Two hundred and seventy two people signed on for the 15th running of the Quality Foods Qualicum Beach Triathlon last weekend and longtime time-keeper David Kazakoff, member of the host Tri Atheltics Society, said the return of the QBT, which was shelved last year because of the refit to Ravensong Aquatic Centre, came off without a hitch.
The fastest time on the day was turned in by Nanaimo’s Byron Trajan, 30, who clocked in at 54:05.
The first local to cross the finish line was Qualicum Beach’s Peter Poland, 50, at 59:36. The first local female in, and second woman overall, was Parksville’s Michelle Lantaigne, 40 — 18 seconds back of the top female Deb Epps from Nanaimo.
The top team of the day was Oceanside’s Team Island Cycle — Marlena Stubbings did the swim portion, Bruce Perry rode the bike, and Trevor Stubbings was on the run.
The top locals in the youth division were Lauren Gilmour in the girls and Steven Schan in the boys. In the minor division Kaitlyn Ashdown was the top girl and Alex Giterman the top male.
The oldest competitor on the day was 71-year-old Garfield Buchanan from Qualicum Beach. The oldest woman on the day was Parksville’s Sheri Farinha, 70, who not only won her Female Over 70 division, but set a new record in her age group at 1:32.15.
The fastest youth team Saturday were The Noobs from QB — Mis Wiclkowfki (swim), Alex Niel (bike) and Bryce Wilson (run).
Kazakoff said they had over 60 volunteers who showed up to help out on Saturday, pointing out, “we can’t do it without them. They did a great job ... we’re looking forward to next year.”