INNISFAIL - The Innisfail Triathlon drew a record number of local participants to the 2017 local race.
“Overall we were thrilled with the event,” said race director Dorene Loughlin.
Loughlin said there were 21 local triathletes between Innisfail and Red Deer County residents who came out on Sept. 9 to show their stuff at either the sprint or tri-it distances.
“That's great, probably the highest we've had,” she said of local participation.
The sprint distance involved a 750-metre swim, a 20-kilometre bike ride and a five-kilometre run, while the tri-it event offered a 200- to 300-metre swim depending on age, a five-kilometre bike ride and a two-kilometre run.
There were 181 people registered for the event and 167 people who turned out. The tri-it event drew 27 triathletes, the sprint garnered 123 and there were 17 people making up six teams who did the race together.
Loughlin said the race has grown overall since a group of volunteers took the event over from the pool several years ago, but this year numbers were a bit down -- a trend across triathlons across Alberta.
A number of the triathletes were first-timers.
“Probably 25 to 30 per cent were first-time athletes … and it was amazing to watch them finish,” Loughlin said.
Compliments for the number and helpfulness of the volunteers were plentiful, Loughlin said. Volunteers also include other community groups who pitch in.
The support of the Town of Innisfail itself is also crucial to the event, she said, adding staff volunteers came to help out, and the town added touches, like sweeping the bike course that helped the triathlon run smoothly.
The oldest participant was an 82-year-old woman from Calgary, while the oldest individual participant was 76 and the youngest was 10.
A team from Innisfail won the team sprint event. The team, dubbed First Tri, was made up of Becky Money, Joleen Losness and Rick Blais. They completed the course in one hour, 29 minutes and 9.6 seconds.
The Calgary team that won the tri-it category was called Gratton's Hat-trick, and they finished in 25 minutes and 38.9 seconds.
The fastest individual triathlon sprint finisher was Solen Wood from Lethbridge, whose time was 59 minutes and 30.7 seconds.
The fastest tri-it finisher was Innisfailian Mika Eggink, and he completed the race in 20 minutes and 32.5 seconds.
For more information and results on this year's Innisfail Triathlon visit the website at http://innisfailtriathlon.com.
Dorene Loughlin, race director
"Probably 25 to 30 per cent were first-time athletes ... and it was amazing to watch them finish."
