It’s an event that prides itself on being hard. Really hard. Whatever your normal Ironman time might be (yes, we know that “normal” and Ironman don’t typically go in the same sentence), you can add a two to three hours to it when it comes to getting across the line at the Canada Man/Woman Xtreme triathlon in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. With over 2,500 m of climbing on the bike and another 1,200 m on the run (much of which comes in the last 12 km or so as you summit Mont-Megantic), the race is hardly for the feint of heart.
This year’s race moved to a new date in early October and, contrary to what we all anticipated, the water temperature wasn’t too bad – it was the air temperature that took a sudden dive, forcing organizers to half the distance of the swims for the full Xtri race (the swim was 2 km) and for the Solo .5 (the swim was 1 km).
Speaking of the Solo .5, that was won by the two people who won last year’s Canada Man/ Woman Xtri race – Chris Cheeseman for the men and Lynda Gingras for the women.
Here are photos from today’s racing:
Staying calm before the horn goes off to start the 2 km swim in the dark.They’re off – the Xtri athletes head off into the 15-degree celsius water.The Xtri athletes had to do two laps in the like.The water temperature was 15 C – the air temperature was more like 5.Athletes were keen to get from the beach to T1 …Matt Gervais exits the water.Samuel Cote led early on the bike and would never relinquish his lead.Jason Bjur from Chelmsford, Mass., USA looks serious as he finishes the first 50 km of the bike.Elyse Latimer, a former competitive swimmer, would lead pretty much from the star of the race,.One of the many tough climbs on the course. That’s Lac Drolet in the background.Caitlin Port would eventually finish in third place.Another … OK, there are lots of tough climbers on this course.But there were some fans to help with the motivation to get up them.In the background is Mont-Megantic – where the run will finish.Michelle Collins, from Montreal, is all smiles as she enjoys one of the spectacular views on the run course.Louis Blaquiere, from Montreal, gets to the finish of the Solo .5 race at the top of Mont-Megantic.Samuel Cote doesn’t have time for the view – he’s looking for the win.Raphael Fontaine stays focussed through the trails.All smiles – there’s a great view an “only” about 7 km to go.Windsor, Ont., Canada’s super-couple – Blaire Kniaziew and Matt Gervais are many-time world championship competitors. Blaire will race at the Chicago Marathon next weekend after serving as Matt’s support person for today’s race.Time to get back to the task at hand!Latimer is all smiles as she takes the win and runs through the finish line with some company.We profiled Rob McLean yesterday. The Windsor, Ont., Canada athlete finished his 10th Xtri race today.
