On the triathlon circuit, local athletes performed admirably this month as they swam, cycled, and biked their way into contention in a variety of half-triathlons.
Rossland’s Seth Biting came fourth overall and first in the 40-44-age division at the Runner’s Den Sylvan Lake triathlon last week in Sylvan Lake, Alta., while Fruitvale triathlete Carol Corbett raced to an eighth-place overall finish and second in her age category and Carolyn Buehler of Rossland crossed the finish line 31st overall and seventh in the women’s 45-49 div. at the Desert Half-Tri in Osoyoos.
In the Colville Tiger Triathlon last week, the team of Amy Titsworth of Warfield and Barbara Shields of Rossland cruised to victory in the All-Female division 120-and-over with a time of 2:19:45.
The half-triathlon race consists of a grueling two-kilometre swim, followed by a 90-km. bike and a 21-km. run.
At Sylvan Lake, Biting was looking to duplicate fellow Rosslander - Dallas Cain’s 2011 victory and hung in contention throughout the race.
Biting exited the water in eighth spot in a time of 35 minutes and 26 seconds, but made up substantial ground in the cycle with the third best time of 2:24:24. Biting kept up the pace, crossing the finish line just over 14 minutes back of winner Wade Carlson of Penticton, while Teresa Richer of Red Deer won the women’s.
Corbett, who is also training for the World Iron Man Triathlon championship in Kona, Hawaii in the fall, found herself in 37th place after the swim, but poured it on in the bike with the ninth best time, moving her into 14th spot. She finished it off with a blistering run where she posted the sixth best time and averaged 5:15 per kilometer, for a final time of 5:38:39. Janelle Morrison of Penticton won the event in 4:45:29.
Next up is the CYSWOG’n Fun triathlon in Nelson on Saturday.