By Rachel Grier
Competitors will skate, ski and run their way through the ice and snow of Ottawa as part of this year’s Winterlude Triathlon.
On Feb. 5, the Winterlude Triathlon will celebrate its 23rd year as a part of the winter festival.
Rick Hellard, a triathlon coach and the event organizer, says the event is designed for Ottawa.
“You just can’t do this anywhere else,” he says.
Sheila Kealey, 40, is no stranger to the Winterlude Triathlon. She has won the women’s event seven times, and says she only missed the event when she was pregnant and when she moved away for a period of time.
“It’s a great event. It features all the neat things about Ottawa in the winter,” she says.
Starting at Dows Lake, participants skate eight km on the Rideau Canal, and then quickly change to cross-country ski in the Dominion Arboretum.
Depending on snow conditions, participants could ski up to seven km. Competitors run five km to the finish line over a snow-packed trail on the canal.
The triathlon has been held in all types of weather conditions and was only cancelled once, during the ice storm in 1998. Hellard says the event has been adjusted to a run-ski-run event when warm weather kept the canal from opening on time.
Brenda Oatway, a 46-year-old software developer, says she has done marathons in the past, but before entering the Winterlude Triathlon for the first time, she had to learn how to cross-country ski. It did not discourage her because this year will be her third time participating.
She says she has always found the triathlon to be more fun than an extreme challenge.
“It’s easy to encourage people to do it because all three distances are totally doable,” says Oatway. “Just give it a go.”
Kealey, who has participated in summer triathlons and is a member of the cross-country ski racing team, XC Ottawa, says the Winterlude triathlon would appeal to competitive athletes and those who just want to have a good time.
“I enter because it’s a fun event, but it’s a great competition too,” she says.
Whether competitive or recreational, Hellard says anybody above 14 can participate.
One man, who is now 72, has done every one of the past 22 triathlons. He is expected to be at this year’s 23rd triathlon, says Hellard.
About 275 people entered last year’s triathlon, which Hellard says was the most people to participate in years. He adds registration has been very steady and is hopeful to surpass last year’s numbers.
Interested athletes can enter up until the morning of the event.
“Everybody waits until the last minute to enter this event,” he says. “I’d like to break that 300- person barrier. That would be pretty cool.”
To train for the triathlon, Kealey says she has been focusing on cross-country skiing. She has skied in Canada Cup races, and says she tries to take advantage of her skiing strength during the triathlon.
“I’d like to stay as far ahead as possible in the ski section,” says Kealey.
Although Kealey has won the triathlon seven times, every great athlete has a weakness. She says that in the past, she often fell behind her competitors while skating down the canal.
Her goal was to become a stronger skater, but she says practice has now paid off and she was able to keep up the last few years she participated.
Hellard says participants should just get out and practice to prepare for the triathlon. He suggests by practicing small accelerations while skating, sharp left and right turns while skiing and building-up your running endurance to about seven kilometres.
Oatway runs year-round and teaches aerobics and spin classes to stay in shape. She says she will be training for the triathlon, but some people approach the race more casually.
“There are some people who go out there and just kind of wing it,” she says. “It’s really all just for bragging rights.”