Novelists, screenwriters, take note: there is a wealth of epic adventure in every road race, triathlon and multisport event. Each and every athlete brings to the starting line a story of personal struggle, a tale of triumph over adversity to rival any blockbuster or bestseller on the market.

Take the fifth annual UNC Wellness Center Spring Triathlon held in the Meadowmont neighborhood in eastern Chapel Hill this past Sunday. Five hundred participants meant 500 plotlines as rich as War and Peace and as rewarding as Rocky.

"We've got a woman on a relay team, and she's competing in this event on a week between chemotherapy treatments," said UNC Wellness Center lifestyle enhancement director Kathy DeBlasio. "We've also got a gentleman that was nearly killed when he was hit by an SUV on his bike a year ago, and he's doing this on the one-year anniversary."

"We've got some pretty amazing stories," DeBlasio added. "This is a great race for that."

The UNC Wellness Super Sprint was a perfect event for beginners. After a five-lap (250-meter) swim, athletes transitioned to a rolling, nine-mile bike course, followed by a 5K run through the surrounding neighborhoods.

As unlikely as any storyline was the emergence of overall winner Mason Boyles, 16, a rising sophomore who runs on the Wilmington Hoggard cross-county team. Boyles crossed the finish line in just 44:57, nearly three minutes ahead of runnerup Chris Lampersky (47:46) of Charlotte and Martin Stam (47:46) of Louisville, Ky.

"I felt really good," Boyles said, despite finishing with some blisters on his feet and blood in his shoes.

"I made a bad decision today and wore new racing flats that I'd never worn before," Boyles said, "and about a half-mile into the race I knew something was wrong. I got blisters (on the outside of both feet), and they're killing me."

Among the women, Chapel Hill's Leslie Morgan (54:21) was first overall, with Anne Clinton of South Carolina (54:49) in second and Raleigh's Jennifer Marks (56:42) rounding out the top three.

The male masters' winner was Eddie Barnett (49:48) of Hillsborough, with Durham's Jeffrey Wilcox (49:49) and Donald White (50:51) of Beaufort, S.C., in second and third place, respectively. Sonia Davis of Chapel Hill (58:08) was first among masters' females, with Katherine Lawrence (1:00:24) and Teresa Anile (1:01:31), both of Hillsborough, giving chase.

"The heat wasn't that bad," Davis said. "The worst thing for me was my bicycle's front brakes. I was reaching down there (to adjust them). There was some unintentiontial braking."

Wide base of entries

USA Triathlon coaches Monette Williams (Triangle Multisport) and Sage Rountree (Sage Endurance) offered a free pre-race clinic at the site on Saturday. The two coaches walked about 50 participants through the swim course and transition area that leads to the bike and run courses.

Organizers were very pleased with the turnout, which meant another successful fundraising initiative for the Cardiovascular Foundation Scholarship Fund, which provides financial support for cardiac rehab services and Wellness Center memberships to people who can't afford the costs.

"We had close to 500 athletes," DeBlasio said. "That was about the same as last year. We filled up both years. We capped registration at 450, but we also sold some charity spots to benefit the Cardiovascular Foundation."

The event drew athletes from across the state as much as from the local market.

"I think it's just the word getting out," DeBlasio noted. "We'd only really advertised locally, but it's in the North Carolina Triathlon Series, and I think a lot of people have family members participating too."

One example of the far-reaching attraction of the Carolinas-based triathlon series was the participation from the Great White North.

"I'm from Montreal," said first-time triathlon finisher Cindy Presse, who took second place among women 20-24 and 20th among all females. "I was doing a fellowship to study at UVA this summer in Charlottesville, and a friend told me, 'I'm doing a triathlon in North Carolina, and you should come.' I run, so I decided to try it. ... I'm so happy."

However, Presse, who completed the Boston Marathon in April, was sad that the famed southern drawl about which she'd heard so much was not as pervasive as she might have wished.

"This was fun," Presse said, smiling, "but I haven't gotten to hear a lot of people with the accent."

Conversely, Presse and others were happy to have missed most of the infamous North Carolina heat and humidity, thanks to a 7 a.m. start time.

