Second year brings bigger race
Georgia 7 and Amelia 4 Vanpopta cheer on their dad Tim who was competing in the Walnut Grove Triathlon on Sunday.
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Updated: August 11, 2009 11:44 AM
More than 200 athletes took part in the second annual Walnut Grove Triathlon on Sunday under clear and cool conditions.
The race had three divisions, the bulk of them the 190 adults who took part in the main event, which featured a 750m swim at the Walnut Grove Aquatic Centre, an 18 km bike ride and then a five km run, which finished in the parking lot of Walnut Grove Secondary School, the race’s headquarters.
The overall winner was Surrey’s Brett Armstrong, who was the lone competitor to crack the one-hour barrier, finishing in 58:44. The top female was Vancouver’s Stephanie Kieffer, who completed the race in 1:03.13.
In 2008, 134 competitors took part.
This year’s race also featured 25 participants in the Kids of Steel event (100m swim, four km bike and one km run for those between 8 and 11, and for kids ages 12-15, it was a 300m swim, nine km bike and 2 km run) and 15 in the Tiny Tri Kids race (swimming the width of the pool, biking in the parking lot and then a mad dash for the finish line).
The race was organized by TG Multisport Club, a not-for-profit division of Tri Geeks Multisport, a local triathlon store.
The purpose is to hold a race while raising money for a good cause, said Tanya Williams, who owns Tri Geeks Multisport with her husband.
“We wanted to put on an event and give back to the community,” she explained.
Last year’s proceeds went to Triathlon Canada’s youth development program.
“This year we are raising money for the leukemia, lymphoma society,” Williams said.
“There has just been a lot of people who have been affected by cancer in the last few years.”
As of Tuesday, the proceeds were still being tallied.
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