Well, what a weekend for the UBC tri club! A whopping 16
members journeyed over to Vancouver Island for the Saunders Subaru Victoria
Triathlon, the 2nd race of the series.
We brought the rain over with us on Saturday but luckily had
dry conditions on Sunday. Wind picked up early in the morning however and even
blew the team tent over knocking down a couple members later in the afternoon.
Before the start of the race members were seen stuffing
their pockets with Clif product, spraying themselves with PAM (for easy removal
of the wetsuit) and waiting in line for their final PRP (pre race poop).
SPRINT: 500m Swim,
20km Bike, 5km Run
Barry, Eddy and Steph rocked the sprint with a respective 4th,
17th and 7th place finish overall. Steph cut her foot on
some rocks coming out of the water but was able to tough it out and still have
a stellar race despite leaking blood all over her shoe. Both Barry and Steph represented
the club on the podium receiving medals for their 2nd place finish
in their age group. Way to go Barry, Eddy and Steph!
Barry Claman: 4th overall; 2nd in age
group 1:02:44
Eddy Wu: 17th male overall; 6th in age
group 1:13:48
Stephanie Flynn: 7th female overall; 2nd
in age group 1:15:55
OLYMPIC: 1500m Swim,
45km Bike; 10km Run
Representing the club in the Olympic distance race was Kevin,
Tyler, Ben, Karin and Theresa. Karin
and Theresa were excited for their first open water race and were happy to find
the warm waters of Elk Lake much more appealing than the frigid algae ridden
water at Kits beach, where they had previously tried their new Xterra wetsuits.
Of special note is Kevin’s 19th place overall and Tyler’s 2nd
place in age group finish. Karin was just shy of a 3rd place in age
group finish coming in 4th. The three women ahead of her placed 3rd,
4th and 5th overall, two of who were reported to be
members of Team Canada. Congrats Kevin, Tyler, Ben, Karin and Theresa!
Kevin Chiarot: 19th male overall; 6th
in age group 2:38:42
Tyler Woodbury: 22nd male overall; 2nd
in age group 2:40:18
Ben Kresnyak: 46th male overall; 5th
in age group 2:53:10
Karin Olafson: 24th female overall; 4th
in age group 3:02:30
Theresa Price: 51st female overall; 6th
in age group 3:21:50
HALF IRONMAN: 1900m
Swim, 86km Bike, 20km Run
Another seven club members took on the Half Iron distance. A
remarkable (but not surprising) 3rd place overall finish by Brendan
did the club proud, finishing only behind two elite athletes. Although this wasn’t his fastest time,
nor did he win a hat, who couldn’t be happy with a bronze medal finish? Victoria
also had a star performance with a 7th place overall finish in the
women’s field. Also, both Brendan and Victoria finished first in their age
group!
A unanimous highlight of the weekend was watching Victoria
chase Winston to the finish line. Victoria’s determination helped her make up a
lot of ground but Winston held his own and finished 4 seconds ahead, with an
even more than usual beaming grin.
Michael attained a PB at the race despite having what he
called an ‘epically embarrassing fall’ off his bike. Rumor has it he dropped a
gel wrapper in between his wheel and break pad causing the bike to break
uncontrollably. His attention was so focused on getting the bike in control
that when he finally came to a stop he had completely forgotten to clip out and
simply feel sideways once stopped. Thankfully he suffered no injury besides a
few minor scratches. Derrick also had a great race and seems to be in good
shape for the full Ironman in August. Awesome job Brendan, Winston, Victoria,
Michael and Derrick!
Brendan Naef: 3rd overall; 1st in age
group 4:20:29
Winston Guo: 39th male overall; 5th in
age group 5:03:49
Victoria Gilbert: 7th female overall; 1st
in age group 5:03:53
Michael Duncan: 57th male overall; 7th
in age group 5:15:36
Derrick Lee: 73rd male overall; 9th in
age group 5:24:31
Special mention goes to Scott and Johnson for partially
completing the Half. Unfortunately injury kept them from completing the run but
both were looking strong in the water and on the bike. Johnson also had his
tire blow not long before the start of the race, after which his name was
frequently heard over the P.A. system. Scott, king of the open water braved the
lake without a wetsuit. We wish you guys a quick recovery.
Also thanks to Vince for coming and supporting the team as
well as to the Gilbert’s and Price’s for hosting! We hope to see YOU at the
next race in Vancouver July 8th…until then, happy training.
