Glory, pizza, the Copper Town Tri had it all

 

The past weekend will go down as one of the most exciting periods of multisport racing in all of 2023.  In what has been dubbed the battle of the social media titans, the same action-packed Sunday saw Lionel Sanders and Paula Findlay competing in the pro field at the Oregon Ironman 70.3 in the West, while in the East, rising web 1.0 star and long-form blogger the Greater Wanup Triathlon Club took their brand of supplement-heavy taper-based training on the road to compete for glory, pizza, at the 1st annual running of the Copper Town Triathlon in Bruce Mines Ontario. 

Athletes met at the Bavarian Inn the day before the race for the traditional pre-race Prologue, followed by the Gala event, where athletes enjoyed a beautiful North Channel sunset and sophisticated sit-down dinner at Bobbers restaurant.  However, the Copper town tri podium outlook took an interesting turn, when late on Saturday afternoon, Sudbury Masters swimmer and race-favourite Robert M. pulled out of the competition with an unspecified lower body injury.  

A chilly start

Both the East and West coast races had interesting swim events, with the Oregon 70.3’s famous ‘down hill’ swim and its 12.5 mile-per-hour current, and the Copper Town Tri taking place in the cryogenic waters of Lake Huron.  With water temperature in Bruce Bay hovering a smidgen above absolute-zero, race organizers nonetheless declared the race wetsuit optional, and several brave or foolhardy racers opted to swim without wetsuits, both to shave seconds at transition, and to maximize the rejuvenating health benefit of the extended cold plunge and subsequent Whim-Hoff breathing.

Taking advantage of the numbing effects of the icy water, athletes took to their bikes with abandon, showing no signs of saving anything for the run as they careened through the three laps of the short but technical bike course along Copper Bay Road.  Many athletes chose mountain, gravel, or commuter bikes over aerodynamic time trial bikes, wisely opting for enhanced cornering and stability on the typical Ontario road.

Disaster at T2

After posting one of fastest bike splits of the day, Greater Wanup Tri club member R. Eso sped into transition in second place, a small lead over the 3rd and 4th placed competitors earned by his career-best effort.  It was during this bike-to-run transition that Eso was sitting on the ground, awkwardly fumbling to put on his runners, when disaster struck: one of the laces pulled out of the eyelet hole!  A collective gasp from the watching crowd, and a scene every bit as heartbreaking as Simon Whitfield’s crash leaving T1 at the 2012 London Olympics unfolded.  As the seconds ticked away, Eso continued to struggle to reinsert the lace through the impossibly small eyelet-hole.  Shoe finally fixed, Eso set out on the run, still in second place, but with several competitors in tow, his T2 time a glacial 1 minute and 8 seconds.

Sprint Finish for the Podium

While lead runner and race winner N. Lambert had an unassailable lead, an exciting foot-race for the remaining podium spots developed.  A pace-line of Eso, Roedde, and Phil ‘The Phantom Bullet’ Wiebe formed, and they tested one-another with surges and attacks on the hills, only to be reeled back in on the blistering descents, and no one could break free as they made their way along the scenic waterfront on Taylor street.

There was a moment of confusion at the midpoint of the run at a small out-and-back section, as the turnaround was hidden up a short tree-lined driveway with a prominent “no trespassing sign” at the otherwise unmarked entrance.  Eso, leading the small pack and in 2nd place, decided to turn around in the cul-de-sac, knowing well the harsh consequences for trespassing on the mean streets of Greater Wanup by homesteaders all-too willing to protect their collection of hot water heaters and rusted-out cars.  Wiebe, then in third, with nerves of steel, continued on, spotting the turn-around cone 100 meters up the steep gravel driveway.  With tremendous sportsmanship he yelled out to Eso, now making his way in the opposite direction, that the turnaround was ahead.  Eso, turned around and sprinted up the driveway, suddenly in 4th place with 2 km remaining, but thankful for the help and avoiding a possible DQ.

