Triathlon

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The Rotary Club of South Ukiah held their 18^th Ukiah Triathlon on September 12, and was considered a great success.  370 participants raced across the three-part swim, bike, and run course.  All participants were winners who actually finished, no matter what their elapsed time was.  The event started at the Lake Mendocino south boat ramp with a ½ mile swim, continued on with a 21.7 mile bike course through Redwood Valley, and ended with a 3.1 mile run around the perimeter of Mendocino College.

The finish times of the triathletes at the first Ukiah Triathlon in 1992 sponsored by the Rotary Club of South Ukiah was measured using very basic timing equipment, with no split timing available.  This most recent event used state of the art timing equipment that gave the triathletes their elapsed times for each part of the event.  The triathletes are thankful for this new technology, which requires each participant to wear an electronic device that emits a unique signal on one of their ankles.  As the triathlete and the device passes by a sensor at each of the transition areas and the finish line, the time is recorded.

Safety and minimal complications for the triathletes are a priority for planning the event, and several features of the course have been changed in time for this most recent event.  The alignment of the buoys on the swim course have allowed participants to swim without being distracted by the rising sun; a new section of the run course has allowed runners to avoid the necessity of running down a dead-end loop and turning around; and a new steel bridge donated by the Skip Gibbs Company allows runners to safely cross a seasonal creek bed.  In addition to the 43 members of the Rotary Club of South Ukiah, over 60 individuals from the Ukiah area helped set up, monitor, and clean up after the event.

Several members of the Rotary Club of South Ukiah participated in the event.  Brent Clausen, a local stockbroker who is also in charge of the first transition at the lake, finished 55^th.  Salvador Rico, who owns a local auto repair shop, finished 198^th.  Darcie Antle, who is the manager of a local health care facility, participated as a swimmer with the Tri-Hard relay team.

The overall first place finisher of the event was local athlete Chad Raugewitz, with an elapsed time of a few seconds over one hour and 27 minutes.  Chad works at Ukiah High as a resource specialist teacher and cross country coach.  A resident of Ukiah for the last eight years, Chad has competed in 30 triathlons, including the Vineman and the Lakeport 101 series.  Chad won the event by one minute and 45 seconds over the second place winner, Kevin Bucholz.  The third place winner was Jon Moens with a time of 1:29:05.  These participants were also first-place finishers in their respective age groups.

One relay team, Cannon Pilates, with each of three participants completing one leg of the event, registered the fastest overall time of 1:25:11.  Local athlete and team member Mike Cannon finished the swim course in 8 minutes and 58 seconds then came straight to the finish line to announce the race with Dave Latourette, a Sonoma County resident.  Mike is a personal trainer in Ukiah.

The first woman to finish the race was Leslie Shaw, with a time of 1:34:47.  The next woman to finish was Karen Chequer-Pfeiffer with a time of 1:36:23.  Third was Lori Schutz at 1:40:01.  The youngest participant to finish was 10-year-old Theresa Nowack.  The oldest participant was 75-year-old Bert Murray.

 A large portion of the proceeds from the event are used locally to provide dictionaries to third graders in the Ukiah, Potter Valley, Hopland, and Boonville schools.  The Rotary Club of South Ukiah also provides scholarships to students graduating from Ukiah High School, and students transferring from Mendocino College to four year colleges and universities.  The Club is also helping charities and youth activities in the Ukiah area, as well as assisting third-world countries with clean water projects, educational facilities, and working to eliminate polio.  The club meets every Thursday morning at 7:00 am.  If you would like to attend a meeting, please call President Marta Sligh at 462-3555. 

Complete race results can be found on the internet at www.buzzwordproductions.com.