The cold, wet weather might have scared a few candidates away, but close to 60 kids aged 8 to 18 took part in the inaugural Whistler Kids of Steel race on Saturday, Oct. 1.
Despite the bleak start, the rain stopped just a few minutes before the first athletes were out of the pool and jogging to their bikes in the transition area by the ball diamonds. After riding a hilly section of Alta Lake Road the athletes ran a flat section of the Valley Trail.
There was some confusion on the part of some of the younger runners about where to turn around on the run leg, but the event went well. Organizers at the Whistler Triathlon Club are hoping to bring it back next year, most likely in late May when the weather is warmer.
For kids aged 8 to 11 the course included a 100 metre pool swim, a 4.5 km bike and a 1.5 km run. For kids 12 to 13, it was a 300 metre swim, a 10 km bike and a 3 km run. Kids 14 and over swim 500 metres, bike 14 km and run 4 km.
For most of the participants it was their first triathlon, although there were a few athletes that have seen their share of competitions.
In the Girls 8 to 9 age category, Whistler’s Chantal Dean was the top athlete in 29 minutes and 55 seconds, followed by Sierra Farr in 30:22, and Cassidy Dean in 30:47.
In the boys 8 to 9 group, Marc Leroux of West Vancouver was first in 26:43. Curtis Shard of Garibaldi Highlands was second in 27:05, while Dalton Pehota was third in 27:24. Tyler Welsh was the top Whistler athlete in fifth with a time of 28:35.
In Girls 10 to 11, Kerry-Anne Hamilton of Whistler was the top athlete in 27:49, followed by Yuki Tsabota of Pemberton and Cassidy Bergen of Surrey in 31:08 and 33:22 respectively.
For Boys 10 to 11, Whistler’s Nickolas Wetaski finished first overall in 27:35. Blake Ramsden of West Vancouver and Trevor Marc of Victoria were second and third in 28:02 and 28:18.
In Girls 12 to 13, Jenna Gergen of Surrey was the top athlete in 57:11. Jocelyn Ramsden and Olivia Perry of West Vancouver were second and third in 57:39 and 1:08:10.
Visiting athlete Tait Becke of Ottawa won the Boys 12 to 13 race in 44:54, followed by Pemberton’s Kai Reiss in 45:51. Whistler’s Joshua Robertson was third in 50:24.
Whistler’s Victoria Whitney won the 14 to 15 Girls in 58:09, followed by Rebecca Staynor of North Vancouver and Calindy Ramsden of West Vancouver in 59:49 and 1:02:29.
Myles Walters of Courtenay was unopposed in the Boys 14 to 15 group, finishing in 1:08:31.
Deborah Bayliss of Whistler won the Girls 16 to 18 unopposed in 1:09:12.
For the young runners who accidentally ran one turnaround too far, a 10 to 11 Long Run category was created. Rae Becke of Ottawa was first in 31:35, followed closely by Logan Pehota in 31:49, and Sofi Leroux in 33:11.
Complete results, including split times, are available online at www.whistlertriclub.ca.
