Triathlon draws variety of athletes
MOSES LAKE — Blue Heron Park was alive with activity this weekend as more than 200 athletes gathered at the former state park for the Moses Lake Family Triathlon.
Much like the athletes that swam, biked and ran over the weekend, the triathlon itself had to overcome challenges to become a successful and enjoyable event for those involved.
The Canadian race director that helped organize last year's inaugural triathlon was unable to do so this year due to a late arising contractual conflict with the City of Moses Lake, so for a time the event hovered in a state of limbo.
With some 100 participants already registered for the event when this occurred, volunteers from the 2005 triathlon stepped in to take over the organizational duties. These volunteers not only managed to keep the triathlon alive, they put on a well managed, safe and fun event that was enjoyed by many competitors.
"We've had some positive feedback from people," said Deb Miller, a volunteer for the triathlon.
Much of that feedback came through e-mails sent by out-of-area participants, who made up a large portion of the competitors at the event. Miller estimated that half the triathletes came from outside the Columbia Basin, with some competitors coming from California, Idaho and Alberta, Canada.
As for the competition itself, triathlons of sprint and Olympic lengths were held. Both teams and individual athletes competed in both triathlon lengths.
The sprint triathlon, which is popular for those new to the sport, consisted of a one-quarter mile swim, a 12 mile bike ride and a three mile run. In order to make the event more manageable for new triathletes, the swim was contested along the shoreline of Blue Heron Park, where shallow waters and a flotilla of support kayaks were there for any athletes who struggled with their swim.
Fred Funge of Newport, Washington was the winner of the Olympic triathlon, completing the 29 mile course in 2:12:48. Spokane's Bart Orth turned in the best time of the weekend in the sprint triathlon with a time of 1:07:39.
Triathlon results:
Olympic Triathlon - 1, Fred Funge, Newport, 2:12:48; 2, Jacob Deitz, Mead, 2:14:52; 3, Kelly Jahns, Liberty Lake, 2:15:16; 4, Steve Anderson, Pasco, 2:17:05; 5, Mike Trent, Elk, 2:27:38;
Saturday Sprint Triathlon - 1, Bart Orth, Spokane, 1:07:39; 2, Luke Tonnemaker, Royal City, 1:10:37; 3, Sonia Tonnemaker, Royal City, 1:11:22; 4, Brandon Savini, Edmonds, 1:13:13; 5, Shawn Turner, Moses Lake, 1:14:47.
Sunday Sprint Triathlon - 1, Kevin Raunes, Redmond, 1:11:19; 2, Jerrod Snyder, Spokane, 1:12:08; 3, Angela Craig, Lynnwood, 1:14:54; 4, Martha Grant, Wenatchee, 1:17:55; 5, Nicholas Umble, Puyallup, 1:22:13.
Team Results - Sprint Triathlon - 1, Adine Rodemeyer, Marcus Kubosumi, Chris Richardson, 1:16:00; 2, Lauren McKean, McKenzie McKean, Mariell McKean, 1:16:46; 3, Rylie Jones, Thomas Carr, Hilary Jones, 1:19:11.
Olympic Triathlon - 1, Natalie Sandberg, Scott Ramsden, Marilyn Reynolds, 2:30:36.