Saturday, July 8, 2000 -- Parkersburg, WV
3rd Annual Mid-Ohio Valley Triathlon
Story and photos by Julie Bertsch

[Details] [Coverage]
[Overall Results] [Results by Class]
Pictures: [Set 1] [Set 2] [Set 3] [Set 4] [Set 5]

The Novice & Advanced classes take off at the start

The 2000 Mid-Ohio Valley Triathlon came back with a vengeance. With some major course changes, and an Extreme Torture Challenge from H-E-"double hockey sticks", it's no wonder that the participant numbers nearly doubled this year. It was a stellar day to be on the ferry boat to Blennerhassett Island where the race was taking place. This year, the new course through the woods was waiting on the other side of the Ohio River with singletrack laced with log-jumps, and running trails that made racers sweat by the bucket load. Race Director/ Organizer Kim Clancy was ready to race, right after the racer's meeting.

John Haight runs hard to keep an edge in the Torture Challenge

The Extreme Torture Challenge...
was a 6 Mile Run on gravel, fields, and through the woods uphill and down. Then the racers hopped on their bikes to ride 10 miles of the same track as the run. After all that, they had to hop in their boats and paddle from the island, 8 miles upstream to the Adventure Pursuit boat house.

Leading the pack well into the run was John Haight, who used his incredible running and biking skills to get the edge ahead. He battled for the lead from the island to the boat house to finish 1st with a great time of 3:34.38. Haight chose to take home the Grand Prize, a Perception Sierra Kayak. "This is the fourth one he's won!" said his wife.

Putting up one heck of a fight after falling behind in the run & bike section was newcomer Tim Daly(3:41.04). Placing 1st in the Sport Male class soloing at Captain Thurmond's Mtn Triathlon, Daly used his excellent paddling skills to pass up Joe Wharton & Kevin Fletcher to "sail away" with 2nd place. Taking 3rd was last year's winner Joe Wharton(3:41.12), who finished just 8 seconds behind Daly!
The only female who dared to accept the extreme challenge was Jodi Park who finished the race in 4:49.09.

The Extreme Team winners were Last Minute - Vaunce Golden, Paul Ostrowski, & Dan Fowler who swept 1st in 4:03.07.

Log hoppin' in the island jungle

The Advanced Story...
is an interesting one to tell. This was a 3 Mile Run, 5 Mile Bike trek with singletrack, and a 2 Mile flat water paddle back to Point Park. Tearing up the course, finishing a 1/2 an hour ahead of her competition, and 2nd overall was Sarah Crandall. Crandall's super strong MTB, and running times helped her rock the house with a time of 1:31.22. Tracy Summers (2:01.43), had a 4 minute lead on Lynda Dunham(2:05.32) to take 2nd for the ladies with Dunham finishing a very honorable 3rd.

An enthusiastic Joel Rodgers(1:24.17), cruised to the front and finished first for the men. Greg Carden(1:31.45), stayed some boat lengths ahead of Jonathan Wilson(1:33.21) to clench the 2nd place spot.

The Advanced Teams to place were male team "Shakers & Bakers"(1:36.02) - Colt Wynn, Brian Woodyard, Derich Reynolds, and female team "Team Alpharma" (1:41.48) - T.J. Ware, Stacey Waugh, & Melanie Leenhouts.

Lynda Dunham fights her way through the trail

The Novice Side of the Island...
was the same as all of the other courses, but the Run was 1 Mile, with a 3 mile Bike ride, and a 2 Mile paddle. Lowell Warden set fast pace and finished 1st with a great time of 58:54. Keith Maye(59:02), took 2nd with Lowell Warden Jr. paddling in at 3rd with a time of 1:12.10.

In the women's race for 1st, Diana Wilson(1:04.58) stayed 10 seconds ahead of Race Director Kim Clancy(1:14.04), to take the top spot. Clancy finished 2nd, and Robin Dunlop(1:31.14), came home with 3rd.

The "Mighty Moms" - Jill Carden, Nancy Young, & Kimberly Griffey, were the 1st Novice Team to cross the line in 1:08.07.

Jodi Park paddles hard to victory

The races proved to be a big success, and they were certainly more difficult than last year's. Adventure Pursuit hosted the post-race party, complete with fried chicken, and baked beans... All the healthy essentials that triathlon athletes look for after a long, hard race.

Check out the scoop and compare notes from the 1999 Mid-Ohio Triathlon.