Hundreds of people watched and participated in the 33rd annual Castaic Lake Triathlon on Saturday morning, hosted by the Canyon High School track and field Team.
People traveled from all over to swim, run and bike to help raise funds for the team.
Chris Jackson, event organizer, math teacher, and track and field coach for Canyon High School, said even though they were able to hold their triathlon last year – this being the second triathlon they’ve held since the pandemic – it felt good to be back.
“It’s nice. It’s nice for community members to be able to do things, it’s nice for our kids, to be able to contribute to the community and do things where people can compete and can be active,” said Jackson “We like doing fundraisers that aren’t selling candy or doing car washes or things like that, but helping people and community be active and get involved.”
Jackson said the money raised will go toward things like equipment, such as a pole vault, which can cost anywhere up to $12,000. The money will also go toward helping the students on the team as well.
“We also use them for team costs,” said Jackson. “To help keep costs low to be able to do meals for kids, to be able to get shoes for kids who need shoes, to help supplement kids who need financial aid, to help support like our banquet, so it’s used for a lot of things.”
The event had about 200 participants and about the same number of, if not more, spectators. The triathlon was separated into age and gender for adults, but also featured a modified kids run.
The triathlon began with its swim, which in its full form stretched from the east bank of the Castaic Lagoon to its west. Then runners would bike on a path that mostly stayed along Ridge Route Road with some U-turns thrown in to ensure safety for the riders. Then, runners would ditch their bikes for the final run, which went along the path parallel to the lagoon on its west side.
The first male runner to cross the finish line, Peter Thorpe, said he was happy to return to running because when the pandemic hit, Thorpe had just gotten back into racing.
“We were just about to go into lockdown and that weekend, I had a race and I was looking forward to it and it had been, all offseason, training and I was much better than I was the previous season,” said Thorpe. “It shut down right as I had just gotten my first real [bike] too, so I was so pumped for it but it just shut down like right before… I was really starting to, you know, catch my stride.”
Thorpe said it was a relief to come back to racing after the hiatus.
Another runner and Castaic resident, Jamie Harris, was so dedicated to the craft she decided to run the triathlon before she had to go to work for the Air National Guard. Her husband, Sam, and two children were cheering her on. Sam said this a great source of enjoyment for his wife.
“She finds enjoyment, she finds excitement. On any level, it’s just something fun in there, something for herself that gives a goal. Something to [work] for up to this point,” said Sam. “It’s not just about this… but all the way working up to it. It’s just that goal to continue with, you know, her exercises routinely throughout the week with [having] the purpose of trying to make it to here.”
To see the results of the 2022 Castaic Lake Triathlon, visit bit.ly/3dclOrt.
