Triathlons are us.
Home to the likes of Olympic gold-medallist Simon Whitfield and Ironman Hawaii multi-champion legends Peter Reid and Lori Bowden, triathlon is a sport that needs little introduction in Victoria.
A community so tightly identified with a sport needs a signature event. The most significant annual race on the Island takes place Sunday, when nearly 2,200 competitors from around the world leap into the waters of Elk Lake for the Subaru Ironman 70.3 Victoria.
The 70.3 designation, formerly known as the Half Iron, denotes the half Ironman total distance of a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike race on the Saanich Peninsula and 13.1-mile run around the lake. Ironman is a U.S. corporation, so all races are calculated in imperial distances. This is the 24th year of the Island race, previously known as the New Balance Half Iron.
[The course maps are here; expect traffic delays on the bicycle course.]
The race expo was held Saturday, with vendor tents and bikes all over Hamsterly Beach at the north end of Elk Lake, where Sunday's race starts, just before 6 a.m., and ends.
Completing an Ironman or 70.3 distance is a major achievement, especially for neophytes to the sport.
“What you are doing is exceptional and challenging,” said Victoria coach Lance Watson, as he addressed the crowd from the stage during the race expo.
“But you are not in it alone. There are others with you and they are like-minded people.”
Watson coached Whitfield to Olympic gold and now trains triathletes from around the world through his LifeSport Coaching program.
Most triathletes come to the sport through cycling or running. Swimming is something that must be endured.
Watson addressed that in his keynote address, which was on the subject of swimming.
“If you’re bumped in the water, know that 98 per cent of the time it will be accidental,” Watson said.
And some more advice: “Drafting is a bad word on the bike, but in the swimming portion it is legal and will save you up to 20 per cent in energy expenditure.”
There are 40 qualifying spots available out of the Victoria race for the 2019 world 70.3 championships in Nice, France.
TRI NOTES: Desirae Ridenour of Cowichan Bay and Hannah Henry of Victoria have been named to Canada’s six-competitor team to the 2019 Lima Pan Am Games this summer.
