Before Island racers Simon Whitfield ran to Olympic glory in the shadow of the Sydney Opera House in 2000 and Peter Reid and Lori Bowden became multiple-time Ironman Hawaii champions among the lava fields of Kona, there was the pure simplicity of the Sri Chinmoy Triathlon at Elk Lake.
It was the first triathlon held in Canada, in 1980, and only the third in North America, presaging the triathlon revolution to come. A cairn at Hamsterly Beach at Elk Lake commemorates the historic significance of the race as Canada’s first triathlon.
It later became known as the Self-Transcendence Triathlon, at the insistence of the late Sri Chinmoy himself, after he attended his namesake race in 1985. He was a spiritual leader, with a world-wide following, who believed inner and world peace could be attained through long-distance endurance sports as well as art and music.
The 39th edition of the event, now rebranded the Elk Lake Triathlon, goes Sunday at 7:15 a.m.
“It’s new energy but the same great course,” said race-director Joe Dixon, who took over the race last year from the former organizers.
“I had heard about this race for years, certainly when I first began competing in 1999, and it’s a special feeling to be able to ensure its continuation.”
There are also sprint-distance, relay, and duathlon (5K run, 40K cycle, 10K run) components of the event, with 400 athletes registered from across Canada and the U.S. and also Australia. That is up 20 percent from last year, according to Dixon.
“We want to have a big occasion next year for the 40th anniversary and expect 450 to 500 participants,” he said.
“We are looking to grow it every year.”
Without losing that crucial connection to the roots of the race.
“We have a number of athletes that have raced here for 20-plus years and still come out and support the event,” said Dixon.
Sunday morning will be a far cry from the 40 sporting trailblazers who took part in the first race in 1980, when few had even heard of this strange new sport that combined swimming, cycling and running.
The $2,500 prize purse of Sunday’s race, to be shared among the top-three male and female finishers, has assured an elite field. It will include Jeff Symonds, who was second to winner Brent McMahon of Victoria last week at Ironman Canada in Whistler. Veteran Victoria pro Stephen Kilshaw, who had to abandon Ironman Canada last week because of bike mechanical problems, will be motivated and looking to make amends. Touted junior talent Michael Millic will be looking to continue his rise. Top-rated female is Sonja Futehally of Victoria.
The Olympic-distance course will have the triathletes jumping into Elk Lake from Hamsterly Beach for the 1.5K swim before the 40K cycle portion through the Saanich Peninsula, to be followed by the 10K run around the Elk-Beaver Lake trails.
They will all be chasing in the wake of those first 40 hardy souls ever to contest a triathlon in Canada.
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