Cane Creek Off road Triathlon

By Chris Cusimano and Brent Hamrick – XTERRA Representatives

(Cane Creek Off-Road Triathlon Post Race story - Waxhaw, NC – May 14, 2005)
The Cane Creek Off-Road Triathlon was the second installment of the Southeast Region 2005 schedule, and is a new addition to the XTERRA family! The usual cast of characters in the Southeast welcomed it: Craig Evans, Casey Fannin, and Audie Smith as well as quite a few newbies.

The course was fast start to finish. The two-loop swim was long for a point series race at .9 miles, and it was the end of the dynasty of undefeated XTERRA swim star - Craig Evans. James Lascara was first out of the water with a time of 21:23, edging Craig by 11seconds! The long swim definitely spread the field and was great fun to watch from the elevated transition area. Lynn Jauch back stroked her way to the beach in her first triathlon ever with the encouragement of her husband and five children-who had hand-made congratulation cards for her at the finish line!
Allison Hardy led the women from the water with a swim time of 25:15, and was first into the woods.

After the swim, everyone was greeted with fourteen miles of mostly smooth single and double track. The course was rolling. Although they were there, you barely noticed the climbs. It seemed to be all down hill and fast! The midnight rain made some mud spots, but most was tacky smooth. The three loop set up created some spectator excitement with the racers flying through the transition area to have their numbers marked.

The four-mile run covered some of the same course as the bike. The last few hundred meters were out in an open field so everyone could see the finishers coming. The finish line and timing by Setup Inc. was great!

Post race festivities featured some of the best food I can remember at a race. Chicken and penne pasta in a rosato sauce, freshly made roasted red pepper puree', home made hummus, and Greco / Italian pasta salad were enjoyed by all. Many thanks to ILIO NOCHE!

Craig Evans (27) got over his swim loss by taking the biking and run premiums with split times of 58:39 and 29:59 respectively, as well as the over all win with a time of 1:47:11. After departing 5th out of the water, Casey Fannin (44) made up some ground on the bike and on foot to take second overall with a time of 1:56:04, followed by Ian Davidson (50) with a time of 1:59:46 seconds.
Arden, North Carolina's Allison Hardy (32) took the women's overall with a total time of 2:08:53. Great job!

The Cane Creek Off-Road Triathlon was well supported by the local community, and exposed many athletes to XTERRA for the first time. Paul Bellin stated,
"I can see where this XTERRA series can get addictive." It goes to show that the XTERRA vibe was alive and well at Cane Creek Park!

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