Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Saunders Subaru Victoria Triathlon- June 17th 2012


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. 

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