Melmerby Triathlon sees most participants ever
Tight race between top female finishers in Olympic distance
A mere six seconds were in between Halifax’s Micheline McWhirter and Christa Hynes of New Glasgow for first female finisher in the Olympic distance at the Melmerby Triathlon on Sunday. McWhirter, who was competing in the local event for the first time, crossed the finish line with a time of 2:29:38, with Hynes on her heels at a time of 2:29:44. “If she had 100 more metres, she would’ve passed me. I was just very lucky today. I haven’t been doing much running, so it’s great to have that kind of competition,” McWhirter said after the race. They were close during the 10-kilometre run, gaining on McWhirter “especially during the second loop.” “When I saw her, I had to put the pace up.” Winds made the swim harder, with high swells making the buoys difficult to see, McWhirter said. Other than wind, the weather was perfect, in race director Terry Curley’s opinion. “Given the weather in N.S., we’ll take it. We’ve been here in torrential rain; we’ve been here when it’s 35 degrees and humid, so I think we’re pretty much bang on.” Ryan MacDonald of Greenhill was the first male to cross the finish line in the Olympic distance — 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run – with a time of 2:08:57. This was his second time competing in the local event, only starting triathlon last summer. He has been cycling competitively for a number of years, he said, so he focused on his swim and run. “I was really happy. My biggest goal was to improve on my swim, so I wanted to be first out of the water and pretty tough conditions and I managed to get it so I was happy, and then just grinding it out, kept going, kept pushing. I was really happy.” He trains six days a week, with hours and distances varying. “We got a great group over at Pictou County Cycle. We train together on Wednesdays and weekends. We motivate each other. It’s great.”
Later this summer, he plans to enter an Ironman competition in Maine. The event saw its most participants ever with 170 people. “It’s a great testament I think to our volunteers and to our community and to our events,” Curley said. McWhirter said Curley was what brought her to the event, noting she does the Johnny Miles half-marathon “basically every year.” “Terry is amazing and he’s always doing great stuff for the community,” McWhirter, who took part in the 2016 Oklahoma ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships, said. Curley noted more than 60 of those triathletes were local, with the rest coming from areas such as Halifax, P.E.I., New Brunswick and people jumping in on the competition while travelling from places like Ontario and out west. The sprint division sees the most people sign up, Curley said, as it’s possible to do “without a whole lot of training.” That distance features a 750metre swim, 23K bike ride, and a 5K run. Curley praised all of the volunteers, noting they had approximately 150 people helping with the event over the weekend. “These things don’t just happen,” he said, adding that people were setting up all day yesterday and as early as 3:30 a.m. on Sunday to put out road signs.