As impressive as the inaugural First Capital Triathlon was a year ago, the 2013 triathlon was even more impressive with the increased amount of participants.
The Chamber of Commerce and YMCA partnered up again to host the event as athletes got their morning started at 7 a.m. with a swim, bike ride and a run.
The event, held at Guthrie Lake, brought in 220 athletes from all over the state with a few coming from Texas, including former City Manager Matt Mueller, who a year ago was instrumental in getting the event going forward.
The overall male winner was Norman’s 42-year-old Christian Ballard with a time of 1:04.05. The first female to cross the line was Stephanie Lundeby, of Altus, who set the course record in 1:06.10 in the overall female race.
The athletes took off into the lake and swam 500 meters which is about the equivalent of five-and-a-half football fields. The runners exited at the boat dock and quickly made it to the transition area to their bicycles.
On the bike, each competitor went 12.5 miles beginning on Lake Road and winding their way down Coltrane Road to Seward Road, that included the rolling hills, before turning around at the intersection of Forrest Hills and Douglas (area of Lazy E) and returning back to the lake.
From there, the athletes made the transition from bike to run. Each runner made their way down Lake Road to Triplett and eventually turning around at Sooner Road to head down the stretch run of the 5K (3.1 miles) race and crossing the finish line at Guthrie Lake.
“I can’t thank the City of Guthrie, Guthrie Police Dept.,YMCA and the Logan County Sheriff Dept. enough. There is no way we could have pulled it off without their help,” Mary Coffin with the Chamber of Commerce said.
Be the first to comment on "Ballard, Lundeby win Guthrie’s First Capital Triathlon"