What a difference a month makes!
August started with Deep River’s 40th annual Triathlon being cancelled due to air quality issues stemming from wildfires in Western Canada.
It ended with the triathlon being successfully staged under crisp, blue sunny skies on the Labour Day weekend, with not a hint of smoke in the air.
“Second time’s a charm!” exclaimed Deep River’ recreation program coordinator, Christine Armstrong.
The smile on Armstrong’s face was a far cry from the tears in her eyes at the beginning of August, when the town made the difficult decision to cancel the event.
“It’s the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make,” Armstrong said that sad weekend.
This time around things were much different.
“The weather is good,” Armstrong said at the marina Sunday morning, after the competitors had entered the Ottawa River for the first leg of the triathlon.
“I thought it was going to be a little colder.”
Organizers had taken into account the fact the weather would be colder at the end of August than at the beginning, and so started the triathlon an hour later than its normal 8:30 am kickoff to allow things to warm up a bit for the competitors.
“I’m glad we waited the extra hour. It got the fog off the river, too,” Armstrong said.
The one drawback, if any, was the fact just 54 competitors entered Sunday’s triathlon – a far cry from the 130 who had registered for the one which got cancelled…
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