(6-8-10) Submitted by Dave Campbell - Without question, this was the wettest triathlon I have ever done in my life… and I have raced hundreds of them. Nearly one inch of rain fell on June 6 in the Fairview, OR area, home of the Blue Lake Triathlon - and well over 400 racers came out to play in the deluge. Thankfully, it was fairly warm and the wind normally blowing up the Columbia River remained quite calm, otherwise the difficult conditions would have been much more challenging and even dangerous. AA Sports did a tremendous job of coordinating off-site parking and shuttles and managed to get the messy, muddy event off on-time and without a hitch - amazing accomplishment in itself.
For me, it was my eleventh consecutive Blue Lake Olympic Triathlon and with its early June date, we have seen everything from cold, wet and windy to very warm and sunny. But never before had I seen my shoes floating atop my transition mat or watched my toes completely disappear into the mud running through transition. Triathletes by design are a hardy breed and the assembled masses were racing at top speed through the rainfall and getting on with the event at hand and even chuckling at the crazy amounts of water that were EVERYWHERE.
In addition to any variety of weather, Blue Lake traditionally hosts a very competitive field and frankly, one of the few races where most of the very best Northwest multisport athletes compete together at one time. It also draws some of the biggest fields of the year. Over 600 athletes raced the sprint and Tri-It events Saturday under warm sunshine but most of the “hard cores” come out to play Sunday. With so many big events (Ironman Couer d’Alene, Pacific Crest) coming towards the end of June, the event falls in a sweet spot in the calendar and is attractive to everyone seeking to test their form and experience an open water swim and fast race. These athletes, who are starting to round into top racing form, faced up to a 1500 meter triangular swim in the comfortable 68-degree waters of Blue Lake, a super flat and fast 40 kilometer bike along the Columbia River on Marine Drive and a 10 kilometer run through Blue Lake Park and then out and back on a bike path. Realistically, the temperature was fairly comfortable while racing and probably contributed to the fast times.
42-year-old Rick Graves of Portland was first out of the water in 18:15, trailed just over 30 seconds back by frequent top Blue Lake performer Matt Berg (now living in Reno, NV). 21-year-old Natasha Mangan of Keizer was 13th best overall in 20:44 and almost a minute clear of OSU Tri clubber Pamela Johnson of Corvallis to take the early lead in the women’s race.
The vast puddles of standing water, foggy glasses, and the heavy rain pounding down on the helmets did not slow the cyclists much as the bike splits were blazing! 28-year-old David Gettle of Weiser, Idaho (55:30) led a trio of hammerheads who all rode under 56 minutes for the just over 24-mile course. Aaron Jenniges of Vancouver, WA was second fastest at 55:36, and Rusty Pruden of Kirkland, WA logged 55:47. While many strong athletes were tightly packed at the head of the race, it was 34-year-old Philippe Kozub of Portland 18:50 Swim/56:14 Bike) who was first off the bike with perennial contender Berg (56:31) close behind. 47-year-old Susan Moote of Portland charged through the women’s field in 1:02:26 just in front of “Ironhead” Troutdale local Kaytee Petross and another perennial Northwest contender Kristina Lackner (second fastest bike split) making a return to her best form at this distance.
Most triathlons are won on the run and this race was no exception. Once runners donned their heavy, water logged shoes and made it through the slip and slide like muddy transition area, they sloshed and squished out onto the, in some cases, completely flooded bike paths. It was tricky to say the least, and heavily blister forming for sure! 27-year-old Pruden charged through the early leaders from third off the bike in an astounding 34:32 to break the tape in a stunning 1:53:50 for an impressive overall victory. Kozub, running 36:30 hung on for second and the 30-34 win and Berg came through just over two minutes later for third overall and the 35-39 title.
The best runner in the women’s field, by far, was Petross and her 41:12 was 34th best on the day overall, minutes faster than most of closest rivals, allowing her break the tape in 2:12:56, for an overall winning margin of over four minutes. Lackner ran her way into second and the 35-39 age group title in 2:17:15 and Johnson recovered from a slow bike for third overall and the 20-24 win, just over a minute back.
43-year-old Eugenian Andy Libert’s years of consistency were rewarded with a solid victory (over four minutes) in the Masters event (2:05:26) over this writer, who is still trying to get his running form back after injury and was happy with second! Libert’s solid day (24:12/59:28/37:42) saw him take 13th overall in the power-packed field. On the women’s side, Moote ended a very impressive fifth overall (2:19:38) en route to winning the Masters title by over seven minutes from Portland’s Rebecca Ramsey.
The Portland Triathlon Club team of Robert Wilson (22:49), Tom Ricciardi (58:00), & Sean Coster (36:13) were the top relay by a country mile. 27-year-old John Banks of Clackamas actually had the fastest bike of the day in the Duathlon (55:01) and he needed every bit of it to hold off a hard-charging Dave Florence of Canby (leader after running the opening 5k in 18:12) for the victory. Despite a three minute lead, he had only 15 seconds lead when he broke the tape in 1:59:59. Florence’s 39:02 closing 10k Run was the fastest run in the duathlon and did get the 43-year-old the Masters win. The women’s du was close as well with Amy Truitt, 33, just over a minute clear of 39-year-old Diane Smith, winning in 2:29:51.
So, what’s next? As mentioned, some Northwest athletes will compete at Ironman Couer d’Alene at the end of the month and some will do Boise 70.3 this weekend. Some have goals further done the road. The next event for me and many of my fellow “weekend warriors” will be the Pacific Crest Endurance Sports Weekend, which I consider the greatest multisport event in the world. Great accommodations, bike paths and swimming pools for the kids, a beautiful landscape, and every event conceivable to choose from make for great athletic endeavors and great relaxation afterwards. Long course and Olympic-distance triathlons and duathlon, running events and kids racing mean there is something for everyone. I hope to see you there!
