Hundreds ask ‘Why Not Tri?’ in support of a good cause

WASILLA — Saturday was the 8th annual Why Not Tri Triathlon. Using the Wasilla Pool as the starting point, racers swam laps then booked it out of the building to hop on their bike and take off, leaving trails of water on the pavement. The sound of cheers and applause rang out periodically as people made their way around the course. The thunder of excitement escalated each time a racer neared the finish line.

With the assistance of Raven Sports, each racer had a timer chip. The chips were linked to the start and finish line and tracked their progress. Every finisher received a medal and most posed in front of the Why Not Tri banner for a photo. There were snacks and water set up along with a few vendors, making a cozy headquarters for families and friends to roam as they waited for their loved ones to return from their journey. The announcers would electrify the atmosphere as they called out racers by name and cheering them on.

In total some 473 individual racers, 60 relay team racers and 175 kid racers tried out the triathlon this year, each having a different level of skill and competiveness, and all of them seemed to enjoy coming together that day. Each racer had a story for being there and many of them have roots in the races history, often closely knowing the racers, volunteers and family members. The founder of the event, Robin Rice helped flagging for a while. She enjoyed it because she was “in the action.” She seemed happy encouraging racers as they passed like most of the other volunteers along the trails.

Why Not Tri is a fundraiser to support treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease: a disease the breaks down nerve cells, reducing functionality in muscles. The cause of ALS is still unknown and there is no known cure. This is the first year the race is specifically donating to The ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALSTDI), a non-profit that promises treatment for ALS.

When founding the event, Rice dedicated the triathlon to her brother, who died from ALS a day before the first race.

“It made it kind of difficult. I was on the way home from picking up all the food and the supplies in Anchorage, then I got the phone call and I’m like ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’ We did it and it was a lot of work. I said, ‘I’m never doing that again,’ Rice said.

The race was smashing success and caught a lot of attention in the Valley’s racing community. The floodgates opened and a lot of people expressed their interest in doing the race again.

“Three months later, I started getting tons of emails from racers that wanted the race to happen, at least up to 100 people that were interested in doing that again.”

With support from her husband Chad, her friends, her family and the community, Rice created a race committee because it was “way too much work for 2 people.”

Since then, the race has taken an illustrious life. As the event grew, many more Valley residents have showed up each year. All levels of skill and any children 6 and up have been encouraged to try out the race. Diane Firmani, a longtime librarian from Larson Elementary, enjoyed the race and connecting with her community.

“It’s for everyone at all levels,” Firmani said.

She would often run into people she knew and loved hearing her name being called from a distance. It was “peer pressure” that got her here in the first place.

“Is it misery loves company, or more the merrier?” She laughed.

Firmani has done the race for over 5 years. She recounted a motivating figure in her life. Renee Millard was a friend of hers (and many others present that day). Millard was one of the founding members of the race. According to testimonies, she was very involved, supportive and possessed a great deal of influence. Millard died over a year ago, months before the race. The 2016 race was then dedicated to her.

“We always looked forward to seeing Rennee. I think about her. This year she is in the front of my heart and the back of my mind,” Firmani said.

“She was one of the first people to sign up for the event. Last year, we did a race in honor of her and we had a pretty good turn out for that,” Rice said.

Although the race encourages beginners, there are still those who have that spark of competiveness that cannot be tamed. All the kids running that day seemed to be in good spirits. The Whitson family was interviewed to gain some perspective from a younger racer. Siblings, Ellen (7), Evelyn (9), and Everett (10) related their race experience:

1) How did it go this time?

Ellen: “I wish I prepared more for the run.”

Evelyn : “It was fun.”

Everett: “If you want to do it, train hard in the swimming , biking , and running.”

2) Why do you want to race?

Ellen: “It is fun.”

Evelyn: “It is exciting.”

Everett: “To prove to myself that I can do it and to prove that my sisters cannot beat me.”

3) Are you going to next year?

Ellen: “Yes.”

Evelyn: “Yes.”

Everett: “Yes.”

4) Any tips for some one thinking about trying?

Ellen: “Definitely, train for it.”

Evelyn: “When you are running out of the pool, it feels weird but just keep on going.”

Everett: “It's fun, but you have to train or it will be a long day.”

Eight years ago, Rice thought we needed another Triathlon for the Valley. Now, it seems many other think the same.

