Every year, the Fairhope Municipal Pier becomes the starting line for one of the Eastern Shore’s most beloved endurance events. The Publix Grandman Triathlon sends swimmers into Mobile Bay, cyclists up the bluff and runners along the bayfront, all while raising money to protect the waters that define the region. In 2022, the field once again included a tight-knit group of Fairhope friends for whom the race has been a staple of their fitness routine for more than a decade.
Their story, and the race itself, show why the Grandman has become an annual tradition for athletes of every age and ability, from teenagers to octogenarians.
A Race With a Clean-Water Mission
The sport of triathlon is younger than many people realize. The modern swim-bike-run format is generally traced to races held in San Diego in the mid-1970s, and it spread rapidly after the first Ironman in Hawaii in 1978. Today, shorter sprint races like the Grandman make up a large share of events nationwide because they are accessible to beginners and busy adults alike.
Mobile Baykeeper took over as host of the Publix Grandman Triathlon in 2004, and in the years since, the race has grown into an event participants return to year after year. It is also a welcoming short-distance, or “sprint,” triathlon for first-timers who want to test themselves without committing to the longer distances of Olympic or Ironman-style events.
The Grandman matters beyond the finish line because it raises money to protect the health and beauty of the Mobile Bay watershed. Clean water is a fundamental part of a healthy community, and those who live along the coast want future generations to experience the natural beauty that surrounds them.
Mobile Baykeeper is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting clean water, healthy habitat and community health throughout coastal Alabama. It is part of the international Waterkeeper movement, a network of local groups that monitor and advocate for rivers, bays and coastlines around the world. The Mobile Bay watershed is one of the largest in the United States, draining water from much of Alabama and parts of Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee through a network of rivers that converge in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta before reaching the bay. That makes the health of Mobile Bay a concern that stretches well beyond Fairhope’s shoreline.
The Friends Behind the Fairhope Triathlon Club
The 2022 Grandman field included a group of friends who call themselves the Fairhope Triathlon Club. The race has been a fixture of their training for more than ten years. They are not elite athletes, and all but one are physicians.
The lone non-physician, Patrick McTaggart, was also the youngest of the core group at 50. The others included Dr. Michael Pursley, 51; Ben Schrubbe, 60; Billy Sullivan, 64; and John Johnson, the only true elite athlete of the bunch, who ran track at Georgia Tech. Another four or five men join in intermittently.
Each weekday morning in the spring, summer and fall, the group gathers at 5:30 a.m. to work out. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, they run anywhere from 3 to 10 miles, depending on the season. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they ride the 18.6-mile Grandman bike route. They do a practice swim a week or so before the triathlon, but swimming is not part of their regular program. A daily text thread lets everyone know who is in for the next morning’s workout.
An Introduction at the Christmas Parade
McTaggart joined the group eight years before the 2022 race. He had always enjoyed running and was looking for a group that would hold its members accountable and encourage one another to show up. He did not know Dr. Pursley personally, but he knew of him and that he had a group of men who ran together.
So at the Fairhope Christmas Parade, McTaggart introduced himself and asked to join. The two have been fast friends ever since.
That kind of informal connection is common in running and triathlon communities. Early-morning training groups give members a built-in reason to get out of bed, and the shared suffering of hill repeats and long runs tends to produce lasting friendships.
A Busy Calendar of Races
The Grandman is far from the only event on the group’s schedule. Each year, the friends run Birmingham’s Mercedes Marathon, and they choose out-of-state events that sound interesting, not only for the race itself but for the city or town that hosts it.
Closer to home, they run the Holiday Half Marathon from Mullet Point to Pelican Point and back, and the Spring Fever Chase 10K, held each year around the Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival. The Arts and Crafts Festival, which fills downtown Fairhope each March, is one of the largest events on the Eastern Shore, and the 10K gives runners a chance to take part in the festivities before the crowds arrive.
The group is as much a social club as a fitness club. As they will tell you, a cold beer tastes mighty good after a race.
Swim, Bike, Run: The Grandman Course
When it comes to competition, the group’s goal is to finish in the top half of their age groups. The race is centered on Fairhope Municipal Pier Park, one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, where the long pier stretches into Mobile Bay from the foot of Fairhope Avenue.
The course unfolds in three legs:
- Swim: A 600-yard swim begins from a lower finger pier of the Fairhope Municipal Pier.
- Bike: Athletes transition at the Rose Garden, change into cycling gear and head up the steep hill for an 18.6-mile ride.
- Run: Back at the Rose Garden, they begin the final leg, a 5K that climbs the hill again. The run finishes back in the park with a loop around the Duck Pond and a finish in the park area that runs south along the bayfront.
Fairhope itself is a fitting host. Founded in 1894 as a single-tax colony by idealists who envisioned a model community, the town has kept much of its public land along the bay open to residents. The municipal park, pier and bayfront green spaces that frame the race are a legacy of that civic tradition, and on race morning they fill with athletes, volunteers and families.
The Fairhope Rose Garden near the pier, the Duck Pond and the bayfront park are familiar gathering places for residents and visitors alike, and they make a scenic backdrop for spectators cheering on the athletes. The bluff that rises from the bay to downtown Fairhope, however, is what gives the course its bite.
“You Got No Legs”: Racing the Hill
McTaggart met his goal in 2022, finishing in the top half of his age group. His swimming strategy is refreshingly simple. “I just swim freestyle as long as I can, then turn on my back and backstroke to the finish,” he said.
After changing into his bike gear, he began the ride back up the hill. The hardest moment comes at the transition from the bike to the final 3.1-mile run. “All your blood is in your biking muscles and you got no legs,” McTaggart said, describing the climb up the hill for the second time. “It’s brutal.”
That sensation is well known among triathletes, who often practice what are called “brick” workouts, a bike ride followed immediately by a run, to help their legs adapt to the abrupt change. On a course that starts both the bike and run legs with a climb, the adjustment is especially tough.
Everyone Getting It Done
Asked what makes the Grandman special, McTaggart pointed to the people. “At every race, I’m amazed at the ages, shapes, fit, and non-fit participants. They are all out here getting it done. It’s the determination… 14-year-olds, and 80-year-olds… It’s the sense of accomplishment that is so satisfying. We use it so we don’t lose it!”
For anyone inspired to try a triathlon like the Grandman, a few general tips can help:
- Check the race organizer’s website for the current year’s date, registration details, age requirements and course information.
- Practice open-water swimming before race day. Swimming in a bay with waves, currents and other athletes is very different from swimming laps in a pool.
- Train on hills if the course includes them, and practice bike-to-run transitions so the “no legs” feeling is not a surprise.
- Consider joining a local running, cycling or triathlon group for accountability, training partners and advice.
- Remember that many participants are there to finish, not to win. Setting a personal goal, like finishing in the top half of your age group or simply crossing the line, is part of the fun.
For the Fairhope friends who meet in the dark each weekday morning, the Grandman is both a test and a celebration: a chance to prove they can still do it, raise money for clean water and share a cold drink by the bay afterward.