Penticton Western News, August 23, 2013

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NEWS PENTICTON WESTERN

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VOL. 47 ISSUE 68

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FRIDAY, August 23, 2013

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NEWS PENTICTON WESTERN

Braemore Lodge resident Rick Herrington had the tough job of judging this year’s entries in the centre’s annual tomato growing contest which wrapped up Thursday. Among the categories were the best tasting, largest and the tomato which most resembled a famous person or particular object. Mark Brett/Western News

ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET… Joe Fries

Western News Staff

Much more than a $75,000 purse is riding on this Sunday’s inaugural Challenge Penticton triathlon. A senior editor at Triathlete Magazine said with athlete numbers at about half what they were under the Ironman brand, it will be crucial for the new race to hits its stride right away. “Everyone knows this race and everyone says such great things about it, so as long as there are no crazy kinks, then I think there would be more people coming back to it next year,” said Jené Shaw, one of three editors from the U.S. publication who are competing here.

“We’re just all friends and wanted to do the same race and wanted to see what Challenge could do,” she explained, “and kind of be a little bit of a guinea pig for our audience.” The City of Penticton cut ties with Ironman’s parent company last year and quickly partnered with the Challenge Family to present what will be the European operator’s first race in North America. Ironman Canada was then moved to Whistler, where it’s also scheduled for Sunday. Shaw said Ironman “kind of has this big, bad corporation feel sometimes,” but the races are well-organized and have name recognition. She added that Iron-branded triathlons in North America draw better

than those that aren’t, but Challenge Penticton has a chance to establish a new standard. “That’s another reason we were eager to get out there: If it’s well-run and it’s still a great race, then we want to pass that information on,” Shaw explained. “I think it’s a branding thing and it might take a year for people to realize this is still a great option.” Close to 3,000 people raced in last year’s Ironman Canada. As of Wednesday, just 1,400 were registered for Challenge Penticton, according to Paulette Rennie, who chairs the board of the non-profit Penticton Triathlon Race Society that’s operating it. “We’re very happy with the num-

bers, considering there’s another triathlon … in Whistler on the same day,” she said. There are roughly 800 athletes signed up for Challenge Penticton as individual racers, while the balance are in as relay team members, she added. Volunteer numbers are also down, Rennie confirmed, with about 3,500 registered, compared to 4,500 last year. She’s looking for “maybe 100 more (people) to help fill those holes.” Challenge Family CEO Felix Walchshöfer is confident both athlete and volunteer numbers will bounce back. “It’s the first year, it’s a new concept, it’s new in North America (and)

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it is not yet known,” he said Wednesday during a presentation to Penticton Rotary Clubs. “But once people go through that day and see the community and everything — and we are going to do a lot of PR internationally for Penticton — it’s going to grow very quickly.” Friday activities include the Underpants Run at 9 a.m. and the Street Dance Festival from 6-10 p.m. Both events are downtown on Main Street. A beer garden and expo are open in Gyro Park throughout the weekend. The race begins Sunday at 6:15 a.m. Professional athletes are vying for a $75,000 prize purse that will see the top male and female each receive $12,000.

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