NETT LAKE- The Hawaii Ironman Triathlon is considered to be one of the world’s utmost tests of physical fitness and endurance with its 1.2 mile ocean swim, 56-mile bike route, and 13.1-mile run, and has spawned dozens of similar Ironman competitions worldwide.
By comparison, the Bois Forte Asabiikone-Zaaga’igan Anishinaabe style triathlon is a rather humble affair, requiring two-person teams to paddle in a canoe to Nett Lake’s Spirit Island and back, make three circuits of the Nett Lake community by bicycle, and finishing off with a mere 20-yard dash that’s more daunting that it seems for legs having just been taxed from navigating the bike course.
But besides the biking and running events, what the Nett Lake Triathlon shares in common with the Ironman is the thrill of competition.
The Ironman typically draws 2,500 competitors. This year’s Nett Lake Triathlon attracted only six determined athletes, each with their eyes set on winning.
Krystin Correa and Tyla Adams were the team that most looked the part of triathletes in their workout attire, a look that gave them a bit of an intimidation factor when viewed by their competitors. Sisters-in-law, the pair said they entered for the competition and for the fun of being with the community.
For Elena Steel and Kent Villebrun, the Rez Triathlon was in essence an out-of-the ordinary date.
“I’ve always wanted to do something like couple bonding like a race,” Elena said. “And this is a really fun way to connect with the community.”
The triathlon wasn’t originally in the weekend plans for David Boswell and Romney Olson, Fond du Lac Band members who came to Nett Lake with a food vendor for the Sah Gii Bah Gah pow wow. When they learned about the triathlon, their competitive juices started flowing and they jumped in.
“It was kind of scary at first,” David admitted. “I didn’t know whether to participate in this program or not. But I just figured it was for a better purpose. This is me and my cousin’s first time participating in a wonderful experience like this.”
Teams completed the timed race one at a time, and through the luck of the draw Romney and David were up first. From the moment they launched from the starting dock, it became clear that navigating a canoe in a straight line wasn’t a skill they brought with them to the competition.
“We haven’t been in canoes much all our life,” David said.
A few trumpeter swans watched curiously from just west of Spirit Island as Romney and David zigged and zagged a crooked course to the marker buoy and back, covering much more water than they intended. Once back onshore, they made a quick transition to the bicycles, the event that most worried Romney before the race.
“I haven’t been on a bike in years,” he said.
Romney’s challenge wasn’t so much the course or his long layoff as it was his height. At 6’3” tall, the bike wasn’t fitted to accommodate his long legs, making pedaling much more of a chore. David took off at a fast clip, Romney a deliberate awkward one, and by the third time around spectators wondered if David might come around to lap Romney. That didn’t happen, however.
After David parked his bike, he finished the run in a brisk jog. Romney, exhausted from the ride, first declared he was going to walk the distance before taking one for the team and picking up the pace to finish out.
As the timekeeper concealed the times until the very end, Trent and Elena didn’t know the mark to beat when they set off in the canoe, but their prowess with the paddles quickly established them as contenders for the title. They made a beeline straight for the island, and after a slightly awkward turn around the buoy headed straight back to shore. On the bike course, the couple continued to show just how in sync they were by circuiting the course with only a bike length or two separating them.
The bike had clearly pushed Elena to her limit, as her legs buckled as she started the run. But she righted herself quickly and headed across the line into the waiting arms of her sweetheart.
Krystin and Tyla’s canoe lap was a hybrid of the two that came before – not so crooked as David and Romney, but less straight and efficient than Trent and Elena. Still, the sense as they reached shore was that they acquitted themselves well enough to have a good shot at winning, and they jumped on the bikes and took off with enthusiasm. Krystin proved to be the faster cyclist, and while she lost a few seconds going back to pick up her bike when it fell over after being parked, she covered the 20-yard dash in a dead sprint.
She said she wasn’t fazed by the bike ride at all.
“I think by the third lap I was getting used to it,” she said. “I could have kept going.”
Tyla zoomed into the bike parking area looking like an Indy 500 racer hitting the pit area under green, and she still had some of that momentum as she dismounted. Quick moves to catch her balance kept her from nearly toppling down onto the pavement. Bike successfully parked, she finished the run without further incident.
When the results were announced, it turned out that style points didn’t count for much in this Rez Triathlon. Despite their ungainly erratic performance in the canoe and Romney’s trials on the bike, the boys from Fond du Lac walked away with first place and two $100 Visa gift cards. Kent and Elena collected $50 gift cards for second, and Krystin and Tyla were awarded $25 gift cards for third.
“It was teamwork,” David said about the key to their success. “It’s about teamwork, and it’s about just helping out the brothers who set this up. It’s a blessing overall. I love it.”
“It was a good experience,” Romney added.