2017 Why Not Tri results

Adult Individual Results

Women’s

1. Amber Stull-55:44 2. Summer Ohlendorf-57:23 3. Hannah Booher-59:50 4. Mazzy Jackson-1:00:12 5. Linda Barnack-1:03:47 6. Margot Ferguson-1:05:38 7. Kate Arnold-1:07:00 8. Colleen Crum-1:10:07 9. Heather Dekalb-1:10:47 10. Melinda Reynolds-1:10:54 11. Heide Provencher-1:11:06 12. Natalie Brinley-1:11:52 13. Vanessa Byrd-1:11:59 14. Amy Bushatz-1:12:10 15. Katie Naylor-1:12:20 16. Peggy Gonzalez-1:12:33 17. Shawn Mctaggart-1:13:03 18. Echo Mcdonald-1:13:29 19. Cheryl Duda-1:13:33 20. Ashley Mattson-1:13:50 21. Dianna Clemetson-1:13:56 22. Adrienne Pauling-1:14:26 23. Melanie Sexton-1:14:48 24. Christina Vonwalter-1:15:09 25. Gordon Descutner-1:15:11 26. Michele Wagner-1:15:19 27. Jamie Hartung-1:15:21 28. Emma Haddix-1:15:22 29. Jody Otto-1:15:30 30. Jami Heisten-1:15:47 31. Tami Graff-1:15:52 32. Jessica Hutchings-1:15:55 33. Emily Heale-1:15:58 34. Lisa Ramstad-1:16:14 35. Evangelyn Dotomain-1:16:17 36. Claire Horton-1:16:54 37. Valerie Martinez-1:17:10 38. Kade Descutner-1:17:18 39. Kris Kile-1:17:31 40. Rebecca Ravin-1:17:40 41. Heidi Embley-1:18:22 42. Jackie Leadbetter-1:18:34 43. Brandi Barnett-1:18:51 44. Leslie Hoffman-1:19:18 45. Colleen O'Neill-1:19:19 46. Diane Firmani-1:19:21 47. Lisa Miner-1:19:23 48. Holly Boston-1:19:49 49. Stephanie Nowers-1:19:51 50. Heather Sweetser-1:19:51 51. Katie Kuijper-1:19:55 52. Alisha Sarginger-1:19:56 53. Emily Palenske-1:20:09 54. Marypat Shaffer-1:20:10 55. Shawna Arend-1:20:35 56. Erika Farring-1:20:41 57. Linda Remaley-1:22:08 58. Katie Bender-1:22:13 59. Sarah Murray-1:22:16 60. Alicia Vernon-1:22:34 61. Jennifer Ungerecht-1:22:39 62. Terry Dickey-1:22:40 63. Monica Milbradt-1:23:01 64. Kayla Michael-1:23:04 65. Julie Laker-1:23:19 66. Corina Pace-1:23:22 67. Nikelle Kruger-1:23:29 68. Karri Crosley-1:23:40 69. Amanda Wolverton-1:23:45 70. Eden Fussner-1:23:53 71. Jane Walker-1:23:55 72. Rennea Goff-1:23:56 73. Diane Brewer-1:24:40 74. Lena Lawhead-1:24:44 75. Kelly Kilheffer-1:25:14 76. Dawn Carmichael-1:25:26 77. Melissa Schachle-1:25:28 78. Irina Avtushko-1:25:34 79. Sandra Lee-1:25:49 80. Amanda Dunlap-1:25:58 81. Shawn Sidelinger-1:26:00 82. Andrea Hambach-1:26:03 83. Miranda Dordan-1:26:21 84. Sonja Mackey-1:26:29 85. Allison Qualls-1:26:51 86. Monica Perez-Verdia-1:26:57 87. Doro Sidelinger-1:26:59 88. Colleen O'Bryant-1:27:41 89. Ashley Lankford-1:27:52 90. Sherry Ferno-1:27:57 91. Lydia Lester-1:27:57 92. Elizabeth Flores-1:28:00 93. Marcia Beck-1:28:01 94. Joy Huffman-1:28:04 95. Melanie Lott-1:28:06 96. Danielle Blanchard-1:28:25 97. Carly Wiehe-1:28:50 98. Calley Corcoran-1:29:01 99. Holly Harman-1:29:19 100. Jessy Hilliard-1:29:44 101. Jamie Gregory-1:29:55 102. Tennille Knorz-1:30:11 103. Shannon Minder-1:30:18 104. Danielle Johnson-1:30:22 105. Kathy Lux-1:30:24 106. Caye Moberg-1:30:32 107. Korah Harris-1:30:34 108. Kenni Linden-1:30:36 109. Danielle Harrison-1:30:40 110. Jocelyn Ness-1:30:46 111. Laura Potter-1:30:54 112. Nicole Tombers-1:31:13 113. Lora Nolan-1:31:22 114. Ryker Martin-1:31:32 115. Becca Moore-1:31:34 116. Jessica Young-1:31:35 