There were two Half Iron distance triathlons in B.C. Sunday, July 12, including the Persona Desert Half Iron in Osoyoos and the Subaru Vancouver International Triathlon which offered Half Iron and sprint distances.
A half Ironman race includes a 2 km swim, a 90 km bike and a 21.1 km run.
In Osoyoos, Greg Sandkuhl placed 93 rd overall and first in the men's 65 to 69 age category in 5:32:34, starting with the 41 st fastest swim time of the day. He was roughly 40 minutes faster than the next racer in his category.
John Blok placed 114 th overall and second in the men's 50 to 59 age category with a time of five hours, 44 minutes and 48 seconds.
Mark Hornby placed 12 th in men's 50 to 54 in 5:55:50.
The top Sea to Sky racer was Volker Schneider of Squamish, who placed 24 th overall and fifth in the men's 40 to 44 age category in 4:56:24.
Derek Gagne of Squamish was 23 rd in men's 35 to 39 in 6:19:19.
In Vancouver, Liz Cullen was the only Whistler athlete to do the half. She placed 93 rd overall and fourth in the 25 to 29 age category with a time of 5:22:07.
Tim Moore of Squamish placed 30 th overall and second in the men's 45 to 49 age category with his time of 4:42:01. Mike Hedberg was 12 th in the men's 40 to 44 race in 5:18:32.
While the distances are close to the same the times from Osoyoos and Vancouver aren't comparable as the Osoyoos course has a lot more climbing on the bike leg and is considered more difficult.
Several locals also took part in the sprint race, which included a 500-metre swim, a 26 km bike and a 5 km run.
Marie-Anne Prevost placed 25 th overall and second out of 50 athletes in the women's 30 to 39 category with a time of 1:18:42. She was also fourth among women in the race.
Christine Cogger placed third in the same category with her time of 1:23:21.
Monique C.L. Thibault was 19 th in women's 40 to 49 in 1:55:50.
Meredith Bodell was 38 th in women's 20 to 29 in 2:01:21.
From Squamish, Roy O'Sullivan was 26 th in men's 30 to 39 in 1:30:06.
