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Heart of Gold Triathlon a runaway success (5 photos)

More than 85 people run, swim and bike in several divisions for the event
NEWS RELEASE
HEART OF GOLD TRIATHLON
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Sixty-year-old Victoria Kullas looked a little nervous the morning of the Timmins Heart of Gold triathlon on Sunday.

For the first time, she wasn’t only volunteering for the race, she was competing in the try-a-tri triathlon—a 375-metre swim, a 10-km bike and a 2.5-km run.

As the former Aquatics Supervisor at the Archie Dillon Sportsplex pool, she said she always found the prospect of an open water swim a little daunting.

“The last thing I wanted people to see was an Aquatics Supervisor struggling with a swim!”

Now retired, Kullas decided it was time to conquer her fears. And with the help of a supportive Timmins triathlon community, she starting practising in the open water.

“I can’t say enough about how other Timmins triathletes helped me accomplish this goal,” she said.  “They are all so inspiring.”

Kullas was one more than 85 participants in the Timmins Heart of Gold triathlon races this weekend. Many were competing for their very first time, including out-of-towners Jessica Babcock from Engelhart and Rebecca Carr from Grimsby.

Jessica Babcock took her over two hours to finish the course and she wore the crown of last place finisher proudly. 

“I maybe could have trained a little more,” she admitted. “But it was definitely a lot of fun and something I will do again.”

Organizer Marc Rodrigue of the Timmins Running Club said Babcock’s race was the ultimate tribute to the theme of this year’s race, “What’s Your Tri?”

More than 40 adults competed as individuals or part of teams in the sprint distance race:  750-m swim, 20-km bike and a 5-km run.

Another huge part of the event was kid’s races—which saw over 30 participants take place in either recreational or competitive events. 

“It was great to see so many kids putting forth such an amazing effort to swim, bike and run,” said organizer Lee-Ann Wearing. “We look forward to having many more kids participate in the future.”

Coming first place overall this year was Christian Smith, who also placed fourth in last month’s North Bay triathlon. Coming in second place was Marc Charlebois and third place went to Luc Guenette.

For the female division, first place went to Justyna Mittelstaedt, while second went to Deanna Yent with Brianne Charlebois in third place.

Organizer Jeremie Lamothe said this was the first year for the Timmins Running Club to take on the event, which would not have been possible without the many individual volunteers who stepped up.

“We owe the event’s success to the hard work and competence of the volunteers,” said Lamothe. “They really surpassed our expectations. As a collective, the volunteers had a remarkably wide range of skills, making problem solving almost effortless. Participants felt safe and confident thanks to their efforts. It was the epitome of teamwork.”

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