(8-5-08) Submitted by Dave Campbell - Cool, overcast, and calm conditions greeted the athletes at the Mid-Summer Olympic Triathlon at Blue Lake on Sunday, August 3. While a little chilly for the fittest (aka skinny) athletes on the bike, the weather made for quite fast racing, especially on the run. The early morning lake temperature was warmer than the air for the 1500-meter rectangular swim and the wind along the pancake flat 40k bike along the Columbia River was uncharacteristically calm. With many top regional athletes in attendance, the mainly flat run on the bike path alongside Marine Drive that holds the difficult undulating final mile in the park would be decisive.
29-year-old Trevor Yates of Eugene was first out of the water in 21:11 with 2006 winner David Gettle of Weiser, ID hot on his heels. Chantal Efraimson of Camas, WA, 4th overall in the swim, was nearly 40 seconds up on the next woman. Gettle took an early lead on the bike leg (57:58 final split), but the day's big surprise would be Grant Folske who powered away (from me) early on to post a very solid 57:34 (4th best) to go into the run right behind Gettle. Bill Thompson, Folske's Ironheads teammate, also had a fantastic bike, which sett up an exciting run finale. 42-year-old Mark Thesing of Lake Oswego was far and away the days fastest in 53:02 but his swim put him far behind the leaders. Efraimson's 1:06:51 (over 21 mph average) kept her in the lead but 28-year-old Annie Davis of Portland closed the gap with the best bike leg of the women.
Folske was coming off a foot injury that had hobbled him much of the spring and, in his own words, "finally felt good". Good, indeed! He took the lead almost immediately, running 5:50 miles on the way out and 5:30s on the way back to annihilate his competition with an absolutely blistering 35:59 run leg, the day's fastest by well over two minutes. He claimed the overall victory and first in the 30-34s with that rare (for most of us) sub-2 hour Olympic race, 1:59:12. Gettle, the Pacific Crest Olympic Champ, hung on for second with a solid 39:38, while 32-year-old Christopher Bell of Portland moved into third with the day's second best run of 38:03. 41-year-old Andy Libert of Eugene, 8th overall, was also top Master in 2:06:25. Less than two minutes separated third through eighth overall in a very competitive men's race.
Efraimson held on for yet another women's victory in 2:16:00 while Davis' best on the day 42:11 run (19th fastest overall) kept her in second, 1:48 back. 50-year-old Bridget Dawson of Portland was top Master and moved into third overall on the strength of her 42:42 run. The top team, by only 14 seconds, was Team CH2M Hill: Benjamin Hoffman swimming, Heike Shipton on the bike, and Steve Trautwein as the runner.
There is a bit of a lull in most triathletes' multisport schedule for much of August, but plenty of events are still on the horizon: Scoggins Valley on August 30 on the tough Hagg Lake course will also serve as a preview of Age Group Nationals - coming September 20. It is time to ease back the mileage a bit and focus on your weaknesses as we all enjoy some of the best weather of the year before these final events! Train smart, have fun, and I will see you at the races!