117. Jennifer Patronas-1:31:38 118. Kyla Newland-1:31:49 119. Kellie Merrill-1:32:08 120. Cheyanne Smith-1:32:19 121. Megan Ferguson-1:32:25 122. Ally Ferguson-1:32:27 123. Rhiannon Routh-1:32:36 124. Tisha Valentine-1:32:38 125. Pamela Burlingame-1:32:40 126. Sammye Pokryfki-1:33:13 127. Ashley Hester-1:33:30 128. Audrey Preston-1:33:32 129. Callie Dietrich-1:33:33 130. Whitney Lewis-1:33:35 131. Kristine Lord-1:33:47 132. Cheryl Williams-1:33:50 133. Kate Johnson-1:33:56 134. Paige Mcgraw-1:34:24 135. Alexis Johnson-1:34:44 136. Jean Moran-1:34:46 137. Elizabeth Morey-1:35:10 138. Pamela Finch-1:36:03 139. Sunshine Hunsaker-1:36:04 140. Chelsea Meeuwsen-1:36:06 141. Laura Huston-1:36:09 142. Annemarie Gerlach-1:36:17 143. Darian Cherneski-1:36:31 144. Alyse Oleynik-1:37:09 145. Camilla Wolverton-1:37:23 146. Devin Campbell-1:37:43 147. Cindy Mcelroy-1:37:46 148. Alyssa Young-1:38:20 149. Sacha Sidelinger-1:38:26 150. Monica Terrones-1:38:36 151. Katy Owen-1:38:57 152. Jinny Cooper-1:38:58 153. Carmel Dehn-1:39:02 154. Alisa Stevens-1:39:13 155. Sandy Gravley-1:39:55 156. Haley Clark-1:40:00 157. Mary Shreves-1:40:27 158. Katherina Bang-1:40:29 159. Cheyanne Sundberg-1:40:42 160. Heather Dollick-1:40:42 161. Tracy Eliason-1:40:46 162. Ida Gullett-1:41:05 163. Abby Debonis-1:41:54 164. Mahri Lowinger-1:42:01 165. Kristin Whitson-1:42:22 166. Sara Braniff-1:42:52 167. Sydney Thielke-1:42:59 168. Jennifer Boehm-1:43:11 169. Terrie Clark-Newman-1:43:38 170. Jolene Campbell-1:43:56 171. Dawn Fandrich-Loranger-1:43:56 172. Nicole Streltsova-1:43:57 173. Ginny Jackson-1:44:05 174. Valerie Schmitz-1:44:30 175. Lois Olson-1:44:59 176. Christina Schmitt-1:45:08 177. Shannon Brooks-1:45:13 178. Laura Rosen-1:45:35 179. Jaclyn Huston-1:45:41 180. Katie Hollingsworth-1:45:43 181. Kathryn Welch-1:46:51 182. Kimberly Hoover-1:47:01 183. Heidi Jaques-1:47:08 184. Jennifer Martin-1:47:58 185. Taryn Fraker-1:48:07 186. Michelle Ritter-1:48:25 187. Heather Fullmer-1:48:26 188. Elisa Snelling-1:49:06 189. Naomi Torrance-1:49:17 190. Katy Grant-1:50:18 191. Nichole Smith-1:50:48 192. Victoria Schachle-1:50:54 193. Mary Hammes-1:51:04 194. Jodi Sides-1:51:38 195. Linda Bender-1:51:59 196. Colleen Weikel-1:52:00 197. Melissa Kotyk-1:52:08 198. Lorna Olenick-1:52:24 199. Lacey Centeno-1:52:32 200. Emily Richey-1:53:16 201. Veronica Wisthoff-1:53:59 202. Kelsey Preecs-1:54:54 203. Betty Russell-1:55:23 204. Amy Campbell-1:55:37 205. Barbara Demarco-1:55:45 206. Sabrina Conrad-1:56:04 207. Amaris Rosario-1:56:37 208. Ashleigh Russell-1:57:14 209. Kim Prayner-1:57:22 210. Cathy Ohmann-1:58:16 211. Jeanne Hayes-1:58:24 212. Katie Richardson-1:59:30 213. Wendy Taylor-2:00:27 214. Kelila Terrones-2:00:28 215. Nancy Burnett-2:00:33 216. Cherish Williams-2:02:29 217. Emily Murkowski-2:03:32 218. Grace Murkowski-2:04:17 219. Kristal Smith-2:06:59 220. Halie Hoffman-2:07:21 221. Melanie Wright-2:08:33 222. Kathlene Qualls-2:10:16 223. Marcy Richards-2:12:40 224. Chaia Brower-2:12:55 225. Vallan Bush-2:16:50 226. Heidi Sipin-2:18:03 227. Sarah Fountain-2:21:03 228. Maria Hass-2:45:17 229. Rhonda Lackey-3:27:30

