Triathlon short course winner Jyles LeBoeuf says he felt so numb from the cold he could barely take off his running shoes.
The 24-year-old from Marathon, Ont. participated in the Thunder Bay Triathlon Sunday at Boulevard Lake. The race was broken up into short and long course that required athletes to swim the lake, bike and then run.
The short course required athletes to take a 750-metre swim, then an 18-kilometre bike ride followed by a 5.25 kilometre run. The long course doubled the route although a relay team could complete it.
Athletes also had the option of doing a duathlon.
With the temperature hovering around 12 degrees Celsius, LeBoeuf said while it was a chilly race, he enjoyed it nonetheless.
“I think I’m still numb from the cold,” he said after the race, coming in with a time of 1:03:38.
“I came out of the water and my legs were numb. It felt good being on the bike for the first lap but after finishing the bike, I couldn’t even get my shoes off because my hands were so numb. But great race, great atmosphere. It’s perfect for spectators because you have a few laps on the bike and then the run. It’s the greatest sport I’ve ever taken part in.”
LeBoeuf has competed in about 20 triathlons. Once he came to the city, he joined the cycling club and he started doing the time trials. He then rounded out his training by swimming and running.
But when LeBoeuf hit the water, he had to change his strategy somewhat.
“I thought I could do (the swimming) without a wetsuit,” he said. “Luckily there was a long enough delay that I ran back to transition and got my wetsuit on. I definitely needed it.”
Moira Haggarty was the first woman to cross the finish line for the short course. She said she felt great after completely the triathlon but she wished she pushed herself harder. She thought her legs would be in worse shape but they were good enough to get her a time of 1:11:17.
Although she’s a lifeguard, the wind caused some waves to crash on her and the other athletes. She said the swim was by the far the hardest part of the race.
“I like to swim so I was surprised,” she said. “Because of the waves I couldn’t see any of the buoys. I was swimming over people. The thing about Thunder Bay is that the community is so strong for the size of our city that no matter who I was passing I was say ‘hey good job’. Some people were going full out and they would still give you a wave.”
Haggarty was also going against her older sister Daphne who crossed the finish line a few minutes later. The two sisters each had their own strengths – Haggarty the stronger swimmer while Daphne the stronger runner – but only would one cross first.
Haggarty said she was surprised that she would be the first woman to cross.
Jonathan Balabuck took home the top prize for the long course with a time of 1:50:30 followed by Doug Thiessen with 2:01:41. Kayla Kjellman was the first woman to cross the finish line in the long course with a time of 2:20:17 followed by Kakabeka Falls' Marianne Stewart with 2:23:01.
Kris Nisula was the first to cross in the duathlon with 2:14:50.
Hundreds of spectators watched and cheer on the athletes as they swam, biked and ran.
Ex- triathlete Susan Fabius was one of those spectators. Fabius hasn’t competed in a triathlon for the past 15 years and said she was glad to see the sport come back to the city.
The 63-year-old said although she enjoyed the sport, she was happy to be retired from it.
“I say good for them but I’m happy not to be swimming in that cold water,” she said. “It’s pretty hard to train because you have swim, bike and run. Probably one of them is going to be your weak point so you really have to work on it. For most people I would think swimming. It just involves a lot of training and commitment but it is fun and it is a great challenge.”
Race director Daniel Kaukinen said they had to shorten the swimming portion a bit because of the colder temperatures. Other than that he said he was pleased how the race was coming together.
The last city triathlon was held about five years ago. With more than 180 participants, Kaukinen said it appeared that the city wanted the race back.
He added the race couldn’t have gotten off the ground without the help of the volunteers.
“It’s fantastic to it brought back,” he said. “It takes such an effort to organize this event. It’s not only three races but it is also the transitioning and the middle piece. The logistics to actually bring it all together takes so much and it is so overwhelming unless you have a good team.”