The trio of runners made their way back to main street, and turned towards the transition area. Paramedics watched nervously, AEDs at the ready, as the mid-life recreational athletes dug into their final reserves, heart rates skyrocketing, for a final kick to the finish.  At the last moment, a race volunteer waved his hand, vaguely gesturing to one side, and yelled ‘run to the tent!’, and like high-schoolers caught sneaking a beer behind the boat-shed, each of the three runners broke in a separate direction. Spread across the out-going bike course, a parking lot, and the finishers area, the three runners dodged through spectators and volunteers, finally converging on the finish line in an exciting sprint finish, the result too close to call.  With the staggered swim start, the athletes would have to wait nervously for the final results to be tallied to learn which of them would make the podium.

Results

Sudbury Masters Swimming had a strong showing, with Tamara F. posting the fastest swim split in the try-a-tri distance, with a blistering 49 second lead over the nearest competitor in the 400m swim, and Robert M. was seen cheerfully volunteering at the swim exit and supporting competitors at race finish despite his last minute withdrawal.  Sudburian Serge L. finished in the top-10 of the sprint triathlon, and former Sudburian Leslie M. made the podium in womens Try-a-tri distance.

Fan favourite M. "The Hammer" Moustgaard finished in fine form, crossing the finish line to cheers of 'Hammer!  Hammer!' from the watching crowd, earning herself a podium spot in the F70+ age group.  Some disappointment for racing fans though, as 'The Hammers' impressive string of wins may  be tainted with an asterix, as unfortunately a timing chip malfunction resulted in no posted official time.  Rumours began to circulate immediately, with speculations ranging from a simple computer error, to a conspiracy of sabotage within her uber-competitive age group.  We will be watching for developments on this closely.

After tallying the times and accounting for any penalties assessed by the race marshall, the final overall standing for the Sprint Tri was:

• 1st: N. Lambert (Elliot Lake) 1:07:32
  
• 2nd: N. Roedde (Richards Landing) 1:14:03
  
• 3rd: R. Eso (Greater Wanup) 1:14:14
  
• 4th: Phil 'The Phantom Bullet' Wiebe (Sault Ste Marie) 1:14:33.

The 30 seconds separating 2nd and 4th positions show the hotly contested race for the podium.

 

Full details of the race and all results are available from Soo Today.

Moustgaard’s short-course dominance expected to continue at new Algoma District triathlon

 

(c/o Greater Wanup Observer, Bob Arnold, local sports correspondent, interview dated July 18, 2023)

 

Wagering on age-group triathlon racing is a relatively new, but growing segment of the online sports betting market. The unpredictable training, lax athlete drug screening, and heroic scenes of recreational athletes giving their all has found a niche among betting experts and statisticians, who meticulously comb race stats and athletes' social media activity to predict outcomes.  And if the latest sports betting odds coming out of Las Vegas-based online sports betting website ‘Draft Kings’ are to be believed, then these experts are betting heavily that M. ‘The Hammer’ Moustgaard will continue her hot streak at the upcoming Copper Town Triathlon in Bruce Mines Ontario this coming Sunday.  

 

Competing in the F70 age group, and known for her lightning-fast transitions and rock-steady pacing, Moustgaard has been a consistent medal-winner in the Eastern-Ontario triathlon scene.  Coming off of first place finishes in both the 2019 and 2022 TriMuskokan Triathlon in Huntsville Ontario, Moustgaard started the 2023 season strong, with a 2nd place finish at the Sudbury Rocks 5km road race, and then defending her title with an unanswerable 1st place victory again in Huntsville.  In between dominating the local triathlon circuit, she has also made several impressive appearances in the Ontario Masters Swimming Provincials, including some exclusive invitation-only races.
 

