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Our World: Chaos curbed
DAVID ALBERS / Staff
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“Eyes up,” Doug Caperton shouts at the top of his lungs. “Eyes up! To me! To me! On the bike! On the bike!”
As participants finish the 5-kilometer run of the Naples Fitness Challenge and exit the bike chute, Caperton’s job is to organize the chaos. Participants aren’t exactly thinking straight after the run. Sideline observers can’t seem to stay off the racetrack.
Not for long. The cacophony is shattered by Caperton’s voice. His loud, simple commands, military-esque gestures and his commanding stature preside over the driveway of the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club.
“He’s got this way about him where he’s directing the traffic almost to music in his head and it’s very entertaining, said George Dondanville, co-owner of Naples On the Run and former triathlon director.
“There are people that plunk themselves down at that very location year-after-year, not only because it is a fun place to watch the race but they get to watch Doug do his thing,” Dondanville said. “I’ve heard people say that is the only place they’d want to watch the race from.”
A former Collier County Sheriff’s officer, Caperton, 51, began as a competitor in the mini-triathlon when the race was founded 22 years ago. In about 1998, a knee injury kept him from competing. It sparked what became a tradition of the race: Caperton’s oversight of the bicycle chute.
This year, the safety of more than 550 triathletes came under Caperton’s command.
“I love it,” he said.
“It has always been the way I have done things. I have always taken charge and the responsibility to make sure that everything is as safe as possible.”
And when the race is over and the triathletes return to the bike racks to grab their bikes, you can hear them muttering.
“Eyes up. Eyes up.”
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E-mail David Albers at dnalbers@naplesnews.com
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