 seconds are knocked off their time.