Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Blake makes solid debut in Ironman

Whistler athletes qualify for world championships
1435ironman
Jumping for Joy Whistler's Christine Cogger jumps through the finish line after posting a personal best time in Ironman Canada this past Sunday - one of several memorable moments for local athletes taking part in the 25th running of the race. Photo by Scott Brammer, www.coastphoto.com.

The 25 th running of Ironman Canada in Penticton wrapped up at midnight on Sunday, Aug. 26 after 17 hours with, as usual, the biggest crowd of athletes and spectators on hand to cheer on the last few athletes to cross the finish line. It’s widely understood that the longer you spend on course, the greater your suffering.

This year nine Whistler athletes took part in the field of 2,200, including several athletes who were competing in their first Ironman races. The course includes a 3.8 km swim, a 180 km bike leg, and a 42.2 km marathon.

This year the overall win on the men’s side went to Kieran Doe of New Zealand in eight hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds, with Jonathan Caron of Penticton placing second in 8:39:59 and Chris Brown of Calgary taking third in 8:49:34.

On the women’s side, Lisa Bentley of Ontario won her third Ironman Canada title in 9:41:01, followed by Sara Gross of Calgary in 9:43:34, and Heather Fuhr of California in 9:49:36.

Usually Whistler’s athletes participate in the age categories, but this year ski coach Ollie Blake — racing his first ever Ironman — decided to enter the Pro Men’s category. He said he had no idea what to expect, but guessed that his times would be on pace with slower athletes in the Pro category.

He actually placed much higher, finishing 16 th overall out of 31 racers with a total time of 9:23:15 — 57:40 in the water, 5:10:30 on the bike, and a blistering 3:09:25 on the run. He also spent less than six minutes in the transition areas, doing almost all his refueling on the road.

Second on the board from Whistler was Bob Deeks, also racing in his first ever Ironman. Deeks had a solid race, following up his modest swim time of 1:08:06 with a 5:24:09 bike leg and a 3:34:49 run to place 98 th overall with a total time of 10:12:05. He placed ninth out of 296 racers in the 45 to 49 age category.

“I basically exceeded my expectations,” he said. “My dream goal was 10 hours and 15 minutes and I came in at 10:12. It was a really great day, everything went really well for me.

“It’s such a long day, you just have to take it in its smaller components and check things off your list as you go. It’s easier when you don’t focus on the whole, but little parts. I would go ‘okay, that’s the first half of the swim, now I’m on the second half.’ I had the bike ride divided mentally into five sections, and I would do one section, then another.

“I actually crashed once on the bike when I got cut off at a turnaround point, and I ended up off my bike for a few minutes, but then I caught up with the people I was riding with so I don’t think I lost any time. I wouldn’t have ridden that hard, but I still finished with a pretty good marathon.”

Deeks says the low point was the crash, and there was a point on the bike ride where he felt like he was about to cramp up, but the crash only set him back a few minutes and he managed to stave off cramps by eating. He also made sure to walk through the feed zones on the run, taking a few moments to refuel, rehydrate and rest, that paid off at the end of the race. While it was tough watching others run ahead, he caught all of those people by the end of the race.

With a ninth place finish in one of the largest age categories, Deeks qualified for the world championships in Kona, Hawaii this Oct. 13. With such a short turnaround between races and his own wedding in late September, Deeks has far more modest expectations for that race.

“With only a limited time for recovery and everything else, including a wedding, I’m just going out to experience the race and have fun. I’ll keep doing some training between now and then, and I’ll do my best, but I’m not setting any aggressive goals.”

Joe Hertz placed 243 rd overall out of more than 2,400 finishers, racing in the tough Men’s 30 to 34 group. He placed 48 th in his age group with a time of 10:42:33.

Greg Sandkuhl was 385 th overall and second in the men’s 60 to 64 age group with a time of 11:02:03, wrapping up his solid swim and bike times with a sub-four hour marathon. Sandkuhl smashed the age group record by more than 18 minutes, which was his goal for the day, and was amazed to find that someone else got there first — but not surprised given the number of strong athletes that came out for the 25 th anniversary of the race.

Christine Cogger placed 405 th overall and 12 th out of 127 racers in the women’s 30 to 34 category with a time of 11:06:27 — a personal best in her third Ironman.

John Blok was 27 th out of 177 racers in the men’s 50 to 54 race in 11:23:20 after coming into Ironman Canada with modest expectations. His main goal was to take it slower through the swim and bike leg and come into the run with energy. He succeeded, finishing the marathon in 3:56:37.

Blok estimates he lost close to 15 minutes to a bike mechanical, but is not sure if the stop helped or hurt his placing.

“I was happy with my race,” he said. “I wasn’t taking it that seriously so I decided to stick with an easy bike start — which I was then forced to do with my mechanical, and when I got to Osoyoos I knew I’d feel great for the rest of the race. I hauled up Richter Pass.”

Blok was slow to start the run, but felt good after he was warmed up until the fatigue set in with about 5 km left. Blok said he walked through every second aid station, and made sure to keep eating.

“I ate about 20 gels, and hope not to see another gel for a year. It works so well to give you energy, but once you have one you have to keep eating them.”

Blok will take some time off racing Ironman, although he is considering racing in the world long distance triathlon championships in Holland next summer. He’s also planning to switch over to Xterra triathlons, which include mountain biking and trail running.

Woochan Jeong was racing in his first Ironman, and also came in with modest expectations after his training was disrupted by foot injuries. His ultimate goal, if everything went well, was to break the 12-hour mark — a milestone he missed by just one minute and 38 seconds. He placed 855 th overall and 172 nd in the men’s 35 to 39 race.

Mark Lyttle had a tough race, but held on to cross the finish line in 15:30:13, 364 th in the men’s 40 to 44 age category.

Grace Blok also struggled early in the race and started to come down with stomach issues on the bike leg but never gave up. She finished in 16:41:15 — less than 20 minutes from the midnight cut-off.

Murray Coates was registered, but decided not to start the race due to knee problems.

From Squamish, Julie Miller placed 41 st in the 30 to 34 age category with a time of 12:36:32.

Daniel Stiner was 62 nd in men’s 55 to 59, finishing in 14:59:46.

Ironman veteran Mae Palm raced alone in the women’s 65 to 69 category, finishing in 15:31:23.