THUNDER BAY – They swam, they biked and then they ran.
Thunder Bay’s Nicolas Randall outlasted them all.
Randall completed the course and crossed the finish line at Trowbridge Falls in 2:23. 13, besting Stephen Chapman by 26.1 seconds to take the 2024 Xterra Thunder Bay title in the men’s full triathlon event. His brother Alexander Randall was third, finishing 2:28:44.9, while Duluth, Minn.’s Tiffany Kari Cizmas was fourth overall, claiming the women’s title in the full event.
“I know the course really well and this win is not foreign. It was a lot of fun,” said Randall, the runner-up at last year’s race.
“I just really relied on the fitness and being calm in transition, not worrying about getting tangled up in the shoes or getting the helmet off quick, but trusting I’m going to be fit enough to do each leg as fast as I can.”
Randall ranked second after the cycling portion of the race, but made up ground over the 10-kilometre run.
“I had a bit of time to make up on the bike, but it was just keeping patient and waiting for it. Coming into the run transition with another guy who’s a really good cyclist, I wasn’t sure where I was going to be in the run. I took it out hard to make sure I paced myself on the uphill. I had 10 K to go hard,” said Randall, an elite-level cross-country skier in the winter.
Kari Cizmas said she just tried to keep a positive attitude throughout the three legs of the event, encouraging other competitors to keep going.
She said she had no idea on course where she was in the race, but was thrilled to find out she was the top finisher in the woman’s category.
“I’m glad I didn’t because it just felt like less pressure,” she said.
Kari Cizmas, who will compete for the United States at the world championships next month in Spain, said the swimming portion of the race has traditionally been her weakest discipline, but it’s something she’s been working on.
It didn’t hold her back on Sunday.
“I recently started working my swim more, so I felt like I had a decent swim. I love mountain biking and I felt the course met my skill set well. I just kept it strong and steady and in control so there wouldn’t be any blips or screw ups, and I knew when I got in the run, as long as I kept it strong, I should be fine,” Kari Cizmas said.
About 250 people took part in Sunday’s events, which included a variety of different race categories.
Other winners included James Treloar and Dona Ostrom in the full-distance duathlon, Rob Roussell in the Duathlon sprint distance, Rudy Balabuck and Alexandra Jones in the triathlon sprint off-road race and Hayden Nisula and Mikaela Hummel in the super sprint off-road race.
