<\/p>\n
Fourteen hours before fireworks sparkled over Cortez on July Fourth, triathletes came together at the Cortez Municipal Pool to participate in the eighth annual Cortez Burst Triathlon.<\/p>\n
Among those competing was Gunnison resident Travis Cole, who decided to sign up for the annual event in hopes of kicking off Independence Day with a bang. Dressed in a red jersey, the Colorado Fitness Employee hit the water just after 7:30 a.m. and for the next 75 minutes, pushed himself toward the finish line.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I did really well,\u201d said Cole, who finished second overall behind Jeff Fairbanks in the Adult Recreational division (1:15:14). \u201cThe first part of the bike course was a little choppy because of the road and potholes, but it was a good course. The rolling hills are a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also competing in the event were several children under age 14, including 8-year-olds Kalin Clark, Sawyer Hale and Judah Marty, who competed as part of \u2018Team Lightning.\u2019 Sporting matching jerseys and huge smiles, each of the three first-time triathletes expressed satisfaction with their performances, which resulted in a first-place finish in their age division.<\/p>\n
\u201cI beat my mom by a lot, and it was pretty easy,\u201d said Clark, who completed a 1-mile run. \u201cI\u2019m glad we did this. It was (Marty\u2019s) idea. We\u2019re all best friends, and (Marty) always puts stuff together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty confusing because we were the only ones in our age group, but it was a lot of fun,\u201d said Marty, who completed the cycling portion of the race.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was tired, but I took some breaks,\u201d added Hale, who completed a 100-meter swim. \u201cI would just hang on the wall and catch my breath. I had a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Approximately 85 triathletes competed in this year\u2019s Burst, which featured an adult competitive division, an adult recreational division, an adult team division and a kids division.<\/p>\n
Gunnison resident Benjamin Lokie placed first overall in the adult competitive division (1:27:36), followed by Blanding resident Stephen Hiatt (1:28:00) and Cortez resident James Kilburn (1:35:29).<\/p>\n
In the adult recreational division, Jeff Fairbanks finished first overall (1:01:24), followed by Travis Cole (1:15:14) and Dillon Wells (1:16:29). The team division was won by a team representing Stormy\u2019s Gymnastics, which was made up of Heather Foster and Rayna Hale, while the kids individual race was won by Jakoby Casias (43:58).<\/p>\n
Proceeds raised by the event were donated to \u201cFriends of Recreation,\u201d a local nonprofit organization that raises money for Cortez Recreation Center Scholarships and other youth athletic activities in the community. \u201cWe had a really good crew and a really good race committee, and I\u2019m very happy with how the event went this year,\u201d said first-year race director Ken Fagerlin. \u201cThe whole reason that I wanted to get involved was because of \u2018Friends of Recreation.\u2019\u201d Over the past eight years, they\u2019ve given more than 50,000 back to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
With this year\u2019s \u2018Burst,\u2019 now in the books, race organizers are looking ahead to next year\u2019s event, which will again occur on the Fourth of July.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no idea that this event would draw so many different kinds of people,\u201d Fagerlin said. \u201cThere are people from all over the Four Corners and a lot of local folks. The little ones are definitely the cutest.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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