 |
| Contributed photo/Dave Allen Graphics The father-daughter combination of Rob and Ginger Kieffer of Caribou swim stroke for stroke during their first leg of Tri Aroostook, held Saturday, June 29 in Presque Isle. |
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
PRESQUE ISLE —Tri Aroostook, headquartered at the University of Maine at Presque Isle and held June 29, featured a wide range of competitors.
There were the serious athletes, including Shawn Berry of Caribou and Sarah Gahagan of Presque Isle, who were able to defend their titles from 2012 in relatively easy fashion.
Then there were people like Nate Berry and Frank Bemis of Presque Isle have been training for awhile and either wanted to “beat their buddies” or see how their times compared to last year’s inaugural event.
Some others used the triathlon to foster camaraderie, including co-workers Gregg Collins and Jacob Michaud of Caribou and Emerson Wright of Presque Isle, S.W. Collins’ employees who formed a relay team just as registrations were closing. It made sense, as Collins is a competitive cyclist, Michaud did some swim training as a member of the Husson University cross country team and Wright is a former Presque Isle High School and UM-Presque Isle cross country runner.
No matter what the reasons were for competing, a great majority of those participating appeared glad that they did, and that it what race director Jonathan Kelley says it’s all about.
“To see people come across the finish line with their smiles, and seeing family and friends greeting them, that’s it for me,” Kelley said. “To swim, bike and run any distance is an accomplishment, and for a lot of people, this is their ironman triathlon and that is fabulous.”
Tri Aroostook consists of a 525-yard swim in the Gentile Hall pool, a 10.25-mile bike course which takes riders onto the Houlton Road then connecting them to the Spragueville and Chapman roads back to the university, and finally a 3.1-mile run in the fields and trails next to the campus.
Kelley said that 132 registered for Saturday’s race, with approximately 122 actually showing up. The number of registrants marked nearly a 50-percent increase from last year.
Kelley said there were also increases in racers from downstate and across the board, noting that there was a strong contingent from the Kittery area, Portland, Old Town and New Brunswick, Canada.
 |
| Contributed photo/Dave Allen Graphics Sarah Gahagan and Shawn Berry share a laugh after finishing the Tri Aroostook, held in Presque Isle June 29. Gahagan and Berry were able to defend their championships. |
Thirty nine females and 32 males completed all three stage of the triathlon by themselves, while 20 relay teams also took part.
Shawn Berry’s time of 56 minutes and 25.2 seconds was just under five minutes faster than runner-up Matt Cote of Mapleton in the men’s race, while Gahagan, at 1:06:39, was almost six minutes faster than Tracy Guerrette of St. Agatha in the women’s race.
For Berry, who has competed in multiple triathlons over the past several years, they never get easier.
“Just when you think you get used to it, it still hurts every time,” he said, “but I felt stronger this year than last.”
He said where it usually takes him “four or five laps” to warm up in the pool, this year he got his rhythm just two or three laps in.
“I also had good, quick transitions and the cooler temperatures really seemed to help out,” he added.
Berry’s splits were 7:17.3 with the swim, which was the second fastest on the day; 28:55.1 on the bike, which was the fastest time; and 20:12.7 in the run, also the second fastest.
It didn’t go quite as smoothly for Gahagan, who ran into difficulty with cramps at the beginning of the run but persevered.
“I thought I was done … it was pretty excruciating,” Gahagan said. “Every step hurt and the downhills were really bad, but I just kept repeating, ‘keep the pace, don’t give up, to God be the strength and to God be the glory.’”
Her splits were 9:19.7 with the swim, 33:25.2 on the bike and 23:54.1 in the run.
The winning relay team was Pine Tree Legal, which consisted of swimmer Alexis Coiley, cyclist Stephen Higgins and runner Jeff Ashby. Their time was 1:01:32. They defeated the S.W. Collins trio, who came in at 1:04:56.
Al Condon of Presque Isle was part of a three-generational group of family members who relished the chance to spend time with his granddaughters.
He handled the cycling stage, while one of his granddaughters, Rachel Condon of Yarmouth, did the swim and another, Tessa Condon of Bangor, was the runner.
“My granddaughters and I really seem to bond when we are doing stuff like this,” Al Condon said. “Presque Isle is fortunate to have an event like this offered right here, with people putting the effort out to volunteer. It’s just one more way for the community to get out and participate.”
