On Saturday, 339 swimmers took to the choppy waters of Lake Washington from the shores of Marina Park in Kirkland.
But the wetsuit clad bathers weren’t trying to take advantage of the last few mild days of summer — they were jumping into the first leg of the Kirkland Triathlon.
Loud music pumped from speakers on the park lawn and red-shirted volunteers rushed around making final preparations. The atmosphere was light with optimism and buzzing with enthusiasm and anticipation.
“Eager,” “Excited,” and “Cold” were a few common feelings as the start time approached.
Windy, overcast weather caused the event to start 15 minutes later than planned due to wandering buoys; however, the glitch didn’t stir up the positive mood.
“I don’t see any goosebumps. I don’t see anybody shaking too hard. It looks like the water is nice!” said Terry Bridges, MC for the event, while the first heats of swimmers waited thigh-deep in the water.
Kenmore resident Marty Holk, 13, was among the competitors. The Kirkland Triathlon was his seventh triathlon this year.
“They’re something fun to do on the weekends,” he said. “I’m a little nervous, but you just do your best.”
Athletes in the race ranged from age 12-73 and came from all over the Northwest, including California, Ohio, and Arizona. Kyle Brockman, age 24, came all the way from Sunnyville, Calif. to race with Courtney Clarke, 24, of Bellevue. He said the production value of the Kirkland Triathlon is outstanding.
“It’s a small race with huge community support,” he said. He also noted that he planned to head straight to one of Kirkland’s many coffee stands for a chocolate donut as soon as he finished the race. “That’s what I’ll be thinking about during the last mile of the run!”
Kirkland has hosted the summer triathlon — one of Seattle’s most popular — for 11 years, and this year was the first time that it was held at Marina Park. Before, the event took place at Houghton Park.
AA Sports produces the triathlon, and picked Kirkland after multiple Seattle native athletes requested a triathlon in the Seattle area. Kirkland’s location is prime for such an event, with clean, accessible waterfront parks for the swim route, hilly roads for a challenging bike route, and numerous parks for the running route.
“It’s not an easy course,” said Jon Atherton, co-owner of AA Sports, who was at the event with his wife and race director, Carol. He believes the course was hillier this year than in the past.
The Athertons work with the Kirkland Police Department to plot a race path that avoids heavy traffic and problem areas.
The ½ mile swim began and ended at Marina Park, where athletes jogged up Market Street to Heritage Park and transitioned into the 12-mile bike leg. The bike course looped around Kirkland, ending again at Heritage, where the 3-mile run started.
Competitors gave a final burst to the finish back down at Marina Park, and were congratulated with metals and smiling supporters.
Jacob Koopmans, of Everett, finished with the fastest time in the open category (ages 39 and under) in 1:10:38.
Amy Turi, of Issaquah, was the fastest female in the open category with a time of 1:18:22, and Kirkland native Shelby Wiegand finished soon after with a time of 1:20:38.
In the masters category (ages 40 and above) Tony Gerbino of Shoreline ranked number one, clocking in at 1:10:51, and was closely followed by Kirkland’s Ryker Lammers with 1:11:00.
The fastest female masters competitor was Bellevue’s Stacia McInnes with a 1:15:56 race, also closely followed by a Kirkland native — Patty Bredice, who finished in 1:17:10.
