Everybody is a
winner at the Beaton Classic
2018-08-14
by
Randy Pascal
There's a pretty good chance that the sprint
to the finish that highlighted the 2018 edition of the
Beaton Classic would make this year's event the most closely
contested in the history of the Sudbury summer quadrathlon.
And while Chucky's Extra
Lappers would edge StarRacing by the slimmest of margins,
runners James Larmer and Mike Banks, and teammates Tamara
Flannigan, Charles Dumas, John Larmer and Buddy Green
were all winners in the end.
In fact, it would be safe
to say that every single one of the one hundred or so
competitors who took full advantage of an absolutely glorious
day at Moonlight Beach, were very much winners in their
own right.
Back to the finish, for a
moment.
Yes, there was an incredible
dash to the finish line, as Larmer edged out Banks over
the course of the final few metres, becoming the first
team of any kind to cross the line on Sunday, both squads
breaking the two hour barrier with impressive performances.
But since the Chucky's foursome
(Flannigan, Dumas, Larmer, Larmer) were competing in the
Men's Four bracket while the duo of Banks and Green were
part of the Men's Pairs division, all involved could lay
claim, legitimately, to a first place finish.
Back with the exact same
team that placed second in the Men's Four in 2017, Flannigan
was thankful for the co-operation of Mother Nature, as
she continues to enjoy a very natural off-shoot of her
athletic youth background.
“I hadn't really been
training a lot, but it was a perfect day, perfect conditions
for the swim,” said the 42 year-old Beaton regular.
“It was awesome. I was a competitive pool swimmer
for twenty years. I started getting into triathlons and
open water swimming after that, getting out of the four
walls of a pool, and I loved it.”
“I transitioned very
easily – I probably should have been doing open
water swimming over pool swimming for years.” Like
Flannigan, Green has been a race mainstay for years, enjoying
the versatility that comes with having multiple contacts
across all four sporting disciplines – swim, cycle,
canoe and the run.
“I've known Mike for
a couple of years now and he was looking particularly
for someone to swim for him,” said Green, now 32
years of age. “We just decided that I would do the
canoe, too, that we would split it up evenly. It's fun
to mix it up and do different events and do them with
different people. I think that's part of what the Fitness
Challenge is all about.”
Another competitive swimmer
in his youth with the Sudbury Laurentian Swim Club, Green
also competed regularly in the triathlon circuit, both
provincially and nationally, in his late teens and early
twenties. Now settled down and accompanying his eight
year old son Hudson – a burgeoning multi-sport athlete,
in his own right – to countless events has allowed
Green to enjoy a somewhat different perspective when it
comes to his own personal involvement.
“You have to take into
account exactly where you are at in life,” he said.
“You know that you are not training like you used
to, and you can't put pressure on yourself to be as fast
as you used to be. You do it more for fun, and push yourself
on the day. You get in what you can, now, with work and
family commitments.”
And you wait anxiously for
the day when the synergies begin to arrive. “It's
definitely one thing I am looking forward to, one day
being able to pair up with him (Hudson) and do something
like this.” First time Men's Solo winner Clinton
Lahnalampi, one of a handful of regular competitors in
that grueling divisional challenge, can also appreciate
tackling his training regimen through the lens that is
a busy family.
“The kids are getting
a bit older,” said the father of two (Josh-6, Alexander-9).
“I'm still doing stuff with them, but I do get to
do a little bit more swimming while they're swimming.
I don't get to train as much as when I was doing the Ironman
distance, but my eating habits are a lot better.”
Lahnalampi finished just
over a minute ahead of high-school teacher Kerry Abols,
building on the lessons learned over time, most notably
in the 2017 race when he placed fourth behind Todd Withers,
Colin Ward and Jordan Hotta. “With the Beaton Classic,
experience comes into play, big time,” said the
39 year-old athlete.
“Last year, off the
canoe, I just floundered on the run. This year, I swam
a lot more, so that my upper body was not nearly as tired
when I got to the canoe. That way, I wasn't “kapput”
when I was done the canoe.”
The race in the Women's Solo
grouping mirrored the 2017 showdown, though this time
around, Sara McIlraith would expand a four minute lead
over Monika Haring, built initially on the canoe, pulling
away over the course of the eight kilometer run and capturing
the event for an seventh time.
Following is a cross-section
of results from the event:
Men's Solo
1 – Clinton Lahnalampi – 2:10:00
2 – Kerry Abols – 2:11:10
3 – Joe Lonsdale – 2:14:47
4 – Josh Tillson – 2:18:55
5 – Dan Whalen – 2:24:49
6 – Todd Withers – 2:28:15
7 – Marc Larochelle – 2:29:38
8 – Kristian Bischoff – 2:33:28
9 – Steve Matusch – 2:36:34
10 – Steve Hopkins – 2:43:36
11 – Andrew Allard – 2:48:34
12 – Daren Kleven – 2:49:04
Women's Solo
1 – Sara McIlraith – 2:17:57
2 – Monika Haring – 2:29:29
3 – Kristin Zazelench – 2:52:39
4 – Nicole Graham – 3:12:09
Men's Pairs: Buddy Green/Mike
Banks – 1:56:42
Women's Pairs: Sara Pilbacka/Lisa
Goudreau – 3:10:53
Mixed Pairs: Emmanuelle Faulkner/Jeremy
Faulkner – 2:12:28
Men's Four: Tamara Flannigan/Charles
Dumas/John Larmer/James Larmer – 1:56:41
Women's Four: Isabelle Mastroianni/Alison
Caswell/Michelle Munro/Lucia Salmaso – 2:20:46
Mixed Four: Sylvia Donato/Debbie
Smith/Randy Donato/Robert Masih – 2:19:27
All
Beaton Classic Results Here
All
Dairy Queen Kids Tri Results Here
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