Twelve - Year Rewind

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Photos by HILLARY WHEAT/Yakima Herald Republic

Riders make their way down the Old Naches Highway during Sunday's second stage of the Valley of the Sun Triathlon (Photo credit: Yakima Herald Republic)

Steinman, Townsend win event for first time since 1992

By SCOTT SANDSBERRY YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

When Cary Steinman last won the Valley of the Sun Triathlon, the Moxee endurance-sport standout had a different last name and the George Bush who was running the country didn't have a W. in the middle of his name.

That was 1992, the same year that Kendall Townsend of Sedro-Woolley had notched his first VOS victory. Like Steinman, he hadn't won in Yakima since.

And in the Lake Aspen starting area prior to Sunday's 22nd annual Valley of the Sun, the 43 year-old Townsend and the 38 year-old Steinmanwere teasing each other about their antiquity.

"I'm too old to win these things", Townsend was saying.

"Don't give me that stuff about how you can't run anymore", Steinman was saying.

"Hey, you'll be the first woman today."

"Maybe we'll both win, if nobody shows up!"

Well, people showed up 108, to be exact - and Townsend and Steinman won.

Townsend finished second in the Yakima triathlon two years ago after leading until midway through the final stage the 11 kilometer (6.7 mile) run. This year, he pulled away from 29 year-old Stephen Fisher of Bainbridge Island on the run and was sure he was on his way to another runner-up finish.

"I still thought I was second," said Townsend, who had seen another competitor, Michal Bergquist of Airway Heights (near Spokane), well ahead of him during the bicycle leg.

With about two miles to go, one of the course marshals said, "You're number one." "I still thought I must be second."

I just figured he (Bergquist) was so far ahead that she didn't see him go through.

"Still, it kind of spurs you when somebody tells you you're winning."

He was, and he did, finishing the race - a one-kilometer swim, a 35K bike and the 11K run - in one hour, 55 minutes and 17 seconds, 1:17 ahead of Fisher. Bergquist, who took a wrong turn during the bicycle leg that might have cost him as much as eight to 10 minutes, made up several of those with his stellar 39-minute run and finished third in 1:57:54.

Steinman dominated the women's division, finishing in 2:10:01 - faster, in fact, than she did in 1988, when she won the race as a 22-year-old coming off an outstanding distance-running career at Washington State University.

"This is my first triathlon of the year," said Steinman, who was 15th overall. "I didn't know what to expect." She didn't expect her swim stage to be quite as physical as it was.

"There was a guy swimming next to me that is probably not happy with me. It was a bit of a boxing match," Steinman said, noting that the two had inadvertently struck one another several times while freestyle-stroking on the course. "He was swearing at l me when we came out of the water.

"It was no big deal to me. I'm used to being in rough waters where people are in pretty close quarters. A lot of times, that's the deal. I used to look up when I got hit, but I don't even do that anymore. I just keep going."

So, too, did Karin Kupp of Yakima, who came into the running stage in fifth place among women. "That's what usually happens," she said. "I get my butt kicked on the bike and then I have to try to make it up on the run. But I like having people in front of me to shoot for."

Kupp passed three of the four women in front of her. She couldn't shave any time off Steinman's advantage, but still finished second among women in 2:13:04.

Kate Soldano and Kellee Montmeny placed fourth and sixth, respectively, giving Yakima Valley women a 1-2-4-6 finish - their strongest Valley of the Sun showing in several years.

The area's top male finisher was Craig Scrivner, a 38-year-old from Ellensburg who was first out of the water on the swim leg, was passed by eight racers during the swim-to-bike transition, then came on strong to finish seventh in 2:03:46.

Perhaps the most inspirational finisher was Sister Madonna Buder of Spokane, a 73-year old Catholic nun with the Sisters for Christian Community. The race's oldest female - by two decades - she has won numerous world age-group triathlon titles and owned world records, yet remains steadfastly unimpressed with herself.

"I can see how when I was in my younger years --- say, my 55's -- I really must have been something. Now I'm a drag," she said with a laugh after finishing Sunday's triathlon in 2:55:35.

The woman often referred to in triathlon circles simply as "Sister M" is already in the early stages of organizing the first all women's ultra-triathlon next year in the Sun Lakes area of North Central Washington. "I think we're ready for it," she said. "These women have been doing Ironmans left and right, and they deserve a race of their own."

Buder has completed 31 triathlons at the Ironman distance - 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile marathon run - but was quick to say that Sunday's race was still no walk in the park.

"It's still work," she said. "And the older you get, the more work it is."

Kendall Townsend and Cary Steinman know all about that. When they saw each other near the finish area at Lower Gleed Park after the race, they congratulated each other on their efforts.

As Townsend turned to leave, Steinman had a few appropriate parting words.

"You're a winner, Kendall." Townsend turned around, grinned and pointed at her. "So are you."