WINCHENDON — If any day was tailor-made for a grueling triathlon it was Sunday, when the Mass State Triathlon was held at Lake Dennison State Recreation Area in Winchendon. Clear skies and cooler than average temperatures provided near-perfect conditions for the nearly 190 athletes who completed the course.
The event consisted of a 0.9-mile swim around a marked course in Lake Dennison, pedaling a 22.1-mile bike route through Winchendon, Templeton, Phillipston and Royalston, and completing a 6.2-mile run on back roads in Winchendon.
The first person to cross the finish line was David Reynolds of Andover, running in the Elite Men’s division, who clocked a time of 1 hour, 53 minutes and 4 seconds. Daniel Stevens of Oxford, in the Men’s 20-24 division, finished at 2:00:07 to come in second and, running in the Men’s 30-34 division, Arlington’s Brendan Mueller came in third with a time of 2:02:45.
The first woman to complete the course was Ginger Reiner of Lincoln, competing in the Women’s 45-49 division, who finished with a time of 2:09:14, good enough for sixth overall. Jessica Holmes of Natick, also in the 45-49 division, finished at 2:12:56 (12th overall), and, coming in 24th overall was Hannah Goodrick of Brookline with a time of 2:19:26.
Among area competitors, Ryan Lyesiuk of Gardner (Men 40-44) finished eighth with a time of 2:10:43. David Ketola of Rindge, N.H., (Men 20-24) recorded a time of 2:16:17, good enough to place 17th. Sunderland’s Carl Binner (Men 60-64) placed 39th with a time of 2:25:57 while Stacy Hughes of Templeton (Women 45-49) finished 50th overall with a time of 2:52:47.
Race director Tim Richmond of Max Performance Sports, based in Middleton, said he considered Sunday’s event a success despite registering only 186 participants.
“We tried out a new bike course,” said Richmond, “and that format is one that the athletes like a lot better. It travels into Templeton, Phillipston, and Royalston, and back into Winchendon. It’s a better course; at least, that’s the feedback from the athletes.”
In previous competitions, there was a lot of uphill cycling from Lake Dennison into Winchendon center and then another steep climb up Green Street in Gardner, from Route 140 past Heywood Hospital.
“From a safety standpoint,” Richmond continued, “everything went great. We didn’t have any accidents. A lot of times things like that can happen with the bike race. Everyone was really safe.”
In addition to the competitors, Richmond estimated the number of spectators at just over 200.
“That’s definitely a pretty low number for us, especially for registered participants,” said Richmond, who noted that past races have featured over 500 competitors at times. “So, for whatever reason, for this event, the numbers were down. At this time of year, we coordinate events at five other locations in Massachusetts and this is probably the lowest we’ll see all year.”
The reason for the numbers, he continued, “could be multifaceted. We looked at the date, and a lot of folks could be on vacation. Some folks maybe weren’t willing to take a chance because family members were sick with COVID and they didn’t want to sign up.
“And we potentially get a lot of folks come out from the Boston area. So, maybe they didn’t want to put any petrol in the gas tank with prices being what they are.”
Richmond said he and his team of organizers will take a look at how things went this year and decide whether timing or other factors need to be tweaked.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com