In true Squamish fashion, this year’s Squamish Off-Road Triathlon was met with rain, but the event was a success nonetheless.
On Sunday, May 26, about 200 raced at the annual triathlon at Alice Lake Provincial Park. The park hosted both a sport and championship course, and participants included individual racers and relay teams.
The sport course consists of a 750-metre swim, a 12.9-kilometre mountain bike ride, and a 5.5-kilometre trail run. The championship course nearly doubles the sport course, with a 1500-metre swim, a 24.3-kilometre bike ride, and a 10-kilometre run.
With chilly weather on race day, race director Jessica Walker said they were fortunate to run the full championship course swim. The water needed to reach a certain temperature to go ahead, which it did just about an hour before the race started.
“Squamish has become a world-class destination for mountain biking and trail running and boasts some of the region’s most loved and accessible lakes, with steep forested hills descending right down to the water’s edge. It is with a great sense of pride that we welcomed an incredible field of cross-tri athletes to our community and support the growth of this exciting, dynamic sport in B.C.,” Walker wrote in an email to The Squamish Chief.
On the championship course, Nicholas Thomas of Vancouver took first overall for the males with a blitzing finish of 2:36:11.
Following him up included second-place finisher, David Gillespie of Squamish, at 2:47:30 and third-place finisher, Carson McComb of Kelowna, at 2:51:19.
On the same course, Christy Drever was the top female finisher, finishing at 2:58:16, just a few minutes ahead of Brandi Heisterman, who finished second at 3:00:54.
Following them up in third place was Olivia Stutchbury with a 3:43:04 finish.
All three hailed from Squamish.
“The race was also a World Qualifier which added to its excitement. The top championship distance racers earned a qualifying spot for the 2025 Cross World Championship in Pontevedra, Spain,” said Walker.
On the sport course, Jamie Macklem from Whistler took first overall for the males with a 1:28:37 finish. Rick Hunter from North Vancouver finished in second place at 1:37:02, and Cedric David from Squamish came in third at 1:43:58.
The top female finisher was Squamish’s Genene Muir finishing at 1:37:48 who was followed up closely by second-place finisher, Elizabeth Gardner also of Squamish, at 1:40:58. Finishing in third place for the females was Emily McCance from North Vancouver at 1:48:25.
In the relay, teammates Braden Bester, Graham Schulz and Grant Wilburn on the Tri X-Men finished first at 3:05:47.
Following by just over a minute in second place were teammates James Bordignon, Dallas Jones and Matthew Wollenberg on 3 MCs and 1 Relay with a finish of 3:06:52.
Finishing third included teammates Alexandra Broker, Lori Broker and Ian Milley on Just Out Here Tri-ing with a 3:08:34, narrowly topping Jesse Locke, Nic Mercier, and Erin Scott on the Perky Turkeys by about 17 seconds.
Walker thanked the many volunteers and sponsor MoveRight Squamish for the extra help on the cold race day.
“We have so many volunteers on board to make this race happen and deeply appreciate their time,” said Walker.
Check out more photos and information on squamishtriathlon.org.
