Gutsiest Pool

Ironman Canada 2003 is over and done. It was quite the experience. From forest fires to floating in the canal. From thick smoke to clear skies. From warm temps to more warm temps, this was one eventful trip.

It started on Friday with our arrival in Peachland. As we were gassing up we could see a large plume. At first we thought it was a cloud, but we realized later it wasn’t. The gas station was super busy as people were heading out of the area. It didn’t help that Penticton and Summerland were without power due to the Vasseux Lake fire that has just started that afternoon. We made it to Penticton, and to our chosen motel.
road tripplumethe log cabin
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Saturday we took in the athletes meeting, floated down the canal, played some pool, relaxed, and went to bed early.

atheletes meeting

pool

sunset

Sunday morning arrived very early. 4:30 am we crawled out of bed, headed to Lenny’s for some grub, then off to the start line. I will let some pics tell the story for a bit.

sunrise

go!

first man to the bike

chaos

lead woman

the pain

go!

the winner

second place man

Dave!

the crowd goes wild

last one under the line

It was an amazing experience. Watching the pure joy as some people came down the finishing chute. Seeing just how fast the pros are on the run portion after swimming and biking so far. Witnessing some of the gutsiest performances. Truly an amazing experience.

The one thing that struck me as truly miraculous was the city of Penticton itself. The race officials had to reroute the swim and the run. The run course was through the main streets of Penticton. The town quit literally was shut down from 7 am to midnight while the race was conducted. The superfans were in awe that a city would allow this since we all know that something like this could never, and would never be hosted in Victoria. Victorians complain enough when a race shuts down a couple roads for a few hours one day a year. Penticton is a wonderful town to visit, and truly a gracious host for such an event.