No change at the top of the leaderboard of the Beaton Classic.
Contested this past Sunday morning at Moonlight Beach, the 2024 edition of the summer quadrathlon would see Sara McIlraith – (are we safe to now crown her the Queen of the Beaton?) – walk away with the Female Solo victory for the 10th time while Dan Whalen made it three straight wins in the Men’s race.
Even the overall fastest finishers, the Nickel Nuts men’s foursome, bore exactly the same roster (Jeffrey Paul; Geoffrey Helluin; Rob Gregoris; Aurel Fox) as the quartet that held honours in 2023.
But just below the highly recognizable names of those climbing to the highest step on the podium was a wonderfully healthy influx of race newcomers that created an absolute buzz on the beach on an overcast day that was near perfect, from an athlete’s perspective.
In fact, such was the surge of new talent that the 2024 Beaton boasted gender-equal representation for the first time in forever in the Solo brackets as nine women and nine men participated.
The fact that this mix of rookies featured both those who have yet to start their post-secondary studies as well as others who travelled some ways to compete surely has the organizers of these festivities absolutely giddy in the aftermath.
“Last year, Gracie (Dale) and I did it as a team,” noted second place women’s solo finisher Maija Nener, one of five seniors at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary (Finlay Cuza, Owen Dobson and Corey Lacroix rounded out the crew) who tackled all four components on their own, with Dobson making a repeat visit after breaking the ice last summer.
“We all kind of decided that we would do it solo,” Nener continued. “Owen did it last year and we were kind of inspired by his soloing. And coach Neil (Neil Phipps – long-time Beaton race organizer and coach with the Knights’ track and field, cross-country and nordic ski teams) was posting stuff with the classroom.”
“He helped us get into it.”
No stranger to athletes a decade or more her elder who are Beaton solo mainstays, Nener lamented not tapping in to that obvious source of knowledge to better plan her day. “I probably should have prepared in the mindset way with a bit better strategy,” she said. “I kind of just treated each leg as a new race.”
“I thought I would test how I feel in the first half of the swim and then push it in the second half – and it kind of was the same’ish for the bike and the paddle. At the end of the run, I definitely pushed it.”
While Fraser Thomson (4th – men’s solo – 2:09.32) made the jaunt from the GTA to Sudbury to participate, this is hardly a trip that requires much use of the GPS for the 41 year old who wandered into the realm of triathlons a few years ago.
“Home is Toronto but my dad is from Sudbury,” he said. “A lot of family is up here; I spent a lot of summers up here.”
A runner for some time now, Thomson was aware of the Beaton via close friend Brian O’Neill (5th – 2:09.40) - and when the latter decided to jump back aboard after an absence of well over a decade, the groundswell was set for an experience that our southern neighbour would like to see grow.
“It’s so unique,” beamed Thomson. “It’s different with the paddle – a lot sportier than a triathlon – but it was fun. And it’s such a cool community of people. I’ve told a bunch of my triathlon friends about it; they had never heard of it. I think I will try and sell a few on them on the idea of competing.”
With three of the four members of Quad Goal cutting their teeth at the 2024 Beaton and paddler John Kosar dating his previous racing back to his elementary school days in 2007 / 2008 or so, the team that also featured Romana Benoit (swimmer), Eric Kim (cyclist) and last-minute replacement Danika Potvin (runner) have every reason to return next year.
“We really wanted to place top three,” said Benoit, a 34 year-old native of the Czech Republic who moved to Canada in her youth, swam competitively at Laurentian University and was kind of the connecting rod for the entry which finished fourth in Co-Ed Fours – but lost some six minutes or so when the chain snapped off from Kim’s bike.
As for the woman who led the charge by entering the waters of Lake Ramsey at roughly 9:00 a.m., the excitement in her voice suggested a possible second crack at the Beaton, somewhere down the road. “This is the first time I have ever done an open water race,” said Benoit. “It was beautiful.”
“The water was, if anything, too hot,” she laughed. “I was worried about getting banged up at the beginning (of the race – when kicks to the head or body are common in triathlons), but it wasn’t like that. My only goal was to go sub-20 – and I got 18:50.”
Though Guelph is home and she has only recently completed her varsity career (x-country and track) with the University of Waterloo Warriors, all while pursuing her studies in Bio-Medical Engineering, Megan Richer was eventually going to make her way to the Beaton.
