Spin Off Spadina...the Event that NOAH Raced at!

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windnsnow

2007-06-19 4:21 PM

Extreme Veteran

555

Land of living sighs

Subject: Spin Off Spadina...the Event that NOAH Raced at!

What was going to be the first Olympic for a few of us, turned into a deluge of biblical proportions. Still a number of BTrs had some exceptional 2/3rd + of a race.

The general opinion was that we would never have trained in conditions like these, but proved that we can race in them! I had a real high after this event, even though I didn't get to run, but it might have been the hypothermia setting in...

Note the talk around town was that the swim was mismeasured and was about 1850 m for the Olympic, not 1500m!

Here is the news story for those who missed it.

And no, I don't know what a "half" triathlon is...I'm assuming the reporter means "sprint"

Lightning sinks triathlon

Kevin Mitchell, The StarPhoenix

Published: Monday, June 18, 2007

The one weather element that can stop a triathlon spread havoc Sunday at Pike Lake.

Lightning strikes in the immediate area forced organizers to stop the Merlin Ford Lincoln Spin Off Spadina Triathlon in mid-stream. News of a strike in Alberta on Saturday that killed one person and injured six others was top of mind when the decision was made.

"As we were debating this, three-quarters of the way through the race, there was a lightning strike right over our heads in the parking lot," said race director John Rayner. "That made up our minds. We said, 'OK, this race is done right now.'

Swimmers make their way across Pike Lake Sunday in the Saskatchewan Triathlon

SP Photo by Gord Waldner

"I've been around five or 10 years and I'd never seen a race called off. I was running around apologizing to people, but they were all (saying), 'No, that was the right thing to do.' It's one thing to keep the race open for athletes, but you have volunteers five or 10 km out and standing on a highway. It's not fair to keep them out there."

Organizers pulled racers and volunteers off the course and sent them home after a day that started off with great promise. The race, which serves as a provincial championship, drew an all-time high of 220 competitors.

The swim went well, but rain started falling during the bike portion. That's also when the first flashes of lightning were seen.

The half-triathlon athletes did get most of their competitors in, with Joel Howlett and Rachel Edwards -- both of Saskatoon -- earning top honours in the male and female categories.

Saskatoon's Corey Borlein, running the Olympic-length event, was able to get in shortly before the race was called off and was named the men's winner. No Olympic-length women crossed the finish line.

The Olympic-length event includes a 1,500-m swim, 40-km bike ride and 10-km run.

[email protected]

© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007

My Race Log

NLG

2008-01-11 2:10 AM

in reply to: #851242

Regular

Subject: RE: Spin Off Spadina...the Event that NOAH Raced at!

This was going to be my first Olympic, and I was indeed wetter on the bike than swimming.

However, the really difficult race for me was getting through the mudfest that was the bike portion of the Boreal Off-Road. I can't believe I made it through! I had to carry my bike for 1 kilometre and re-chain my bike 5 times. One cleat wouldn't lock in and the other wouldn't come out.

N.