Hatcher and Baughman win division at Illinois Triathlon Championship

By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com

The Mahomet Triathlon may be on the move.

The Lake of the Woods location won’t be any different when the event returns for the third consecutive year in 2020. However, the time of year might be altered.

“We are exploring the possibility of moving the event to the spring, which would be the third weekend in May,” race director Kenny Krell said on Friday.

No firm decisions have been made, but 3Disciplines, which organized the event, is looking to boost participant turnover.

In Year 1 at Mahomet, there were 120 competitors.

For this year’s event – held last Sunday (Sept. 22) – there was a decrease to 93 entries. It was billed as the Illinois Triathlon Championships.

“I told the folks at the Sports Commission I do these in 25 states and this, by far, was the smallest event,” Krell said. “I have no answers.”

He was encouraged after the inaugural event, however.

“Last year, I had nothing but compliments,” Krell said. “Several people said this was their favorite run course of the year.”

The running courses are laid out to traverse the covered bridge as well as to cover ground near the Botanical Gardens’ waterfall throughout a tour of the Lake of the Woods.

Krell admits he is puzzled and baffled.

“Last week (Sept. 15) at Muncie (Ind.), we had 101 people register the last two days,” Krell said. “Here (at Mahomet), we didn’t have 10 register in the last two weeks.

“It’s really odd. The Sports Commission and park district want to see growth.”

The entry fee at Mahomet ($90) is comparable to other sites.

“Every race, unless it’s a national championship, is between $80 and $90,” said Krell, a former Team USA triathlete.

The triathlon is not in danger of leaving Lake of the Woods prior to the end of its three-year contract, but the future thereafter could be bleak.

“I’d say we need 150 (entries) and then we’d be back another three years,” Krell said. “And 150 is small for what we do.

“At Muncie, we had 367. Most sites are between 400 and 600 (participants).”

Krell and 3Disciplines host 35 triathlons a year and has been in business for almost a quarter of a century.

He goes over each course personally and likes what is available at Lake of the Woods.

“I want to make sure I know what is going on. This is one of my top five run courses,” Krell said. “It’s through the Lake, rather than back and out through neighborhoods.

“The bike course is good. Registration is inside the building.  It’s hard to find a negative. Typically, you can find one or two things, if you nitpick.”

Competitors who enter the triathlon can choose from three different distances.

The Olympic style event includes a 1,500-meter swim, a 40-kilometer bike ride and a 10-kilometer run.

The sprint race features a 500-meter swim, a 20-kilometer bike ride and a 5-kilometer run.

The third division, named the super sprint, offers a 200-meter swim, a 10-kilometer bike run and a 1-mile run.

Two Mahomet residents won their divisions in the sprint category.

Dennis Hatcher captured the men’s 65-69 age division with a combined time of 1 hour, 34 minutes, 11 seconds.

In the Clydesdale division, Bruce Baughman was triumphant with a time of 1:47.40.

The leaders in the men’s overall sprint category were Naperville’s Jack Cook (1:18.08) and Urbana’s Lukas Smaga (1:19.29).

The women’s leaders in the sprint category were North Aurora’s Karah Osterberg (1:14.45) and Paris’ Marla Whitacre (1:22.16).

In the super sprint trace, Mahomet’s Megan Costello was the runner-up in the women’s division. 

Her time was 1:05.45. The women’s winner was 12-year-old Marin Shimkus, from Glenview, in 43.21.

The men’s super sprint leaders were Chicago’s Tom Schroeder (41.29) and Frankfort’s Ian Johnson (49.27).

In the Olympic division, last year’s Mahomet runner-up, Ben Culver from Elgin, was the men’s winner (2:10.09). He was followed by Jacob Kucik (2:20.44), from Hobart, Ind.

In the women’s Olympic division, Glenview’s Mary McCann was victorious (2:42.23), followed by Adrienne Law, from Matteson, (3:02.55).

The total entries for the Olympic division at Mahomet were only slightly surpassed by those who participated in the sprint event, 34 to 35.

The age range for competitors this year was between 12 and 70 years old.

Krell said, based on past experience, the triathlon events gain their footing the first two years, then take off.

“After the first two years, it’s usually about 30 to 40 percent growth,” he said.

Krell was appreciative of the support he had during the Mahomet Triathlon.

“The sheriff’s department handled the roads, and I’d like to thank the other volunteers,” he said.

In all, he estimated the volunteer crew numbered nearly three dozen people.