We met up with Moustgaard after a 4am open water swim at her sprawling Lake Panache training compound and asked her about the new Algoma District triathlon: 

 

“I’m looking forward to the race, but it’s a shame this new Copper Town tri is going with a trickle-start rather than a traditional mass start.  I was hoping to mix-it-up in the washing machine with the other competitors.” said Moustgaard. “The rough-and-tumble nature of the mass starts plays to my strengths, and I built my yearly training around scraping my way to the front-of-the-pack”.

 

When asked for details of her specific training for the upcoming race, she answered, “Our masters swim program has a wide lane reserved for triathletes, and it’s a bit of a cage-fight, with everyone looking to polish their open-water-swimming mass-start tactics”, she grinned, “but, I give as good as I get, or better!” 

 

“It was actually in the pool at masters swimming where I earned the nickname ‘The Hammer’ ” she said, “after a couple of jousts with one particular yellow-capped youngster.  But racing fans heard the name and it just kind of stuck.”

 

Our reporter asked if she was going to try anything new for the upcoming race:
 
“At my age your health is a bit of a science experiment, with medical advisors always putting me on this-or-that, or teammates bringing the latest supplements from Florida or Mexico.  Luckily, experience has taught me that the field-test kits they administer to athletes for in-competition testing have a ton of false positives, so you can usually argue your way out if you piss hot.  Besides, we can usually get a TUE for anything else that doesn’t clear our system in a few weeks.” (editors note: TUE or Therapeutic Use Exception is the common practice of elite athletes getting a medical exception for the in-competition use of performance enhancing substances).

Our sponsor Draft Kings wishes M. ‘The Hammer’ Moustgaard and all other competitors good luck in Sunday’s race, and to “know your limit, play within it”.

Coach's Message to club, "Six weeks out from Ironman Canada. Taper Strong."

 

Greater Wanup Triathlon club (GWTC) head coach Bob Arnold delivered a stirring motivational message to his athletes on the clubs weekly video call this past Sunday.  With 6 weeks left before the clubs ‘A’ race of Ironman Canada, the coach's job would be to motivate and reassure athletes as they percolate with nervous energy. 

In the video, the coach was seen to sit at his kitchen table, his now well familiar club training journal, and appeared both ponderative and reflective, but firm.  A transcript of the video call  follows:

“Athletes, circle up.

The Greater Wanup Tri club set the multisport world on fire by harnessing the performance and therapeutic power of The Mantra; a technique that has come to be known as ‘The Wanup Method’¹.  The 2023 club mantra of “Stay Hard” has proven to be both weaponized awesomeness, and a useful affirmation for our aging male athletes.  Staying hard has driven our club to even higher levels of recreational sport performance, and this year has already seen several personal bests.  

Last year we saw a strong club showing at Ironman Canada, and we’re looking to repeat much of that performance, but with the addition of some new faces to the team to bring purported ‘skinny-dick energy’.  And now that we’ve perfected our special Spunk(™) energy supplement recipe, we’re even more excited with what the future holds.

With six weeks left until Ironman Canada it’s time to put the icing on the training cake, and execute on the all important final phase.  For this, we announce the club mantra for the next 6 weeks:

Taper Strong.

Whether that means journaling with the intensity of a 14-year old school girl experiencing her first crush, binge watching the Gilmore Girls and loading up on jube-jubes and oreos, or putting on those running shoes for the first time in months.  Taper Strong.

Anything is possible in the taper, and miraculous turn-arounds are the norm.  Heck, I even heard a story of a guy who did Ironman Canada last year, on a gravel bike, with zero hours of training, but a strong taper of suntanning and tantric meditation allowed him to power his race entirely through visualization.

Anything is possible in the taper.  Taper Strong.”
 

With that the video faded, and the lyrics and music of Juvenile’s 1999 smash hit Back that azz up (sic) continued to play in the background.  

Shortly after social media was buzzing with the #taperstrong hastag, spawning a new Tik Tok video trend, of people posting videos of themselves tapering strong.

