It resembled the Sun Valley Athletic Club's Sprint Triathlon that used to be staged during summer over two days in Sun Valley and Ketchum.
But the Wood River Community YMCA's first annual Sprint Triathlon (700-yard swim, 8.4-mile bike, 3-mile run) was a brand new event. It was held Friday and Saturday, May 8-9, in Ketchum and Sun Valley.
Men's and women's winners were Bill McCann and Kathy Morell. McCann had finished third in the first Racing for Recovery Redfish Lake Triathlon last June north of Ketchum.
In the recent event, the 14-lap swim portion was held Friday at the YMCA pool in Ketchum. The staging area was Trail Creek Cabin for Saturday's bike and running legs.
YMCA Aquatic Director Dyne Jones expressed special thanks to Bob Rosso of The Elephant's Perch in Ketchum for "his expertise and energy in making the YMCA's first Sprint Tri a success."
Check the May 20 Local Life section for more race-day photos.
Sprint Triathlon results, with swim splits in parentheses, are:
Men: 1—Bill McCann (8:55) 54:20. 2—Matt Morell (9:14) 55:39. 3—Jedd Young (11:07) 59:57. 4—Marc Driver (15:20) 1.05:43. 5—Chad Cleveland (11:26) 1.08:14.
Women: 1—Kathy Morell (11:28) 1.02:17. 2—Whitney McNees (9:26) 1.05:24. 3—Sarah Schroeder (13:48) 1.07:28. 4—Jennifer Davis (10:06) 1.08:37. 5—Jessica Schlueter (17:02) 1.19:14.
Register now for Redfish Lake Triathlon
Visit Redfishtri.com to sign up for the second annual Redfish Lake Triathlon scheduled for Saturday, June 20, at Redfish Lake south of Stanley.
Offered this year are an Olympic Triathlon (1000-meter swim, 40k bike ride, 10k run), a Sprint Triathlon (500m swim, 20k bike, 5k run) and Sprint Duathlon (2-mile run, 20k bike, 5k run). Classes are based on age and gender.
Redfish Lake's race director Jeff Clegg said the scenic site provides a challenging setting for an event that attracted 146 triathletes and 34 in the duathlon last June.
"Our cap is 500 this year and we're quickly filling up. We're working very hard to make this a most unusual athletic event," Clegg said.
Changes this year include a shortening of the Olympic Triathlon swim distance to 1000 meters. Clegg said, "We are hopeful the water temperatures will be up a little from last year. This is a wetsuit-required event and, although cold, it is safe and, frankly, refreshing."
Registration prices for the official USA Triathlon-sanctioned event are $75 per individual entry and $125 for three-person relay teams. The fees include a pre-race dinner and post-race lunch. Call Redfish Lake at (208) 644-9096 to reserve a space at the site.
Wood River Community YMCA men’s winner Bill McCann cruises along the running course near Sun Valley’s Trail Creek Cabin May 9. Photo by David N. Seelig
