They swim. They bike. They run. The Illinois Triathlon club competes in all three of these activities consecutively.

"It is fun," said graduate student Steven Butler. "It is a challenge. It is kind of addictive, too, after awhile."

The team contends in events held throughout the country. During the Ironman Wisconsin Championships Sept. 7, the tri-athletes swam 2.4 miles, biked 112 miles and ran 26.2 miles.

Junior Daniel Stephens finished the swim in one hour and one minute. Graduate student Charles Smittkamp completed the bike race in six hours and 48 minutes. Classmate Steven Butler finished the marathon run in five hours and 55 minutes.

Graduate student Patrick Bless placed 60th out of 1500 participants. Bless' placement allowed him to qualify for the Oct. 18 World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Teammate Gabriel Hamer's strong performance earned him the honor of competing with Bless.

"It's a big thing," Butler said. "You definitely need to be motivated. It takes a lot of time and energy. A big race can be a big emotional stress."

To train for the events, the team swims at IMPE Thursdays from 6:30 a.m. to 8 a.m., run Saturdays at 2 p.m. and bike Sundays at 1 p.m. The team also focuses on weight training.

"Jay Searles, meteorologist for Channel 15, (made the program) for us," Butler said.

Searles is a tri-athlete and part of the club.

According to graduate student Chris Sweet, nutrition is also key to enhanced performance. When the team is in intensive training, they eat 5000 calories a day.

"Anybody that trains eats as much as they can," Sweet said.

Butler said that the team, which has some vegetarian members, eats large quantities of fruits and vegetables.

Prior to joining the team, some athletes had previous experience in swimming, biking and running. Butler ran cross country and track in high school. Afterwards, he participated in marathons.

"I had been doing triathlons about 10 years before (joining the Triathlon club)," Sweet said.