Social media was buzzing with the #taperstrong hash-tag

 

---

1 Subsequent research led to the now ubiqutous 'Norweigen Method' https://www.trainingpeaks.com/coach-blog/norwegian-training-method-world-champion-triathletes/^↩

2021 XTERRA Conquer the Crater race report

(c/o Greater Wanup Observer) The 2021 XTERRA Conquer the Crater off-road multi-sport race held in Greater Sudbury, Ontario on August 14, 2021, was the premier off-road destination triathlon for Canada this year.  With a healthy number of slots to the XTERRA World Championships and the accompanying prize purse, the race drew elite multi sport athletes from around the country.  Here we take an intimate view of the race through the lens of local legend, Rob E., a Greater Wanup area homesteader, and a member of the local triathlon club.  Join us as we take take heavily edited and out-of-context quotes from his private race-day diary found hosted on an old myspace page:

Race Morning
'Race the way you train' is the mantra of the Greater Wanup Triathlon club, so waking up on race morning after 4 hours of sleep slightly hungover, I was in my wheelhouse.  Up at 6am with the crowing of a rooster I reviewed my Race Plan:

GWTC XTERRA Conquer the Crater Race Plan
1.) Execute race-day nutrition plan
2.) Squeeze into one-piece triathlon suit and look fabulous
3.) Not shit self

My coaching staff had stayed up late the previous night perfecting the race day nutrition plan, including one trip to an undisclosed health food store on Paris Street in Greater Sudbury in search of any new performance enhancing products and came up big.  The first step was to execute the nutrition plan, which called for quickly downing an Essential Amin.o. Energy on the Go, Vega Sport Sugar free energizer, and a Skratch Labs Hydration mix, and washing it down with strong black coffee.   I had some reservations about taking a number of untested expired supplements the morning of the race, but recalling the words of club's honorary nutrition coach: "There's no better time to try this than now."

 "There's no better time to try this than now." - Michael Phelps, Greater Wanup Triathlon Club honorary nutrition and supplement coach

Energized and hydrated, my body buzzing with "Amin.o.", I ticked off the first item of the race plan and was feeling great.

Nutrition seems important, but once your team comes up with the cocktail, all you have to do is take it.  The biggest decision on race morning is a tough one: what to wear. 

A one piece triathlon suit will shave off precious seconds by not having to put on a shirt at Transition 1, but stripping it down for any bathroom breaks will requires at least 5 minutes of yoga-like contortions.  A gurgling from my stomach reminded me that the cocktail of coffee and expired sports supplements would make a mid-race bathroom break a likely eventuality.

But the stakes were high, and any opportunity to shave off seconds had to be taken.  Throwing caution to the wind I sucked in my gut and squeezed into the one-piece triathlon suit.  Feeling svelte and looking like superman coming back from a lengthy and gluttonous retirement, I ticked off item number 2 of the race plan, and drove to Kivi park to setup my transition area.

Transition Area 2 (T2) zone of the XTERRA Conquer the Crater off-road triathlon for the 40-49 age group category.

At the parking area athletes milled about waiting for the shuttle to take them to the Crowley Lake transition area.  A few enterprising athletes rode their bikes to Crowley lake, but luckily GWTC staff had scouted the route in the previous days and knew it was a lengthy and hilly ride to the start of the race and I opted to preserve all stamina by taking the race shuttle.

Racers line up for the swim start at Crowley Lake for the 2021 XTERRA Conquer the Crater off-road triathlon.

Event 1: Crowley Lake Open Water Swim, 750m
Some ambitious swimmers were even warming up by swimming lengths in the lake, but I wanted to reserve everything for the race.  At 750m this would be one of my longest swims in living memory, and I planned to hold a blistering 2min/100m pace, hoping to come out of the water mid-pack.

Flying out of the water and into the transition zone I capitalized on the decision to wear the one-piece tri-suit with a quick transition, shoes and helmet only, mounted the bike and quickly sped out of the transition area and onto the mountain bike course.

