Baptiste Lake Triathlon hits the ground running

Aug. 27, 2019

By Kristena Schutt-Moore

St. Matthew's United Church hosted the first ever Baptiste Lake Triathlon on Sunday, Aug. 25 and it tested the athletes to their limits.
The race started with a 750 meter swim on Baptiste lake. From there, the racers had to run to the church on St. Matthews Road to grab their bicycles and pedal along South Baptiste Lake Road to Clark Road and then come back to the church to complete the 20 kilometer ride. After dropping their bike off at the church the racers had to finish a five kilometer run from the church to Bowen Road to East Hennig Road and return to the church. The top female of the race was Claire Tonack and top male was Paul Lobe.
While the adults were competing for the first ever Baptiste Lake Cup, which depicted the pink water lilies that Baptiste Lake is famous for, the children also got their turn. The kid's one kilometer Fun Run started at the church and racers had to make their way down St. Matthew's Road to the public boat launch turn back and run to Birch Cliff Lodge, then return to the church. The fastest runner of the eight participants was Isaac Laundry who finished the course in just over 14 minutes.
The race ended with a barbecue at 4 p.m. and at 5 p.m. Clive Emery gave a presentation about how sports have given meaning to his life. The event came to a musical end with a street dance on St. Matthews Road with special guest DJ John Hales.
Next year's race is already in the planning stages and the United Church's volunteers promise it will be even bigger and better. This event was part of the Sunday Night Live line up that St. Matthew's United Church has been hosting every Sunday over the summer months.