Caron and Smith take Canadian Long Course Titles
July 11, 2007 -- Press Release: On a hot and windy day in British Columbia the third annual Persona Desert Half saw Jonathan Caron and Lucy Smith tip the field to become the 2007 Canadian Long Course Champions. The sold out event was the Canadian Long Course Championships with top finishers racing for a $5,000 prize purse and age group athletes racing for qualifying spots for the 2008 ITU World Long Course Championships in the Netherlands.
Located 60Km South of Penticton, BC Osoyoos is home to the only desert area in Canada and it’s warmest lake. The comprised of a 2K, two-loop swim in Osoyoos Lake, a 90K bike course, which sees rider’s head up the Richter Pass over the rollers out to Cawston and then back to Osoyoos. The 21K run course is two loops around Osoyoos mostly along the lake along the lakeshore Drive pathway finishing up at Legion Beach.
The men’s race was led from start to finish by Jonathan Caron racing out of Penticton. Caron who was a top ten finisher at Ironman Arizona in April and the winner of the New Balance Half Iron in Victoria was racing in Osoyoos for the first time. Caron exited the warm waters of Osoyoos Lake and then blazed the challenging bike course in 2:30:08 and then headed out to record a 1:24:29 half marathon to finish in 4:22:28. Chasing Caron all day were Luke Way and Jeremy Peressini but neither could make up ground on the run to catch Caron. The other top five finishers were Lane Seeley and Ben Bigglestone.
The women’s race was wide open as returning champion Lucy Smith returned to Osoyoos to defend her title against some up and coming Canadian triathletes. First out of the water was Rosemarie Gerspacher from Calgary in 31:12 followed by Cynthia Wilson of Ottawa. Smith exited fifth almost five minutes back of Gerspacher to start the grueling bike course. Out on the bike the women’s field held steady as Gerspacher and Wilson cam off the bike and headed out on to the run. With temperatures nearing 38 degrees Celsius the conditions were tough as Smith headed out in fifth position to try and reel in the lead women. Running the fastest run of the day in 1:30:34 Smith caught the leaders after the start of the second lap and held on for the victory.
“We couldn’t have been happier with the way this race played out to day,” said Race Director Joe Dixon. “The conditions were a bit hot but we had a bit of a break in the weather during the day that helped the athletes. This is one of the most challenging courses in Canada and it was great to host nationals on this course and see such a great race unfold under some pretty tough conditions. Almost every athlete crossed the finish line and immediately commented on how tough it was out there and how awesome they thought the volunteer support had been to help them through the day.”
With 500 athletes registered the event saw an increase from 2006. The race hosted athletes from Kansas, California, Idaho, Manitoba, and Ontario and as far away as Denmark. “We received some great feedback this year and look forward to planning an ever better event next year.”
Outback Events Ltd. is a Kelowna, BC based Sports Management Company owned and operated by Joe and Sarah Dixon since 2002. Outback Events produce the Cultus lake Triathlon, “Wine Capital of Canada” Sprint Tri, the Persona Oliver Half Iron, Persona Desert Half Iron and the Fall Winefest run. On top of these events Joe is also the race director at Subaru Ironman Canada.
Persona Desert Half Ironman
Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada
July 8th, 2007
2km Swim, 87Km Bike, 21.4Km Run
Women
1. Lucy Smith (Victoria, BC) 4:55:56
2. Rosemarie Gerspacher (Calgary, AB) 4:58:16
3. Cynthia Wilson (Ottawa, ON) 5:00:23
4. Charlene Waldner (Victoria, BC) 5:03:30
5. Yvonne Timewell (Kamloops, BC) 5:05:29
Men
1. Jonathan Caron (Penticton, BC) 4:22:28
2. Luke Way (Calgary, AB) 4:26:56
3. Jeremy Peressini (Calgary, AB) 4:35:52
4. Lane Seeley (Edmonds, WA) 4:36:50
5. Ben Bigglestone (Newcastle WA) 4:37:42
Further race information can be obtained at www.outbackevents.ca