2009 Recap
Gered Dunne Claims Second Annual Kingdom Triathlon
Dan Decelles named IROC’s 2009 Athlete of the Year
One thing we learned last year is that triathletes are crazy athletes – just plain nuts! And this year was no different. On Saturday, August 15th, 2009, Newport’s 16 year old triathlon sensation, Riley Walker, put up an incredibly spirited defense of his title as Champion of the 2008 Kingdom Triathlon. And even though he chipped a little over a minute off his course record, it was not enough to hold off the hard charging Gered Dunne, a 28 year old gunslinger from White River Junction. Gered set a new course record with a time of 1:18:10, beating our local hero by a little over 2 minutes. Gered won a Season Pass at Jay Peak for his effort. Congratulations, Gered, Champion of the 2009 Kingdom Triathlon!!!! But, we have a sneaky suspicion that Riley will be back next year. So, we are warning Gered right now – Don’t look back! Riley’s on your tail!!!
We had a great day on Saturday, with 67 triathletes participating in this year’s Second Annual Kingdom Triathlon. (Compared with 20 in last year’s inaugural event) Our triathletes came from 9 states as well as the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick. The youngest participant was 14 year old Dan Decelles of Newport, VT, winning tickets to Waterfront Cinemas, while the “most mature” participant was 61 year old Peter Ferrell of Waterbury, VT who won an autographed copy of Perimeter Check by Paul Lefebvre. At the award ceremony, Dan Decelles was also named IROC’s 2009 Athlete of the Year for his participation in all four of IROC’s special summer athletic events, The Dandelion Run, Tour de Kingdom, Kingdom Swim, and Kingdom Triathlon.
“There were a number of good, highly competitive, recreational athletes participating from around the northeast,” said Pete Kellaway, General Manager of IROC which hosted the event. Nevertheless, local participants held their own, with Nicole Schneeberger, 25 of Newport, VT winning the Women’s Division with a time of 1:45:35, barely fending off Rebecca Ryan a 52 year old challenger from Huntington, VT. Nicole won a year’s membership to IROC. Gives you quite an advantage, training to defend your title, Nicole!!
Team OB, made up of some of our most revered local physicians, Bill Peck, Chris Sullivan, and Peter Stuart of Derby, took the Team Title and All Male Team Division, while the Glover Girls, Amy Auger, April Bodette, and Tara Nelson, took All Female Team Division. Team OB won a 2 night stay at a Condo at Jay Peak. (But, I want to know, if they all go, who’s on call?) Doug Cochran of Dieppe, New Brunswick, and Rebecca Ryan of Huntington, VT won first place male and female in the over 50 division, each winning $125 Gift Certificates at the Village Bike Shop.
Genna Primeau, 15, of Derby, VT won the overall 15 and Under Division, and was awarded a Louis Garneau Tri-Pack. Overall, nine triathletes under the age of 18 participated in this year’s event. Gives us all hope for the future to see this next generation of triathletes take on the world!
Stephanie Watson, 14 of Newport, VT, won the highly coveted Last One Back to the Barn Award – a complete autographed set of the works to date by Howard Mosher. This award is given to that participant who demonstrates true persistence and the “fist in the face of reality” attitude so prevalent among residents of the Northeast Kingdom. “She hung in there and finished the race. She’s one tough cookie. This award is one of IROC’s highest honors. It is given out at each of our special athletic events,” said Julie Gunn Community Program Coordinator at IROC. The award is sponsored by Woodknot Books and Montgomery’s Café.
It’s a wrap
With the Second Annual Kingdom Triathlon now behind us, IROC completes a successful summer season of special athletic events. Last year our Tour de Kingdom and Kingdom Triathlon together drew a total of 97 participants. This year, with the addition of the Dandelion Run and Kingdom Swim, and significant growth in the Tour and the Tri, all four events drew a total of 488 registrants. About 70% were from out of the area, coming from a total of 20 different states – California (1), Texas (3), Illinois (3), Tennessee (2), Florida (2), Georgia (1), South Carolina (1), North Carolina (5), Virginia (2), Maryland (3), Delaware (1), Pennsylvania (3), New Jersey (7), New York (23), Connecticut (22), Rhode Island (4), Massachusetts (58), Maine (5), New Hampshire (38) and all over Vermont (Orleans County 143)(Out of Area 147) – as well as three Canadian provinces – Ontario (2), Quebec (10), and New Brunswick (2).
Participants were evenly divided, male and female. 12% were under 18 and 17% were adults under 30. The largest group was between 30 and 50 years of age (43%) and over 50 (29%)
The dates for each of next year’s events have now been set and registration is already open.
May 22nd, 2010 Dandelion Run www.dandelionrun.org
June 5th & 6th, 2010 Tour de Kingdom www.tourdekingdom.org
July 24th, 2010 Kingdom Swim www.kingdomswim.org
August 14th, 2010 Kingdom Triathlon www.kingdomtriathlon.org
In the end, it is hard to tell who had more fun, the athletes, IROC’s staff, or the many volunteers who manned the water tables and relay stations at the Dandelion Run, who doled out bananas, oranges, bagels and power bars at the support tables on the Tour de Kingdom, who volunteered as kayakers and support boat pilots for Kingdom Swim, or who manned more water stations and dished out more “great eats” and IROC’s internationally acclaimed fruit smoothies at the Kingdom Triathlon. We had a crazy good time. See for yourself http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgJuo0tJ7vU
The Board and I want to thank the many sponsors who have shared our vision of the value of these events, especially Community National Bank, Jay Peak, Louis Garneau and Paul Decelles Financial Planning who have supported each of these events right from the start. We should also acknowledge the hard working and battle hardened staff and volunteers at IROC. They did an absolutely wonderful job this summer. And the participants truly appreciated the organization and support that went into each of one these events.
The positive response of our athletes has been overwhelming. We love the fact that young and old can get together for spirited, fun athletic events in some of the most beautiful countryside in the world. We see a large number of family teams with an increasing number of youth athletes. At the same time, every event has courses that present a real challenge for even the most highly competitive athletes. Most importantly, as challenging as they may be, these events reflect the spirit of our season opener, The Dandelion Run – “Just for the Fun of It.” And that’s the way we want it to stay.
Phil White, Chairman of the Board
Indoor Recreation of Orleans County