Record-holder ready to rock at Ultra520K race
Dave Matheson is five years older – and the Penticton athlete believes that’s a good thing going into the 18th running of the Ultra520K triathlon Saturday to Monday in the South Okanagan and Similkameen Valley.
Matheson’s first and only venture into the three-day, ultra-endurance race in 2013 saw him win and set the overall and still-standing course record of 21 hours, 47 minutes and 47 seconds.
“I feel just as fit, if not more so, and I’ve got five more years’ racing experience,” reasoned the now 47-year-old. “I’ve put in the work and I’ve focused my entire season around this race. I’ve got a good feeling about it. It’s going to be a good weekend.”
And nobody knows the course better than Matheson, who has trained on it for years, and competed on large parts of it during the old Ironman Canada days.
Matheson also noted the course has been demanding during training this summer with “serious” prevailing headwinds on most days.
“I hope we get that this weekend because I’m ready for it,” declared Matheson. “Some of the others coming in won’t get a chance to even drive it. They’ll have elevation maps and other course info provided, but until you’ve actually trained or raced on it .…”
While Matheson is hoping to produce a similar time to 2013, he said he doesn’t put a lot of thought into times or records.
“It’s so dependent on weather and five years ago we had ideal conditions,” said Matheson. “The course has changed a bit since then, too. I just focus on the process, on each day, and let the results fall where they may. But I am confident and I’ve got a great crew to support me out there.”
Race director Steve Brown pegged Matheson and long-time triathlon sensation Arnaud Selukon of France to battle for the overall title this long weekend.
Selukon, 49, won the 2016 Ultra520K in Australia and finished third in the World Championships in Hawaii in 2017.
“You never know who might emerge but it sounds from what Steve says that it might be a small race within the race,” said Matheson. “If that’s the case, it will be great to having someone pushing me, or vice-versa. It’s going to be a fast and fun weekend.”
Matheson actually had to come from just over seven minutes behind on the 84.4 km doublemarathon run on the third and final day in 2013, arriving at the finish line at Memorial Park in Summerland in a blistering run time of 7:04:13.
“I’ve got to pace myself to a degree and save (the run) as a weapon if I’m behind a bit or even trying to hold on to a lead,” said Matheson.
He said Day 1 is similar to the old Ironman course with the firststage 149.8 cycling segment going over the old Richter Pass. The event starts with a 10 km swim on Skaha Lake.
Day 2 is the second-stage bike of 274.2 km.
“It’s more the distance that’s so challenging,” said Matheson. “The course itself is pretty flat aside from the climb at Twin Lakes.”
While Selukon has a long list of conquests at the Iron distance, Matheson is no slouch either. Since winning Ultra520K here, he won the amateur division race at Challenge Penticton in 2015, competed twice at the world championships in Hawaii in 2014 and 2017 and also did Challenge Roth in Germany.
Matheson also maintains a demanding training schedule.
“I do have a bit of an off-season but I train the year-round,” said Matheson. “I’ve got a good base to prepare for a race as tough as this.”
Matheson and everyone else associated with the race were heartened to wake up to blue skies on Wednesday. Smoke from forest fires in the region had shrouded the skies in recent days and brought plenty of grey ash fluttering to the ground.
“Hopefully it stays clear but to be honest it doesn’t affect me a lot,” said Matheson. “No problem with the breathing at all, but just the eyes and nose burning a bit.”
Matheson said he decided to sign up this year after getting his crew on board early. Returning from 2013 are his wife, Tina, crew captain Gary Scatchard, and Myles and Katherine Gaulin. Chris Neenan is now serving as his swim escort.
“That was a huge key for me to have them committed before I even registered,” said Matheson.
He said taking part in the race is a big commitment, but doesn’t rule out doing it again in the future.
“You never say never,” said Matheson, noting he has several more good years of competitive racing left in him. “Who knows … maybe we’ll do it again in five years.”
There are 32 athletes (12 women, 20 men) hailing from nine different countries competing this year. Nine of the athletes are returning to the race for at least a second time.
Another local competing for the first time is 38-year-old Tony Buckingham, who hails from New Zealand and completed Ironman Canada and Ironman New Zealand.
“We’ve got some real good athletes in the field who have produced some strong Iron-distance times,” said Brown. “Obviously ultra-distance is a bit of a different challenge.”
This year’s event will be dedicated to the memory of Penticton’s Bruce Schoenne who recently passed away after a battle with liver cancer.
Schoenne twice participated in the event and was a big supporter and part of the videography crew for the last few years. Athletes will be asked to wear arm bands in Bruce’s memory during the race, which is co-sponsored by Ride to Survive, one of Bruce’s favourite charities and one in which he participated for a number of years.
In addition to spectator-friendly vantage points on the course, the event can be followed on Facebook Live with streaming from all the finish areas.
To learn more, visit www.ultra520kcanada.com or contact Brown at (250) 809-1798.