JEREMIAH BARTZ/ Frontiersman

BIG LAKE -- An Alaska summer morning is often a good time for a nice swim, bike ride or run.

The beauty of a triathlon is it allows a person to do all three, consecutively.

Seventy-six athletes gathered at Big Lake on Saturday to compete in the Big Lake Triathlon.

The coed event was brought back this summer after a six-year hiatus.

Of the 76 athletes, Jens Beck and Lori Deschamps were the leaders of the field.

Beck was the first to cross the finish line, finishing the race in just more than 1 hour and 5 minutes.

"I feel pretty good," Beck said. "I felt good during the swim, my legs were a little heavy on the bike."

Beck was the first to emerge from the waters of Big Lake, the first to trade his bike in favor of is running shoes and the first to cross the finish line.

The 33-year-old triathlete's background is swimming. Beck spent four years on the Alaska Anchorage swim team.

Beck could have even finished a few seconds faster. Rather than heading down the center of the chute, Beck ran along the right side before diving under the plastic colored flags just prior to the finish line.

Beck finished about five minutes ahead of his training partner Andy Duenow.

Unlike Beck, Duenow's strength is on the pavement rather than in the water.

"The bike always tends to be strong," Duenow said.

He added that though he is usually strongest on the bike, he was pleased with his performance in the water. Like nearly all of the participants in the event, he was pleased with the conditions, especially the conditions for the swim.

"It had to be 68 degrees," Duenow said of the waters of Big Lake.

Beck and Duenow are not foreign to the world of the triathlon. Both athletes have aspirations of competing in some of the more noteworthy triathlons.

Beck and Duenow are training for the Half Ironman in Cona.

The Half Ironman is a qualifier for the Ironman Race, the Super Bowl of the sport.

Though the athletic resum/s of Beck and Duenow may offer more than that of Deschamps, the Anchorage 32-year-old was just as successful Sunday morning.

Deschamps was the first female to finish the race, completing the course in 1 hour and 18 minutes.

The event was the third triathlon for Deschamps. With a background in running, Deschamps said she is still picking up the other aspects of the event.

"I'm a biking novice," Deschamps said. "Very cautious still. I know to peddle hard."

Deschamps added that variety attracts her to the sport.

"I'm a dabbler," Deschamps said. "I like to do a lot of things, with a triathlon I don't get bored."

Deschamps' training partner, Adam Verrier, was quick to point out that Deschamps had a slight obstacle in the race.

"I ran right into a buoy," Deschamps said.

The course of the Big Lake Triathlon took the athletes on a 900-meter out and back swim from the dock at Big Lake Lodge on Big Lake.

Following the swim, athletes ditched their wet suits and hopped on their bikes for a 7.5-mile ride up Hollywood Road and another 7.5 miles back to the East Lake Mall where they lost their bikes before a brisk 5-kilometer run.

The event was organized by the United Way's Sammye Pokryfki and sponsored by the United Way and the Big Lake Chamber of Commerce.