Celebrating July 4 with Pedal, Paddle, Puff | SLIDESHOW

It was the perfect day for a triathlon on Thursday, July 4, when 21 teams and individuals registered for the annual Pedal, Paddle, Puff Triathlon at Haller Park in Arlington.

By Lauren Salcedo • July 10, 2013 1:14 pm
Cyclists take off from the starting line of the Pedal
Cyclists take off from the starting line of the Pedal

ARLINGTON — It was the perfect day for a triathlon on Thursday, July 4, when 21 teams and individuals registered for the annual Pedal, Paddle, Puff Triathlon at Haller Park in Arlington.

“We have eight teams and 13 Iron Men and Women,” said Denise Putnam, event organizer. “We are competing on the regular course this year. We are high on the number of single competitors, but we have about half the number of teams as we usually do.”

The Pedal, Paddle, Puff Triathlon involves cycling 5.8 miles from Haller Park to the Jordan River Trail boat launch where competitors jump into a canoe or kayak to row six miles down the Stillaguamish River. They land back at Haller Park and from there the runners take off to race one mile up Centennial Trail and back to the finish line at Haller Park. The total distance of the competition is 15.8 miles.

Last year, the river was too high for safety requirements, so rowers took their boats to Anderson Lake and raced to the opposite shore and back to complete the rowing leg of the triathlon.

“I’m not really sure why our numbers are lower than usual,” said Putnam. “The river was high last week and this week, so that may have kept some people at bay.”

Despite the lower number of registrants, those who did participate were having a great time as they joined community members eating a pancake breakfast from the Arlington Heights Firefighters Association and perusing the Kiwanis Club’s auction items before lining up to the start of the race.

Annalisa Devries, of Anacortes, has competed in the Pedal, Paddle, Puff Triathlon before and continues to come back to the competition because of the atmosphere.

“The first year I did it as a relay and the second year as an Iron Woman,” said Devries. “This year I am competing with my sisters. It’s just such a fun family event. It’s low-key but fun to get in that race environment. I just love it — I come back every year if I can. It’s definitely the community feeling that brings me back.”

Results

Iron Woman Division

1. Bailey Kilmer ($100)

2. Lenora Fenstermaker

3. Karis Mullin

4. Tequina Kane

5. Lois Peterson

6. Tina Tucker

Iron Man Division

1. Eric Moll ($100)

2. Steven White

3. Karsten Mullin

4. Timothy White

5. Steven Beard

6. Greg Zook

Family Division Local Division

1. Edmonds Family ($100) 1. Dead Last & Zookie ($60)

2. Wilco 2. AFROTC

3. Sister Act 3

Open Division

1. Patriots ($100)

2. Jolly Roger

3. Newbies