Solstice Triathlon

By Dev Letendre, XTERRA representative

(La Grande, OR – June 18, 2005) “Giant footsteps are what you take, walking on the moon ...” Sorry, I get thinking about XTERRA, and The Police come to mind. With “SUICIDE HILL” a part of the annual Solstice Triathlon bike course, Sting’s line “I hope I don’t break my leg, walking on the moon” seems apropos. The 4th annual Solstice Triathlon in La Grande, OR was a few days early of the long day, but I suppose we have Pope Gregory XIII to thank for that.

Bluebird skies and a mirror calm Lake Morgan greeted the anxious athletes as they arrived at the beautiful state park. This would be ironic foreshadowing, shortly after the gun went off to start the race the shadows started coming in from the west. Afternoon thunderstorms arrived ahead of schedule, bringing dark clouds, lots of rain, and plummeting temperatures. If you weren’t sure of Suicide Hill before, there's nothing like an inch of rain to make it more interesting.

Jason Jablonski (NW 30-34) set the pace for the 1000-meter swim in Lake Morgan’s 54-degree water, with David Cloninger (NW 35-39) right behind him and Brandyn Roark-Gray (NW 25-29), defending Northwest regional champ, coming out of the water in the third position, though not for long. Roark-Gray, using her championship experience, transitioned out of her wetsuit quickly enough to be the first athlete on the bike course with almost a minute lead on the fellas. Jason’s swim time was 15:17, David’s 15:20, with Brandyn coming it at 15:22.

By the time the bulk of athletes were on the infamous Solstice bike course the rain was coming down in a manner suitable for your northwest mental map. I think La Grande received its 16 inches of annual precipitation on this day. The relay team of Elizabeth Esser, Kelly Magelky, and Karlee Chadwick were the first to cross the finish line, but it was Jason Jablonski enjoying the thunder, lightening and plummeting temperatures, he came in from the bike course without blood on his body (a rarity on this day). Nate Simonson (SW 25-29) made good time on his bike moving into second position after the bike with Damian Gonzales (SW 25-29) moving into third. The bike course at Solstice is what draws people to La Grande. Course artist, James Hasse, was back this year (he took last year off to climb Denali) and the course was flawless and the athletes raved about it.

Jason would make light work of the 10-K run course filled with shoe-size rocks and divets winning the 4th annual Solstice with a time of 2:27:14. Damian Gonzales would catch Nate on the run and put time on David Cloninger to finish second, with a time of 2:36:20. David Cloninger would move into third before the race was over and finish with 2:36:34.

Defening regional champion, Brandyn Roark-Gray was led the women's race all the way, taking the division overall prize with a time of 3:15:19, which was just enough to hold off an attacking Lori Harvey (NW 35-39), and Kathy Morrell (NW 40-44). Co-race director Mary Ellen LaBerge was back in the race after a year hiatus to replace one of her hips, and she was nothing but smiles after the race (even happier when she decided to move the awards ceremony to Benchwarmers in downtown LaGrande (note: emphasis on warmers).

Each year this race gets better, and each year this race gets more athletes. Folks, the word is out about this race. The course is gorgeous and very challenging (if you are into that) and the family of race directors are extremely friendly, and where else are you going to get handcrafted ceramic trophies. Come next year, you won’t regret it.

A big shout out to all the volunteers who braved the rain, wind, and cold (while huddling under my tent and keeping me warm), especially to the gentleman who barbecued through the entire storm to keep the athletes fed with warm burgers (picture the chamber orchestra on the deck of the Titanic) he should get the spirit award. See you next year.

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