“It went flawless.”
That’s how race director Floyd Polehoykie described the 2012 Fort St. John Triathlon that took place on Sunday. The triathlon, which hasn’t occurred in a few years, was a big hit as many members of the community came out to the parking lot of the North Peace Leisure Pool to participate or show their support.
“It went really, really well. It went off without a hitch,” he said Sunday night. “There was a light wind, it was beautiful and sunny. It was a perfect day for a triathlon.”
“This is the first triathlon in a couple years, because people were getting burned out being on the committee and the typical same people doing it year in, year out had enough,” he explained, “So we decided we’re grabbing it this year. We did have some of the original people on the committee that helped us, then we had some new people too.”
Over 100 people registered for Sunday’s race event, taking part as individuals or teams in the adult distance race, the adult short course or the teens 12-17 race.
“For people that want to try, you can either do the adult short course, or say you want to do a triathlon but you’re a terrible swimmer,” Polehoykie said. “Go find one of your buddies that can swim then you get to do it together. It didn’t matter the swimmers, the bikers or the runners on the relay teams, they all got medals.”
It was a grueling event for many, as those in the adult distance race swam 1000 metres, biked another 26 kilometres then finished with a six-kilometre run. Some racers crashed or lost their footing while dismounting their bikes to move onto the final leg of the race. Polehoykie explained that falls are typical of people who are coming into transition too quickly, as they sometimes lose their footing because they’re tired.
Other than that, the warm sunny day was an enjoyable and memorable one for many people on Sunday. Each participant received applause and a medal when the crossed the finish line, as well as a congratulations from Polehoykie himself.
“As a race director I guess the best thing for me was to be able to put a medal over everyone’s head as they came in and shake their hands and congratulate them,” he said. “That was pretty good for me.”
Results from Sunday’s triathlon will be available later in the week on the Fort St. John Triathlon’s website, http://triathlon.ath.cx.