Men’s

1. Jason Lamoreaux-47:35 2. Maximus Addington-53:56 3. Trevor Storrs-55:24 4. Wyatt Schmiege-58:03 5. Jason Moore-59:03 6. Scott Clemetson-59:09 7. Aaron Ramirez-59:19 8. Cole Abarr-59:27 9. Daniel Cheyette-59:58 10. Niall Linden-1:00:13 11. Todd Jackson-1:00:19 12. John Ferguson-1:01:40 13. Ed Milbradt-1:01:46 14. Ryan Chastain-1:02:04 15. Lee Weikert-1:02:08 16. Kameron Perez-Verdia-1:02:48 17. Lance Arnold-1:04:30 18. Adam Dixon-1:04:37 19. Nathan Elerick-1:04:38 20. David Psenak-1:04:47 21. Nicholas Kolesky-1:08:19 22. Clinton Alley-1:08:54 23. Paul Adams-1:09:43 24. Jim Brewer-1:10:03 25. Andrew Hartung-1:10:47 26. Dakota Olson-1:11:00 27. James Bunch-1:11:42 28. Mark Bohrer-1:11:57 29. Brad Tombers-1:12:07 30. Joshua Hawkins-1:12:21 31. Matthew Swanson-1:12:31 32. Patrick O'Sullivan-1:12:47 33. Michael Dietz-1:12:55 34. Larry Embley-1:13:01 35. Jesse Korn-1:14:02 36. Mason Huffman-1:14:09 37. Brian Wilbert-1:14:11 38. Matthew Holman-1:14:44 39. Doug Simon-1:14:45 40. Jonathan Woodman-1:15:13 41. Travis Lee-1:15:20 42. Brian Graff-1:15:46 43. Aaron Meeuwsen-1:15:56 44. Stephen Nowers-1:16:25 45. Paul Forman-1:16:50 46. Michael Wolverton-1:17:41 47. Craig Mccall-1:17:45 48. Jason Fieser-1:17:47 49. Roger Beck-1:17:58 50. Jassen Michael-1:17:59 51. Dean Ravin-1:18:18 52. Richard Olson-1:18:31 53. Josh Vanassche-1:19:09 54. Wendell Harren-1:19:11 55. Tom Price-1:19:29 56. David Douthit-1:19:38 57. Garrett Morris-1:19:47 58. Johnny Johnson-1:19:55 59. Hunter Olson-1:20:04 60. Zach Horwitz-1:20:13 61. Luke Mattson-1:20:37 62. Erik Anderson-1:20:48 63. Matt Medinas-1:21:00 64. Kerry Clark-1:21:16 65. Levi Alexander-1:21:23 66. Kyle Leadbetter-1:21:23 67. Scott Hancey-1:21:37 68. Bud Sexton-1:21:42 69. Jason Gregory-1:21:59 70. Daniel Miles-1:22:26 71. Tyler Carnahan-1:22:29 72. Maverick Merrill-1:22:37 73. Lawrence Bigelow-1:22:53 74. Miles Laughlin-1:23:10 75. Michael Hilliard-1:23:11 76. Josh Preston-1:23:26 77. Jim Hayes-1:23:31 78. Mark Gebhardt-1:23:49 79. Jay Hoffman-1:24:02 80. William Klatt-1:24:07 81. Adam Imperato-1:24:14 82. Amy Fischer-1:24:37 83. Travis Rooney-1:24:50 84. David Weaver-1:26:09 85. Matthew Kolesky-1:27:04 86. Philip Giorgione-1:27:50 87. Stephen Routh-1:29:25 88. Hayden Hoffman-1:29:36 89. Scott Habermann-1:29:42 90. Tim Conrad-1:30:12 91. Martin Orlowicz-1:30:24 92. Don Thomson-1:31:33 93. Shawn Bernard-1:33:13 94. Brett Christensen-1:33:14 95. Benjamin Pierce-1:33:29 96. Breton Henry-1:33:51 97. Chris Hester-1:33:56 98. Daniel Sides-1:36:53 99. Josh Heffner-1:40:21 100. Brent Huntington-1:40:54 101. John Conrad-1:41:28 102. Jonathan Huntington-1:43:08 103. David Rudolph-1:44:42 104. Elvis Senethep-1:45:33 105. Ian Richey-1:53:31 106. Braxton Hoffman-1:53:44 107. Chris Remick-1:54:03 108. David Williams-1:55:01 109. Robert Anderson-1:55:07 110. Evan Taylor-1:58:18 111. Triston Medinas-1:59:27 112. David Morrison-2:05:33 113. Henry Kaiden-2:09:16 114. Larry Henry-2:09:44 115. Chris Pace-2:16:33 116. David` Kolesky-2:26:33 117. Paul Hass-2:45:07