Event 2: Kivi park Cross Country Mountain bike course, two loops for a total of 19km
Taking a more minimalist and holistic approach to racing, I decided to forgo wearing a heart rate monitor or power meter, and base my pacing entirely on my finely calibrated perceived exertion scale.  Approximately 2 kilometres into the cycling leg I decided to take a glance at my perceived exertion meter:

Being red-lined and fully anaerobic early in an endurance race is my standard pacing strategy, so I felt right at home as I gulped for air on the climbs, and then white-knuckled it down the steep rocky technical descents.  

Despite a sound nutrition strategy, familiar pacing, and an excellent wardrobe choice, a catastrophic accident early in the bike shattered podium ambitions: after dismounting and carrying the bike up a particularly steep climb I was travelling at approximately 0.0 km/hr, dazed and confused, I fell to the side when awkwardly trying to remount atop a rocky outcrop.  The ground fell away, and unable to reach the ground with my arms, the handlebar, braced firmly against 1.9 Billion year old Superior cratonic granite, speared into my chest.

The result of a bike crash early in the race, the Greater Wanup Triathlon club member stoically pushed through the injury for a mid* pack finish.

It wasn't until a few weeks later that some sage advice from Vernon B.C. trickled it's way to Greater Wanup via Waterloo and an electrified vehicle, with wise words about mountain biking: "Fall to the uphill side".  Luckily the cocktail of expired supplements had dulled my pain receptors, and I quickly regained composure and finished the mountain bike portion of the race with no further incident.  

However, I was a bit dismayed at the number of bikes hung up on the rack at the transition area - I would have to reel them in using my walk/run race pacing strategy.

Event 3: Kivi park trail run, 9km

At roughly 3x the distance of my standard training run, the XTERRA run course would test my mettle. I would need to employ the well-used GWTC walk/run pacing strategy and avoid blowing up early.  Checking that my perceived exertion was still firmly in the Extreme Zone, I pushed forward on the trails hoping to reel in any athletes in the 40-45 age group.  Luckily the race organizers followed the multi-sport tradition of stencilling ones age on their right calf making it easy to see who else is in your age group during the race.

At the halfway point I was passed by a F49, and a M53, but them not being in my age group I paid them no attention.  However with a few km remaining I was passed by a M43!  Someone in my age group, I sprang into action.

The voice of my old college roommate  V-Unit floated into my head, like the words of Obi Wan coaching a young Luke Skywalker:  "Feed the Warrior!", he said, "Pain is temporary, and quitting lasts forever."  The words of my old friend and mentor brought a sudden clarity and focus to the race. Wiping the sweat from my face, I decided to trust a quick fart, and ran forward.

In addition to teaching me the finer points of euro cycling style, V-Unit also taught me the psychological warfare tricks and tactics of track running.  Quickly recalling all that he had said on the subject, I paced my adversary, but did not pass.  

Still pacing, I waited for an uphill portion, and then attacked, surging past him with a burst of speed I didn't know I had.  Cresting the hill with him in pursuit but out of sight, I recklessly free-wheeled down the other side as fast as I could, hoping to widen the gap.  I kept the pace until I went around a bend, and then fell back on the walk-run strategy and walked a few meters, catching my breath.  With the gap developed, and my age-group pursuer briefly out of sight I could rest a moment without him seeing me.  Refreshed, I pushed on, repeating this tactic several times - widening the gap while he was in sight, and then walking to catch my breath with him out of site.

With my Amin.o. levels running low and nearing my limits, the finish line was finally in sight. I surged forward with one final kick and crossed the finish line.

I waited for my age group pursuer who was only a few steps behind, giving him a covid appropriate light fist bump, and congratulating him on a well fought race; elated that I had 'Fed the Warrior', but a bit ashamed of the psychological warfare I had unleashed on the final stretches.

