Chin Up: Challenging conditions force participants of White Deer Triathlon to bear down

BOULDER JUNCTION, Wis. - Fourteen participants in the White Deer Triathlon fell out of their boats and into the 52-degree water of Boulder Lake on Saturday morning.

The third annual triathlon, which features a paddle across the lake (rather than a swim) in kayaks, canoes or stand-up paddle boards, had challenging weather conditions with a race morning temperature of 43 degrees and steady 12- to 14-mile-an-hour winds with gusts up to 25 miles an hour.

It made paddling difficult, especially on some parts of the lake that had high, choppy waves.

But all of those who went overboard were wearing their required life jackets and were rescued by race volunteers in motor boats within minutes, said race director Theresa Smith.

All 14 went on to complete the triathlon as well.

It all made the White Deer Triathlon a great success with a record-high 342 participants, which is almost the event's full capacity. The race – which rolls out in waves of 10 to 15 people launching their personal watercrafts every 5 minutes – began at Boulder Lake with a 1.9-mile paddle. It then traversed through and around Boulder Junction on paved roads with a 13.6-mile bike ride, and concluded with athletes running through town and then the tall pines of the Northwoods in a 3.7-mile run (the bike and the run were shorter distances this year, by about a mile).

Jamie Gilbertson of Minocqua was one of those rescued from the frigid waters of Boulder Lake. When she braced for the whistling headwind going around the first buoy turn, her kayak rolled over. After rescuers plucked her out of the water, she skipped kayaking the final mile into the wind but still went on to finish the triathlon.

“I just couldn’t keep it straight,” said Gilbertson.

“That was like steering a barge,” said Sue Luther of Muskego, a friend of mine and a strong kayaker. But she also completed her third straight White Deer Triathlon even though she was diagnosed with colon cancer and had just completed months of chemotherapy treatment just before the race.

“I needed this,” said Luther. “This is Day 1 of the rest of my life.”

That kind of resiliency and determination was a common theme among several incredible athletes here, but as Todd Roepke likes to say – his slogan is even on the back of his race T-shirt – “#No Excuses.”

He is a blind athlete from Janesville who did the whole race with his sight guide, Brenda Casamento. She did the steering and he did the paddling in their canoe, they raced together on a tandem bike and they used a tether system for the running.

“It was pretty hard on our whole system today; we thought it was going to be easier,” said Roepke. “We knew it was going to be a challenge.

“There’s no excuses. If you’re visually impaired, or sighted, it doesn’t matter what you are or who you are. You are trying to accomplish the same things.”

This was not a comfortable, easy race. Unprotected hands were ice cold on the paddle and a lot of people got soaked. Feet were numb on the bike ride and the wind was constant there, too.

“I seemed like every way you turned your bike, you were always in the wind,” said Mark Brower of Lake Geneva. “I thought, how can this be?”

But the racers still endured.

Jennifer Limbach and Ryan Link of Madison did the whole race together, side by side, their third straight White Deer. Limbach used an exercise machine at Planet Fitness that mimicked the twisting core motion that helped strengthen her obliques for the paddle.

But for those who weren’t ready to do the whole thing, White Deer organizers also opened another race category: relay teams. Laura Cronan of Fort Edwards participated on the bike, in her first race, while her husband, Kyle, kayaked and a third person ran.

“The wind was terrible!” said Cronan.

But everyone still seemed to appreciate the new race medals and the afterparty at the community center. The White Deer Triathlon has grown a great deal in a short time, said Smith. There were about 250 participants in the inaugural 2015 race and 269 in 2016.

The White Deer Triathlon has to cap the number of participants at 350 because that’s how many bike spots are available at the Camp Manito-wish YMCA, which serves as the transition hub from kayaking to biking and then biking to running.

“Our numbers have grown again so much this year,” said Smith. “It’s nice to welcome people to Boulder that haven’t been here before. It’s just a really great event with the number of people who are volunteering and the number of businesses that are involved.”

Jeff Anderson, who works in the regional department of tourism, said that Boulder Junction businesses were full Friday and Saturday. This area, about a five-hour drive from Milwaukee, is already popular for fishing, camping and the silent sports. The triathlon, which is extremely well-run, organized and supported by 75 race-day volunteers, is becoming a new bucket list item for some, and an annual tradition for others.

“It’s a perfect event that shows welcoming nature of the Northwoods,” said Jason Kehl of East Troy, who finished in 1 hour and 41 minutes, sixth place overall. He has a vacation cabin nearby, so he’s grown up in the area.

“There’s people here with all different talents and ambitions and it’s just a really fun event.”

Lori Nickel covers sports and writes about health and fitness for the average person in her weekly Chin Up column. Email her at lnickel@journalsentinel.com and follow her on Twitter at @LoriNickel or Facebook at facebook.com/ChinUpLoriNickel.