Kid’s Long Course

Girl’s

1. Mariella Belliston-29:41 2. Aspen Olson-33:28 3. Kadence Barnett-33:59 4. Alexandria Jasmine Anderson-34:55 5. Mya Campbell-39:28 6. Keena Bennett-41:25 7. Breanna Hester-42:52 8. Livia Breshears-42:54 9. Nevaeh Dunlap-44:04 10. Ayris Gonzalez-44:15 11. Kendall Barnett-44:54 12. Aila Johnson-45:24 13. Alexandra Leonard-46:10 14. Bronte Beck-47:24 15. Alea Sidelinger-47:41 16. Ava Smyth-50:24 17. Aurora Streltsova-52:41 18. Gracie Embley-53:07 19. Gracelyn Moore-53:32 20. Kathryn Miller-54:04 21. Jaide Campbell-1:06:09 22. Jordan Campbell-1:07:38

Boy’s

1. London Lee-30:07 2. Jayden Rice-32:30 3. Graham Pierce-32:44 4. Tofer Vangorder-33:15 5. Samuel Stapley-33:34 6. Hayden Woodring-34:20 7. Samuel Anders-34:31 8. Ryan Embley-36:25 9. Daniel Anders-37:14 10. Riley Foreman-39:13 11. Kaden Schachle-39:16 12. Levi Kelley-39:58 13. Kai Beck-40:36 14. Devin Nugent-40:51 15. Carter Conrad-41:03 16. Ian Naylor-42:01 17. Carson Deans-43:36 18. Mason Hancey-44:06 19. Nycoh Johnston-45:15 20. Hagan Powers-45:35 21. Rome Breshears-47:10 22. Landen Woodring-47:49 23. Aaron Kim-49:16 24. Braiden Owen-50:04 25. Joshua Miles-50:43 26. Andrey Streltsov-53:14 27. Hayden Wright-53:46 28. Anakin Hass-55:29 29. Kian Miller-1:01:47

Team Relay

1. Splash, Flash & Dash-50:26 2. Blackouts-59:42 3. Triple Boom-1:05:28 4. The Water Babies-1:06:29 5. Girl Power-1:08:11 6. Sonnenberg Bros-1:09:20 7. Dj&R-1:11:54 8. Point Blank-1:15:29 9. B-R Squared-1:18:20 10. Metcalf-1:18:47 11. Team Ames-1:20:14 12. Lab Geeks-1:22:40 13. Not So Fast And Furious 3-1:25:04 14. Nice Mike & The Girls-1:27:19 15. Blood, Sweat & Beer-1:28:13 16. Molar Rollers-1:30:46 17. Fire Air Water-1:31:06 18. The Heat-1:31:20 19. The Snatching Belles-1:32:57 20. Die Tri-Ing-1:51:45 21. The Girls-1:55:36