Locals turn out for multi-sport event

The annual Sisters Athletic Club Try a Tri and Do a Du multi-sport events attracted a strong crowd of locals on Saturday, June 4.

On the men's side, the top six places went to athletes from the Sisters/Camp Sherman area. Unofficially, Josh Nordell took first place after storming into the lead in the running portion of the three-part triathlon, but afterwards it was determined that Nordell, in fact, was a bandit, who had not paid an entry fee and was temporarily pulled from the official results.

"Josh was the co-director of the race, but begged me to let him go ahead and compete," laughed Tate Metcalf. "I suppose we ought to give him credit for his victory after all, even if he didn't pay. We'll have to consider it a baby shower gift in honor of his newborn daughter."

Metcalf's humor represents that local, low-key nature of the event.

"We want to provide an entry-level triathlon that attracts locals who run, swim, and bike in the area," he said. "I think everyone pushed themselves, but had a good time along the way."

Nordell was timed in 1:01:00, followed by Aaron Edwards (1:02:19), Kevin Cotner (1:04:46), Colin Brooks (1:04:55), Greg Zadow (1:06:10) and Alan Dale (1:06:11).

Leah Schaab of Powell Butte broke up the male competitors with a ninth-place finish overall to lead all females with a time of 1:12:19. Sisters resident Mika Mast placed second among women (1:17:40), and Boo Hage of Bend finished third (1:18:12).

The triathlon included a 425-meter swim in the Sisters Athletic Club (SAC) pool, followed by a 12-mile bike ride up Three Creek Road and a 3.3-mile run adjacent to SAC.

A total of 43 individuals competed in the triathlon. The youngest was Natalie Marshall (13) and the most senior was Marcia Tripiano, who is 70.

Teams also competed in the triathlon with the team of Bryan Hicks, Michael Curry and Harrison Womack, winning in 1:03:54.

Marti Dale actually completed a "quadathlon" as she swam for her team, then jumped into the pool as an individual to begin her own triathlon. She finished in 1:37:55.

The duathlon portion of the event had fewer participants, but Metcalf expects it to grow over the years.

"Some people simply don't have the swimming experience, so this works out well for them," he said.

Thomas Womack took top honors in the duathlon, which included the 3.4-mile run, the same 12-mile bike ride, and a repeat of the run, finishing in 1:42:17. Aimee Metcalf finished first among females in 2:17:56, while Bryn and Ryan Singleton captured the team competition in 1:22:24, ahead of Jody Nelson and Jodi Ford, who finished in 1:42:56.

Next up for the Sisters Multi-Sport group is Charlie's Challenge on Sunday, June 19. More information is available at http://www.sistersmultisport.com and in The Nugget's Announcement Section.