Beaver Lake Triathlon readies for another year
August 6, 2008
By J.B. Wogan
When the time came to decide who would race what, 14-year-olds Hailey Theeuwen and David Jett both wanted the swim.
“They had to arm wrestle, let’s put it that way,” said Sharon Theeuwen, Hailey’s mother.
As of July, Theeuwen and Jett, rising freshmen at the Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus, were the youngest registered participants for the Beaver Lake Triathlon.
They will race in the team portion of the event, where one person swims, one bikes and one runs.
The Aug. 16 race involves a .25-mile swim, a 13.8-mile bike ride and a 4.3-mile run.
Both Theeuwen and Jett train as competitive swimmers for the Issaquah Sockeyes Swim Club.
Theeuwen swims the 100- and 200-meter events in the butterfly and backstroke, but at the Beaver Lake Triathlon, she will run, serving as the team’s anchor. Jett will swim, and Hailey’s father, Peter Theeuwen will bike.
Even though Hailey has agreed to race by foot, she said swimming is more pleasant.
“In the water you don’t really feel like your sweaty or hot. You feel more dehydrated (running) than when you’re in the water,” Hailey said.
The Theeuwens live on Beaver Lake and usually watch the race from their dock. This will be Hailey and Peter’s first time participating in the event.
Ben Bigglestone , last year’s overall winner in the men’s division, is also registered to return.
Bigglestone is a Newcastle resident who has been racing in triathlons for 19 years.
He moved to the United States from Leeds in the United Kingdom in 2005.
Last year, he finished the race in one hour, nine minutes and 37 seconds.
He also finished third in the 2007 Issaquah Sprint Triathlon in a time of 1:03:53.
“I’d like to see what I can do again this year. I made some navigational errors on the bike and some pacing errors on the big long stair-step climb,” Bigglestone said. “I’m not in quite the same shape as last year, but I should be able to put in a good showing.”
Bigglestone has raced in the Ironman in Kona, Hawaii twice and the Ironman in Penticton, British Columbia five times. Both races require a qualifying time to even enter the event.
This will be the second time Bigglestone has raced at Beaver Lake. He said he liked that it was so close to home.
“It’s always great to race against your peers and friends, to talk over your war stories from the race afterward,” Bigglestone said.
Now in its 15th year, the triathlon has a loyal following, said Sharon Freechtle, race director.
“We get the whole range of triathlete. The one thing that I think is special, you hear that the very experienced are helpful to the other ones,” she said. “People are really impressed at how warm and welcoming it is.”
Last year, 563 people registered for the race. The most it has ever received was about 700 in 2004.
“With our venue, we don’t like it getting way big,” she said.
Racers can register for the triathlon until Aug. 15, although there is a reduced price if they register by Aug. 7. All the proceeds from the race go to Friends of Beaver Lake.
The cost for an individual registering for all three legs jumps from $60 to $75, depending on whether the racer meets the early registration deadline.
Go to www.beaverlake.org/blt/blt.html for more information.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.
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