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Aerothlon deemed success

Sports briefs: Westside Wheel-Up set for Saturday; Brandywine Boogie coming
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Run before you fly Participants in the Pemberton Aerothlon kick off the race on Sept. 1. Photo submitted

The first-ever Pemberton Aerothlon was a success, according to organizer Peter Chrzanowski.

The spin on a triathlon, featuring a run, paragliding flight and bike race, went off on Sept. 1.

"It went exceptionally well and it's the kind of thing we can really build on," he said.

Roughly 20 athletes participated, and Chrzanowski hopes to expand that number in future years. There were some logistical challenges planning the event, namely confusion about the number of attendees, as the number was under the 150 limit set forth by the Agricultural Land Reserve.

"It could go very big, but I don't think I really want it that big," he said with a laugh. "I could see doubling the participants to have 50 or 60 athletes, something like that. There's room for it to go to 150, but I want to keep it below 150 so I don't need event status and keep using the land that I did."

Chrzanowski hopes that when the event returns in 2019 that more local pilots come give it a try and face off against some top athletes in their own backyard.

"We had a great turnout from abroad," he said. "There are just not that many paragliders in North America."

New Zealand's Mukunda Lorenzo won the individual men's event with a time of three hours and 25 minutes (3:25), besting American Caleb Schmid and England's Louis Wallace.

Jennifer Orchard's 4:16 was good enough to win the individual women's event over Taylor Schlitz and Kylene Engleby.

For more, visit www.aerothlon.com.

Westside Wheel-Up set to go Saturday

With founder Phil Chew taking a step back from the Westside Wheel-Up this year, the race was bound to go in a bit of a new direction in the Whistler Off-Road Cycling Association's (WORCA) stable of events.

But thanks to some last-minute trail closures, the course will be going in a different direction as well.

Race director Benoit Reneault said the race would begin and end at Rainbow Park this year instead of its traditional start in Function Junction.

"FortisBC is digging in Function, so the usual start at the Millar Creek Trail, we can't use it because they're in there with the digging machinery and they closed the trail," he said. "(It will start) at the same place it's going to finish, so it will be easier for some of our participants. They can have their car and their dry clothes right there at the finish."

Registration will run from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with the race getting underway at 12:30. The entry fee is $10.

Reneault expects the typical attendance of 100 to 125 riders to race, weather permitting, but the goal has long been to break the 150-participant barrier.

As well, co-race director Jerome David is looking for additional volunteers. Those interested can email him at vp@worca.com.

WORCA will also be holding its annual general meeting on Thursday, Sept. 20 at the Lost Lake Passivhaus at 7 p.m.

The vice president, treasurer, planning director, trails director and fundraising director are all stepping aside, so the organization hopes candidates will come forward vying to fill those roles. All board of director positions will be up for re-election.

For more information, visit www.worca.com.

Brandywine Boogie coming Saturday

If you'd rather run trails instead of ride them, you're in luck.

The Rotary Brandywine Boogie will take runners from Cheakamus to the Cal-Cheak Campground via the Sea to Sky Trail. The 10-kilometre race will kick off at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Registration will remain open until 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21 at raceroster.com/events/2018/16932/2018-rotary-brandywine-boogie.

ViaSport launches social-media campaign for National Coaches' Week

Organizations that appreciate their coaches could be in the money.

Not-for-profit sport organization viaSport is launching a social-media campaign in support of National Coaches' Week, which is running from Sept. 22 to 30.

To enter the contest, users must follow viaSport on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram, then post a photo of the coach to any or all of those platforms. The post must include the name of the team, club or organization, the name of the coach or coaches and why you appreciate them, the hashtag #thanksBCcoach and @viaSport. The post must be publicly accessible and made by 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 30 to be entered.

The winning post will receive $500 for the team or organization and another $500 for the coach or coaches.

More information is available at www.viasport.ca/coachesweek.

Treger, Blok shine in Grouse Grind

A pair of Whistlerites traversed the nearly-3,000 stairs of the Grouse Grind in impressive time on Sept. 15.

In the Grouse Grind Mountain Run, Marian Treger took 15th overall and eighth in the men's 30-to-39 age group with a time of 31 minutes and 41 seconds. John Blok, meanwhile, took third in the men's 60-to-69 division in 42:38.