Triathletes face headwind
Racers representing 26 individual and team entries braved a big headwind in the 26th annual Blue Mountain Triathlon on February 26. The race began at Dalton Springs Campground in the Blue Mountains and finished in Montezuma Canyon.
The finishing time of the racers were more than 10 minutes slower than the course record, the result of a strong headwind that the runners faced through much of the race course.
Three familiar names are at the top of the winners list, led by the top three men’s finishers, Tom Ober, Rick Callies and John Gilbert. The top three women are Danelle Ballengee, Angela Rowland, and Annie Tobler.
Local racers competed in the team competition, including Brad and Kristen Randall, Daniel Eddington, Steve and Aleigh Redd, Andy Platt, Marilyn Redd, Ryan Tobler, and Marian and Lauren Rockwood.
Owain Rice, a 14-year-old racer who weighs 84 pounds, completed the course in a great time, despite facing the wind.
Winners were presented with Ogio wind breaker jackets, with second place finishers winning Ogio laptop backpacks and third place winning Camelbak hydration packs.
The race was sponsored by a host of local and regional businesses. It is the first race since the retirement of longtime Monticello City recreation director Eddie Allred. Jessica Moore, a recreation management intern from BYU-Idaho, helped city officials run the event.
It was the second year that the course finished in Montezuma Canyon, after more than 20 years finishing in Indian Creek canyon. The change was made, in part, to avoid the heavy traffic on US 191 north of Monticello.
In addition to the racing, the Monticello Chamber of Commerce hosted the second annual Abajo Winter Festival during the weekend.