Post race: hoping for a trickle-down Kona slot

Milling about the event after the race waiting for the results to be posted I pondered the race.  Looking at the bikes in the transition area, my early 2000's Kona mountain bike with it's 26-inch wheels was a bit of an odd-duck - every one else had a modern 29-inch XC bike, with a single front chain ring, dual suspension, and tubeless tires.  

Recalling one of the many mantra's of the Greater Wanup Triathlon club, "Good triathletes don't blame their equipment; but great ones do",  I muttered to myself -  next year I would have to consider an upgrade.

A short time after the race results were posted:

My controversial kick at the end had placed me from bottom-of-pack (BOP) to firmly in the middle-of-pack* (MOP) territory, finishing at place 15 out of 16 in my age group - that Kona slot was within reach!  Having been to several horse auctions I was familiar with the horse-trading that occurs as athletes buy/sell/trade their Kona slot in an ad hoc auction when the official results were posted.  I waited around hoping for a potential trickle down slot, after all, the uncertainty of international travel and COVID might make some athletes not want to use that slot, unfortunately, it was not to be.

Conclusion
With a sense of relief, I ticked off the third item from the Race Plan: despite trusting a few risky farts there were zero-sharts or close calls.  My well crafted race plan had executed perfectly, and the nutrition plan involving expired and exotic performance supplements, though risky, worked, and I was fueled for the entire race.

A member of the Greater Wanup Triathlon Club celebrates their middle-of-pack* finish at the XTERRA Conquer the Crater off-road triathlon, Sudbury Ontario

 * The GWTC defines "mid-pack" as any position that isn't first or last in an age group.

2021 XTERRA Conquer the Crater pre-race report

Seasoned athletes know the importance of the days leading up to a big race.  With the upcoming XTERRA Conquer the Crater Race in Sudbury on August 14, the training staff of the Greater Wanup Triathlon Club (GWTC) took the opportunity to pick-up the race packages for the Club's athletes and scout the course terrain, particularly the recently built Kivi Park Cross-Country Mountain Bike route.

2021 XTERRA Conquer the Crater pre-race package pickup and info session

 

 

The pre-race info session was well organized and swift, deftly giving athletes or their support staff course tips and important tidbits.  Featuring it's trademark 'one spare-rim look', the Greater Wanup Triathlon Club's team support vehicle was equipped with a training bike for a paid stunt rider to pre-ride the course, and advise club racers about 'best-lines' on the descents, and the best passing lanes to blow past the age-groupers clogging the climbs.

The test rider is reported to have stoically set-out from the parking area, riding to the Crowley Lake start area along Raft Lake Road, which was surprisingly long and hilly, and then pre-cycle the route for aforementioned scouting.  The scout decided it was in the team's best interest to bail at the halfway point, as the terrain had been considered rather taxing.

At the all-hands club meeting the next day, feelings were mixed: despite being ridden on, half the bike course was still unfamiliar territory, the run course untouched, and the lake not even fished, let alone swam in.  Worst of all, the club's premier test rider was in dismal condition from the course test ride the previous day ride.  Drastic measures were called for, and rather than resting, the clubs president said we need to look beyond Greater Wanup, and it's General Store, and into Greater Sudbury itself, for the latest in athletic supplementation research and application.

In Greater Sudbury, all roads lead to Paris street, and on Paris Street, is the World's Greatest sports and nutrition health food store.  "Somewhere on these varied shelves will be the secret of athletic greatness" one club member was thought to be overhead saying while perusing the shelves early on the morning the day before the race.

The secret to health and performance may very well lie within these shelves, potency increased after a short period of natural organic fermentation.

Spotting a potential gold mine of performance enhancing natural supplements, the club member was quickly on their phone trying to google the number of aerowatts-per-calorie and other metrics purported by the miracle elixirs.  The nutrition coach came up with what they thought with was the best mix, of bang-for-the-buck performance enhancers.  

