The annual Ontario Women's Triathlon (OWT) was held on Sunday, Aug 24 -
Along with new organizers, there were some big changes to the OWT race this year and I have to admit, I felt the entire event got off to a bad start right from the beginning compared to the previous years I’ve done this race (2012, 2013). Firstly, they changed the entire course venue from the Kelso Park Conservation Area (which I really liked) to the Kelso Quarry. I found the Quarry was an ugly site, with less pre/post race activities for spectators and racers to enjoy afterwards (e.g. soft grass, picnic areas, good swimming sites, restrooms). It was a very barren and empty site, unappealing to say the least.
The quarry lake failed its water quality testing, and with the high levels of bacteria the organizers had to cancel the swim portion of the triathlon, which left the racers forced to compete in a modified duathlon format. What was supposed to be a 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run, was now a 2km run, 23km bike, 4.5km run. Most racers were disappointed with the last minute swim cancellation, myself included, but one can’t argue with the water quality tests.
I was also surprised that the transition zone was placed on one side of the huge, rough, coarse-gravel parking lot, and the bike mount/dismount line on the other side. Racers had to run with their bikes and cleats for about 300m over a very rough parking lot before they could rack/mount/dismount their bikes. Not ideal. In addition, the mount line was at the bottom of a very steep hill which you had to climb up from a cold dead start position.
Last year the bike route was a 20km mostly flat with some rolling hills, but this year the course was one of the most hilly routes I’ve ever raced on, which I wasn’t fully prepared for. Looking at the chip timing results (http://chiptimeresults.com/results/) for the bike course, the times ranged from 50min to 1h30min, which shows how much longer it took to complete than the previous course which had times ranging from 36min to 1h17min (http://chiptimeresults.com/resultsreader.php?y=2013&r=womiltonT.htm). It took about 15min extra to complete the bike portion this year.
There were even some novice cyclists that were passing on the RIGHT while others were passing on the LEFT which was incredibly reckless and almost caused several accidents. I was not impressed with the instruction that was given to the new riders to promote course safety. The four loops of the road cycling route lead to a congested bike course and I was surprised nobody crashed or was seriously hurt after the route got crowded when the waves began to overlap at the later stages. I won’t even comment on the issues with illegal drafting. A short course like this should have been more spread out, with only 1 or 2 laps preferably.
The run on this course was more of a trail run on an uneven surface lapping the quarry lake, with each lap ~2km in distance. I don’t mind trail running, but it is a little more challenging due to the uneven surface (more like ATV tracks with some muddy portions and grassy raised divisions in between). This was definitely different than the paved path the OWT course had in Kelso Park in previous years, hence pace times were also a little slower accordingly.
In the end, my race times were: 2km run (9:38), T1 + 23km bike + T2 (1:02:17), 4.5km run (22:57), for a finish time of 1:34:51. I should also note here that I don’t like how the chip timing lumps the transition zone times into the cycling time. I like to know my specific transition times, as it helps me review my race components better for future self-improvement.
Overall, I placed 5th in my age group (F30-39), which is still an improvement over last year, when I finished 6th in my age group. So that’s a small victory there, all things considered. My second top 5 finish of this season, after MultiSport Canada’s Belwood triathlon.
On the positive side, the OWT organizers did have some nice race sponsors and decent goody bags at the end for the racers, which included snacks, t-shirts and finishers medals. There were also several prize draws at the end which was nice. I won a bottle of vodka, as well as a copy of Daniels’ Running Formula, which was a pretty sweet addition to my trainers library. I’ll try to enjoy them separately ;) The event also raised funds for the charity Girls Inc., which is always nice to help the local community, in particular empowering girls in sport.
Looking back on this event, I did not really enjoy this course when I compare it to the others I’ve done. If the event organizers keep the race at the Quarry site next year I do not think I’ll be returning for this event again. I’ll be more likely to consider competing in the OWT in the future if they return to their previous course at the Kelso Park Conservation Area.
That being said, I’d still like to tip my hat to all the ladies that stuck with it and completed the race under less than ideal circumstances. So cheers to that. Hopefully we’ll have a better time next year.
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