When the three-generation Epperheimer clan of Kenai shows up at Anchorage's Bartlett High School Sunday for the Gold Nugget Triathlon, 13-year-old Bailey Epperheimer may have a leg up on her relatives. A scrambled leg.
Bailey, a student at Aurora Borealis Charter School, is reportedly one of the family's prerace favorites and is assuredly its prerace MVP.
When the family decided to retire its old team name this year, the serviceable but uninspired Epperheimer Inc., Bailey came up with the new name -- Scrambled Legs and Achin'.
"She's pretty clever," said older sister Ashley Pruitt, 21. "We were tossing around a few ideas but that one just had us all in stitches."
When the gang of seven gathers at the 33th annual women's-only triathlon, everyone will carry buckets bearing Scrambled Legs and Achin' stickers. The buckets are proof this is an experienced bunch -- savvy triathletes know buckets are handy for storing gear, and when turned upside-down they provide a place to sit while changing shoes or making other adjustments in transition areas.
The decals came from Julie English, Ashley and Bailey's aunt, who owns a sign business and who may or may not be the person who infected her family with the triathlon bug.
"I'm thinking I'm the one who started the idea," English said. "Where I work there is a very athletic group of people, and one day one of them said, 'You should do a triathlon.'
"That was before I exercised. I didn't really do much of anything. I sent my husband a text that day: 'Do you think I could do a triathlon?' and he texted back, 'No.'
"So of course …''
So of course English, 38, had to prove she could. Credit her husband, Craig English, for inspiring the Epperheimers to become triathletes.
Or maybe not. Talk to Melodie Epperheimer, the family matriarch, and you hear a different story of how the family decided to do its first Gold Nugget in 2013.
"My oldest granddaughter, Ashley, was graduating that year, so (she) and her mother thought they would do it," said Melodie, 59.
"None of us had ever done anything like this, and I had never run a race. I never started running till I was 56 years old. We all kind of trained that year. This year I haven't trained as much."
The Epperheimers have done a triathlon en masse every year since 2013. They did two straight Gold Nuggets, then they did last year's Tri-the-Kenai Triathlon, and now they're back for another Gold Nugget.
This year's team includes Melodie, her daughter Julie, her daughter-in-law Kathryn Epperheimer and four granddaughters -- Ashley, Crystal, 17, and twins Bailey and Sidney. The granddaughters are sisters and belong to Kathryn, 39, who is married to Melodie's son, Jeff.
This is the third time three generations of Epperheimers will race the Gold Nugget. Their 2013 team had five members – Melodie, Julie, Kathryn, Ashley and Crystal. The 2014 team had eight -- Bailey and Sidney joined the crowd, as did Julie's daughter Justice. This year Justice will miss the race because she's going to school out of state, her grandmother said.
"We just thought it would be fun to do something together as a family," said Ashley, who lives in Fairbanks -- the only team member who doesn't live on the Kenai Peninsula. "We have a group message, and whenever we go out for a run or do some training, someone puts a little note there."
Racing one triathlon a year helps everyone stay active, family members said. "It makes you more aware of your physical exercise," Melodie said. Julie said she's lost about 20 pounds since becoming a triathlete.
A bit of competitiveness has developed over the years, especially now that the twins are racing.
Ashley, who played high school basketball for Nikiski High School, is often the fastest, but Bailey and Sidney are targeting their oldest sister this year because a sweet reward awaits if one of them can beat her.
"My dad told my sisters that if one of them beats me, they could have a Facebook page," Ashley said.