"If you're going to take performance enhancers, you gotta take them race day, right in the morning" said the unnamed GWTC coach.  "Our team came up with what we thought was the best bang-for-the-buck expired day-of suppies plan for this race based on what was available on the discount rack at the health food store" (sic). 

"Double up on 'em Amino's on race day, blast a vega, and a skratch" said the coach.  And with this, race day nutrition was settled.  

 "The best time to test a new supplement or PED is in a race for sure", said Rob E., Greater Wanup resident and member of the local triathlon club, "If you want to know it works, what better way?".

 

"You see the things they find at the health food store?", said Rob E., "this last one ticks all the boxes: keto, testosterone, and watermelon?  Like come on, it's like free speed!".

 

With approximately 25% of  the course scouted, and a solid nutrition plan in place, all that remained was to execute on race day.

Controversy as UCI and Triathlon Canada both miss deadlines to comment on issue of Performance Enhancing Chicken Feed

 (Juneau Alaska Triathlon Times) Performance Enhancing Chicken Feed (PECF) have always been a contentious issue in multi-sport racing, with local tradition and jurisdiction of governing bodies combining in odd and awkward ways.  Both the Union Cycliste International nor Triathlon Canada responded for comment on the proposed bi-law amendment to the Greater Wanup Triathlon Club's recent motion to remove PECF's from the list of schedule-1 substances when testing for high-performance multi-sport racing.

The issue comes down to local homesteaders refusing to submit egg-samples to officials from the governing bodies during random sample screening for performance enhancing aviaries.

"These eggs are hand-picked daily from our flocks", said the local homesteader, "We buy whatevers (sic) at the General store, and we can't be responsible for what is or isn't in the feed", said the anonymous member of the Greater Wanup Triathlon club, as they speedily rode away towards one of the Red Deer Lake Roads, looking svelte on their new gravel bike and bright pink T-mobile kit with matching white bib shorts.

Some investigative reporting with dramatic music took place, and these photographs surfaced on social media:

Although most of the purported ingredients in the above photographs appear to be a snopes.com listicle of the most failed training fads ever, it's rumoured that local homesteaders swear by the efficacy of this particular mix, and that it has been purpose built for local conditions.

Greater Wanup residents lodge complaints amid increased multi-sport training activity in Greater Wanup

 (c/o Greater Wanup Daily News) Tensions are on the rise as year-round local residents grapple with the nuisances of noise and traffic associated with the soaring increase of self-propelled multi-sport training activities in and around the Great Wanup region of Greater Sudbury.  One, and possibly more, young adult female year-round residents took to the streets yesterday to protest the rampant climb of multi-sport racing in the Greater Wanup area.

"We're used to sleds and quads, they make a lot of noise and you can hear them from miles away.  But these multi-sport athletes are ninjas.  Next thing you have some soccer dad with a bike worth a couple decades worth of Moose Tags sneak up on you on the road!",  said the young local resident, when interviewed under the condition of anonymity, "(sic)... and these mid-life reborn multi-sport athletes need to realize there are other patrons of these community resources."

(Reuters Assoc. Photog. Press Photo Creative Commons Licensing) Greater Wanup Residents take to the road to protest increase in multi-sport training in Greater Wanup.

Though they did not register an official response, the Greater Wanup Triathlon Club did appear to have some potential activity during the time of the incident, when an awkward balding triathlete-ish looking dad was encountered shortly after on one of the Red Deer Lake Roads.

"I just don't see the big deal", said the local homesteader and purported multi-sport athlete, " 'Swim, bike run, fish', is the local quadrathlon, a racing sport that has been here since time immemorial, and combines the endurance racing trifecta of open water swimming, on or off road cycling, and running, with the survival pursuit of fishing and overnight camping."

"The local multi-sport training potential is tremendous", said another younger area resident, "Open water swimming, beaches, Moosees".