Or, more accurately, this was an eventuality when she and fellow triathlete and Sudbury native Kelly Thompson connected as partners, the tandem joined by Sean Thompson (Kelly’s father) to form Sunday Dinner, the third place finishers in the men’s four division.
Having ventured off to compete in a Half Ironman in North Carolina this summer, Richer has become an increasingly more familiar face at events in Sudbury, capturing the women’s half-marathon during the Rocks Marathon weekend in May after becoming acquainted with the XTerra Conquer the Crater before that.
“I just started swimming seriously about a year and a half ago,” said the 24 year old Beaton first-timer. “Other than doing swimming lessons as a kid, it was brand new to me – so lots to learn there.”
Still, it is more than her affection for her Sunday Dinner teammate that had Richer smiling following her run on the hillier than expected trails in Sudbury. “I love local events like this where the whole community comes out,” she said. “I definitely get that vibe here – and it’s really cool to add another leg to the classic triathlon.”
Circling back to the beginning of our story, Dan Whelan was equally as pleased with his performance over the weekend. One of the many in this field who can jump seamlessly from one athletic challenge to the next, Whelan suggested that there is a level of continued improvement as his journey continues.
“I just try and survive the swim,” he said. “I’m happy once I get out of the water because now I can have fun. I’ve been trying to get better at the swim, but I do make up time on the bike – and my running has gotten a lot better.”
Yes indeed – to the point where he did the Boston Marathon for the very first time this past April, though one should not expect this to remain his primary focus. “I like the multi-sport events, for sure,” said Whelan. “I didn’t like how many miles I was running to get where I needed to get to for Boston.”
“I would rather do bike one day, run the next.”
This game plan should allow Dan Whelan to become more and more of a Beaton Classic staple – and combined with the enthusiasm that continues to grow with those joining him at the sport extravaganza for the very first time, bodes well for the future of the Sudbury Fitness Challenge fixture.
Following are complete results from the Solo races as well as top finishers in the various multi-athlete brackets:
Women - Solo1st - Sara McIlraith - 2:14.35
2nd - Maija Nener - 2:38.36
3rd - Finlay Cuza - 2:45.05
4th - Gracie Dale - 2:48.36
5th - Jessica Lonsdale - 2:50.10
6th - Cara Whalen - 2:53:52
7th - Kalia Pharand - 2:59.08
8th - Nancy Coté Pharand - 3:03.56
9th - Lisa Goudreau - 3:45.46
Men - Solo
1st - Dan Whelan - 2:01.47
2nd - Owen Dobson - 2:07.46
3rd - Clinton Lahnalampi - 2:08.35
4th - Fraser Thomson - 2:09.32
5th - Brian O'Neill - 2:09.40
6th - Thomas Gore - 2:23.07
7th - Corey Lacroix - 2:24.09
8th - Todd Withers - 2:25.36
9th - Kristian Bischoff - 2:34.45
Co-Ed - Fours
1st - Roosters and Chicks (Lawrie Oliphant/Wanda Dewulf/Scott Hopkins/Ania Derecka) - 2:18.49
2nd - Cambrian Quad Crushers (Johanna Westby/Rachel Steels/Christine Spence/Jeremy Potter) - 2:24.16
3rd - Scrambled Legs (Chantal Laakso/Steven Gonder/Adelle Davey/Benjamin Davey) - 2:24.43
Men - Fours
1st - Nickel Nuts (Jeffrey Paul/Geoffrey Helluin/Rob Gregoris/Aurel Fox) - 1:52.10
2nd - Long Lakers (James Bertrim/Jody Waddell/Kirk Petroski/Jonas Petroski) - 1:53.56
3rd - Sunday Dinner (Kelly Thompson/Sean Thompson/Megan Richer) - 1:58.00
Women - Fours
1st - Wheelie Good (Carol Mourre/Megan Bischoff/Suzanne Halet/Lisanne Gauld) - 2:33.01
Co-Ed - Pairs
1st - M & M - Marja Frederiksen & Matthew Cameron - 2:39.42
Men - Pairs
1st - Voyageurs Ski Team - Laydon Bursey & Lucas Jones - 2:00.15
Women - Pairs
1st - FalCon Friends - Julie Falvo & Linda Conroy - 2:42.27
