Big Blue Off road Triathlon

By Jennifer Trapp, Points Series Assistant Manager

(Castaic, CA – April 9, 2005) Sunny Southern California started off a bit chilly and windy, but made way for a gorgeous day filled with exciting XTERRA Action! Just under 100 athletes made their way to Castaic Lake State Recreation Area on Saturday to take part in the first annual Big Blue Off-Road Triathlon. Athletes were thankful for the 10am start time – it gave them time to sleep in and it gave the sun some time to warm things up a bit.

Castaic Lake is a huge, beautiful lake and the athletes were lined up at the far end for a unique ‘M’ shaped swim. The wind was blowing pretty fierce and small white caps were out – but with wetsuits on and adrenaline pumping, the field was ready to go! Half way through the swim, the athletes exited on the shore, ran 100 feet, and got right back in to complete the ‘M’. Javier Gutierrez (30, Marina Del Ray, CA) was a good 30 seconds in front of the rest of the pack at this point in time – that boy could swim! He finished up with an 11:03, giving himself a nice cushion on returning XTERRA Pro, Mike Vine (31, BC, Canada) and Brett Wolf (18, San Clemente, CA) who came out of the water in 12:14 and 12:24 respectively. Third out of the water overall was Anneka Sakovich (30, Redondo Beach, CA) in 12:16. Way to go girl! Rebecca Nevitt (38, Los Angeles, CA) and XTERRA Pro Linda Gabor (34, West Bend, WI) rounded out the ladies top three with a 14:11 and 15:20.

Randi Grush told me pre-race that this course was the perfect mountain bike course – there are some that are more cross country, this one was a true MOUNTAIN bike course. In other words, you wound your way up the mountain, back down, back up another section, and back down. Then, you did the loop again. And from what I heard, it was tough, but it was awesome! Dirt, singletrack, some double track, lots of hill, and an amazing view! After being a minute behind from the swim, Mike Vine smoked the bike course in 1:11:16 – 8 minutes ahead of longtime XTERRAist Tom Lyons (43, Reno, NV – 1:19:47). Lake Sonoma ORT Race Director, Romolo Forcino (33, San Carlos, CA) was close behind with a 1:20:09.

Kicking it up a notch, Linda Gabor took off on the bike and came in with a 1:42:17 – 10 minutes ahead of the next female. Stacy Parmer (40, San Diego, CA) turned in a great performance as the top female amateur on the bike with a 1:51:35. Sarah McMahan (32, Incline Village, NV) rounded out the top three with a 1:52:14.

Fun singletrack – through tall grass, across a stream (a few times), and over dirt, sand, trees, and rocks – that was the two loop run course the athletes faced last. XTERRA Pro Thaddeus Reichley (30, Santa Monica, CA) came blazing through there with a 29:03. Mike Vine ran a 29:54, and Kristoffer Nielsen (26, Lebanon, NH) stepped up to the plate with a 32:52. Sarah McMahan picked up the pace even more with her run – coming in at 38:31. Erin Olafsen and Linda Gabor were close behind with 39:35 and 40:16 – tight race!

Well, after biking 8 minutes faster than anyone else – there was no stopping Mike Vine. He wowed the crowd and finished this tough course in 1:53:24. Tom Lyons took the second overall spot with a 2:07:36 – 14 minutes back. He said he saw Mike out on the course and Mike was just kickin’ it. With his speedy run, Thaddeus Reichley rounded out the top three with a 1:25:49. Congrats guys!

Linda Gabor also did an awesome job by posting a 2:37:53 to take the ladies overall title. Sarah McMahan finished second overall for the ladies – 1st amateur – in a 2:47:19. And Erin Olafsen, all the way from New Hampshire, showed off her skills by coming in at 2:52:09. Way to go Ladies!

I would like to extend a special congrats to Jeremy Ferguson (14, Rocklin, CA). Jeremy is gunning for a spot to Tahoe and has two races under his belt for the season. His parents are supporting him along the way – taking him to the events and cheering him on! It’s a little early to say anything – but currently, he is leading his age group in the South West Region and we will see what happens at the West Championship in Temecula where he will go next. Jeremy finished the day with a 3:01:24 – good luck with your goal!

A huge thank you goes out to the whole crowd at Seventh Wave Productions and the Big Blue Adventure Series. Todd Jackson and his whole crew – Maja, Lissa, Meg, Craig, Rich, and Bill (and I gotta add in Mike Vine, who he put to work the two days leading up to the race!) – all did an excellent job of making this great event happen! Thanks to the volunteers, the spectators, and most of all – to you, the athlete. You are why we do this and you make this great spirit of XTERRA come alive at each of the races.

See you all in two weeks in either Arizona (Arizona Xtreme Desert Triathlon) or Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Off-Road Triathlon) on April 24. This will be another sunny weekend of exciting racing. I can’t wait!

© 2013 TEAM Unlimited LLC