Bitterroot Classic Triathlon was held Saturday in Hamilton with a record 193 entries racing for the Ronald McDonald House. The event consists of a 750 yard swim, a 20K bike ride to the east of Hamilton and a 5K run down Kurtz Lane, around on Marcus and then onto Freeze Lane and Fairgrounds Road, essentially circling the Hamilton High School complex.
Brendan Halpin won the men’s individual race with a time of 57:43. He made the swim in 9:34, the bike route in 30:18 and the run in 17:51 for a combined time of 57:43. Linsey Corbin of Missoula won the women’s individual with times of 9:26, 31:49, and 19:27 for a combined time of 1:00.42. The Road Runn
For a time, all eyes were on the pool when Team 5 Racers swimmer was in the pool. Stacy Ricklefs swam for the team and finished with a time of 15:45. What had everyone on the edge of their seats however was the fact she is only two weeks away from delivering a baby! The team finished 53rd overall.
There were a couple of unusual bicycles on the bike course. A team called Farming Family had a traditional swimmer, Henry Madeen, and runner, Helen Madeen. However the bike was not a traditional bicycle. Instead it was a tandem bicycle, a bicycle built for two. After Henry Madeen came out of the pool, Henry Wuesche and Laura Garber, climbed on board and took off on the bike course.
“It’s a really fun fast bike,” said Wuesche. “I think there’s less friction or something because it goes really fast.”
Garber chimed in and said, “but we aren’t trying to win, just have fun.”
Ben Crews decided to opt for a unicycle instead of the traditional bicycle for his bike. It took him a little longer to complete the course but the 13 year old from Stevensville completed the race.