"At the very beginning this morning, it wasn't that bad," said Alan Bocko, who finished 15th overall and second in the men's 40-44 age bracket. "While I can't call it 'crisp,' it certainly wasn't soupy like it got later. Coming up that last mile of the 5K, (the heat) was just hammering us, though."

Heat and humidity were nothing new for Wilmington's Boyle. "I'm used to racing in about 90-degree temperatures and 90-percent humidity, so this weather really helped me more than it hurt me."

Winners

Also taking advantage of the early morning elements were various age-group and division victors, as recorded by Set-Up, Inc., at the finish line.

•Men's 50-54 winner Wayne McLeod felt no ill-effects from the heat or humidity.

"I felt fast and near-perfect," he said. "It's the best you could ask for in August."

•Karyn Long (1:00:49) of Cary captured the Athena bracket, while Chad Culver (58:24) of Smithfield placed first among Clydesdales. Scott Plesha (55:15) of Raleigh won the Masters Clydesdales division.

•Among females, Lexington's Sarah Hoover (1:28:51) won the 12-and-unders; Lilianna Fernandez (58:09) of Cary won 13-15s, and Lara Pantlin (1:04:34), also of Cary, was the 16-19s' winner.

•Durham's Dino Mangano (1:02:45) won the women's 20-24s, Charlotte's Alison Unger (1:00:59) won the 25-29 bracket, while Braden Walsh (1:00:39) of Pittsboro topped the 30-34s, and Ellen Parker (56:56) of Chapel Hill took the 35-39 title.

•Leasburg's Sue Holaday (1:03:02) was good as gold in the 40-44 bracket, while Dana Little represented Hampstead with a 1:03:49 to take the 45-49 crown. Among 50-54 women, Durham's Jan Harrison (1:08:11) finished first and Durham's Robin Segall (1:21:37) won the 55-59 division. Ingrid Davidson of Cary (1:18:03) was victorious in the 60-64 bracket.

•Among the males, Wilmington's Jackson Boyles (1:05:42) captured the 12-and-under crown, while Nathan Trevillian (57:15) of Raleigh won the 13-15 bracket. Shawn Lautner of Mount Ulla (53:48) stood atop the 16-19 podium.

•Chapel Hill's Eugene Korsunsky (54:37) and Belmont's Cody Angell (48:33) won the males' 20-24 and 25-29 divisions, respectively. Among the 30-34s, Raleigh's Taylor Marks (50:13) won gold, and Salisbury's Bret Busby took the 35-39 title in 49:56. Stewart Collis (52:33) of Carrboro was first among 40-44, and Erik Morse (52:21) of Cary was tops in the 45-49 set. Wayne McLeod (53:49) of Chapel Hill took the men's 50-54 division. "I didn't even start my watch," McLeod said. "I was just looking for '50-through-54's' written on the calves of people in front of me, and I didn't see any."

•Charlotte's Gerald Shappard (57:26) won the 55-59 bracket. Scott Duncan (1:03:31) of Greensboro set the blue ribbon mark among the 60-64-year olds. Chapel Hil's Moyer Smith (1:20:40) was first across the finish line among 70-74-year old men.

•A U.S. Marine Corps squad (1:05:04) reigned victorious among relay teams, with Team 3932 in second (1:06:06) and Big Johnson (1:07:17) in third place.

Future plans

Boyles, who has hopes of becoming a professional multisport athlete, plans for now to concentrate on the upcoming high school cross-country season. Bocko's next goal is to qualify for XTERRA (off-road) Triathlon Nationals this fall in Charlottesville. McLeod said his immediate plans are to stay local -- entering the Mayo Lake triathlon Aug. 15 in Roxboro along with his wife.

As for the UNC Wellness Center, next up will be Oct. 11's Ramblin' Rose Triathlon, organized by Endurance Magazine. As usual for the women-only event, it's already full, DeBlasio said.

"We will do a women-only, six-week training course leading up to that," she added, "and that one is usually really popular, too. It usually fills up. Monette Williams teaches that ... but Diane Sugars and I will be helping."

Future Pulitzer Prize and Academy and Emmy Award winners take note of the Oct. 11 date: There will be a swarm of participants, a handful of winners, and hundreds of winning stories.