Just days after becoming a father, Michael Schnare finished with the best time at the Woody’s Triathlon in Red Deer.
Schnare finished with a time of 1:01:26.8 in the male sprint category. Brett McPhedran finished second in the category with a time of 1:06:21.8 and Brian Dand finished third with a time of 1:10:51.3.
“I’ve been racing triathlons for probably four years now,” Schnare said, after the event wrapped up Sunday.
“Woody’s has always been great for me. I started triathlon in Red Deer and getting to race locally has always been a passion of mine.”
This was the first time Schnare was able to take home the top time in his category. He is currently training for an ironman triathlon. His wife gave birth to a baby girl on Tuesday.
On the women’s side, Kasia Kuperus had the best time in the women’s sprint, with 1:15:33.4. Jade Weber finished second with a time of 1:21:29.2 and Anastasiia Slobodianyk finished third with a time of 1:26:04.2.
Traditionally, Woody’s Triathlon is held during the summer, but it was pushed back a few months due to a lack of certainty regarding COVID-19 restrictions. The 2020 marathon was cancelled entirely.
Race director Shaun Richer said he was thrilled the event was able to go on after all of the challenges caused by the pandemic.
“The weather wasn’t the greatest, but I think we can put that aside because we’re super proud to be able to put the race on and have an event for everybody,” said Richer.
There were some concerns that the triathlon may have to be delayed again when the Government of Alberta implemented new restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19.
“When the mask mandate came through about a week ago, we thought, “OK well we’re only a week out (from the triathlon). Is there going to be anything else that’s going to come through?’ But nothing did and here we are today,” said Richer.
The Try-A-Tri was held on Sunday as well. The top three female racers were Jamie Cavanagh (44:13.2), Jacqueline Polsky (47:14.5) and Ann Nevin (48:05.2). The top three male racers were Trevor Naldrett (38:21.4), Jamie Debruijn (39:24.0) and Guillaume Desaulniers (47:44.6).
In the male Junior Sprint, Nicholas Hooper finished first (1:23:57.2), Jean-Pierre Bourque was second (1:25:15.9) and Brendan Maguire was third (1:26:15.7). In the female Junior Sprint, Amaia Ervin-Arambarri was first (1:15:04.6), Mercy Trinh was second (1:21:29.5) and Holly Moores was third (1:25:42.1). The Junior categories featured racers who were 16-19 years old.
The FlaminGOs, made up of Graeme Gordon, Kyle Skogen and Allan Ellingsgaard, were the top team in the Relay race with a time of 1:08:43.1.
There were also Kids of Steel events on Saturday for children between five and 15. The results of those races can be found at www.woodystriathlon.com.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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