Oktoberfest 2018: A Blast of a Season Closer

by Rich Soares
The Oktoberfest Triathlon has earned a reputation of being the “don’t miss the fun” race of the season.

 
Officially the last local triathlon race of the season, more than 700 athletes come from around the country to say goodbye to the summer triathlon race season by letting their fun flag fly! Oktoberfest featured sprint, relay team and collegiate division races including draft legal and non-draft races from twelve Universities.
 
Sunday’s race began with the draft legal men’s and women’s races. The men’s division had ten athletes representing five universities, including Colorado Mesa, CU Boulder, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado State. The women’s NCAA division had 49 athletes representing twelve universities, including Arizona State, Black Hills State, Colorado Mesa, Colorado State, Daemen College, Northern Vermont University, United States Air Force Academy, University of California Berkeley, CU Boulder, South Dakota, Utah and Wagner College. The non-draft collegiate competition followed with 98 athletes (50 women and 48 men) representing Colorado School of Mines, CSU, CU Boulder, Wyoming, and USAFA. Sprint triathlon and team relay waves followed the collegiate start with 415 athletes in the triathlon and 30 relay teams.

Clear skies and mild temperatures made for perfect conditions at Union Reservoir in Longmont. The course started with a 750-meter square left-hand swim course around four neon yellow buoys. The water was calm and temperatures were in the low-mid 70’s making it reasonably comfortable for those who did not care to swim in wetsuits. The 13-mile bike course led riders out of the reservoir north on County Rd 1, east on Route 66, south on County Road 7 and back east on 119. All intersections were well controlled and large sections of the course were coned off in high traffic areas to provide the riders separation from automobiles. The run course led athletes through the race village past the vendor and club tents, spurring energy and excitement for spectators and athletes alike. Runners donned costumes adding to the “let your fun flag fly” vibe. Costumed or not, the runners headed on to the gravel out-and-back course with an energetic aid station located a mile from the race village. The finish line was lined
with spectator cheering and partying to the beat of race music.
After the race, athletes enjoyed good music and great food catered by Wahoos. The post-race party was capped off with the awards ceremony recognizing the serious competition of more than 700 athletes.

The collegiate competitions posted fast times. Nick Dorsett took out the men’s draft legal race with a time of 00:58:10, while Hannah Henry from ASU bested the rest of the NCAA women with a time of 1:00:04. In the non-draft collegiate race Jack Toland from CU Boulder won the men’s competition with a 00:56:28 and Kelly Grier of USAFA won the women’s with 1:09:58. In the age grouper sprint race 49 year old Kevin Konczak from Boulder won the overall with at time of 59 minutes even and 29 year old Caitlan Standifer of Boulder was the overall winner for women with a 1:05:39.
Complete results here
Thanks to Lance Panigutti, the entire Without Limits Productions crew and volunteers for putting on a fantastic 2018 season. I’m already looking forward to 2019!