A day at the races: Sydenham's Triathlon

Jul 07, 2011

Photo: Richard Cadman and Scott Takala

It was another successful year as close to 500 participants converged on the point in Sydenham to take part in the Sydenham Tri/Du and Run. Once again, the weather cooperated and organizers made just one major change in the event - moving the turn around to the Point, instead of at Sydenham High School, which allowed for a smoother transition for the athletes. The course, designed by race director Richard Cadman and Scott and Marianne Takala of Sydenham, is proving to be a popular one in the area due to a very scenic and flat run along the Cataraqui trial, and a fast swim in the protected bay of Sydenham Lake.

Cadman says he sees no reason why the race is not here to stay. “We'd love to see it become a regular part of our annual calendar of events. And it benefits Sydenham since the event really showcases the town, which is great for tourism, and really helps make Sydenham a destination.”

It was no surprise that local multi-award winning triathlete, Scott Takala, who won third at the World’s in Australia in 2009 and first in 2008 in Vancouver, won the Sydenham event for the third consecutive year. He was the first to cross the finish line in the Olympic-length triathlon, which consisted of a 1500 metre swim, a 44km bike portion followed by a 10km run. He finished with an impressive time of 2:03:57.

After the race, Scott said that the heat, humidity and lack of wind had made for a very hot and difficult race. That plus the fact that he was feeling a bit sick prior to the race, led him to think that he wasn't going to take first place again this year. “Sometimes though, you can have your best race when you’re not feeling 100%. Racing is also very much a mental challenge, and thankfully nothing bad happened during the race to throw me off in that respect, which really helped. Most importantly is the fact that that I was again running in my home town with the local crowd cheering me on at every turn, which was a huge inspiration and a big help.”

Scott will be competing again in the K-Town race on the August long weekend, the Canadian Nationals in Kelowna on the third weekend in August, as well as for the Pan American Cup. Currently Scott is continuing to train as an athlete while working full time in Kingston as micro seismic analyst.