Male competitors splash off during the start of the Tinman Triathlon.
The Mount Shasta Tinman Triathlon at Lake Siskiyou has a lot going for it — gorgeous setting, friendly people and an excellent course that’s short enough to tempt even non-hardcore endurance athletes to give it a try.
Some 330 people participated on Sunday, the 29th year of the event. The course features a 740-yard swim in Lake Siskiyou, a 10-mile bike ride and a 4.5-mile run.
Trevor Nelson prepares for the start of the race.
Redding’s Trevor Nelson, who won last year’s event, finished second in 1 hour, 4 minutes, 37 seconds. Igo’s Michelle Hannaford, also a past winner, was second in the women’s field, finishing in 1 hour, 14 minutes, 9 seconds.
Jack Calhoun of San Francisco won the event in a blistering 1:03:39. Joe Blanchard of Mount Shasta took third in 1:07:47.
The female winner was Joanne Gilchrist of Chico in 1:12:59. Redding’s Luanne Park was third in 1:14:32. The 50-year-old Park has competed in the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon and won many ultra distance events during her career.
Igo’s Michelle Hannaford takes off on the run portion of the race.
The beautiful weather produced the best finish times since the 2006 event. For a full list of the results, click here.
Nelson trailed Calhoun by about a minute after the swim, but closed the gap on the bike section.
“He beat me on the run, that’s just not supposed to happen,” said a grinning Nelson after the race. The uber-fit Nelson is also a veteran of endurance running events.
First place in the team category was Bedazzled Unicorns from Palo Alto. The Unicorns (Kevin Carlberg, Alla Agafonov, and Carolyn Wong) finished in 1:10:50.
This year’s race was dedicated to Lor Porciuncula Jarin, a 51-year-old man from Alameda, who died in last year’s event.
The family-friendly event, put on by Rotary Club of Dunsmuir, takes place under the backdrop of beautiful Mt. Shasta.
“There seems to be this friendly rivalry between (participants from) Chico and Redding,” said event organizer Will Newman. “That’s really nice, since both cities are such big supporters of the race.”
Jim Dyar is a news, arts and entertainment journalist for A News Cafe and the former arts and entertainment editor for the Record Searchlight’s D.A.T.E. section. Jim is also a songwriter and leader of the Jim Dyar Band. He lives in Redding. E-mail him at jimd.anewscafe@gmail.com.
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