Paddlers in the Chilkat Challenge Triathlon (Photo courtesy Gene Cornelius)

Paddlers in the Chilkat Challenge Triathlon (Photo courtesy Gene Cornelius)

About 40 people competed in the first ever 35-mile Chilkat Challenge Triathlon Saturday.

The race consisted of an eight-mile paddle, a 20-mile bike ride and a six-mile run. It started at Mosquito Lake and followed the Chilkat River down to Letnikof Cove.

Haines was well-represented among the top finishers.

Ross Ellingwood of Haines was the fastest solo man, with a time of about 3 hours and 3 minutes

Haines resident Alisa Beske won the solo women’s category in around 3 hours and 21 minutes.

The quickest team was ‘A’s Ablaze’ out of Juneau with a time of about 3 hours and 5 minutes.

The second-place finishers were Haines resident Dylan Nelson, Skagway resident Abigail Myers and the SEACC team from Juneau.

A South Carolina visitor and Whitehorse resident came in third in the men’s and women’s solo categories.

The race was put on by Alaska Clean Water Advocacy. Organizer Gershon Cohen says even though the weather was rainy, the event turned out well.

“Folks felt like it really pushed them, but not to the point where they couldn’t do it,” Cohen said.

Cohen says the triathlon steering committee hopes to make the Chilkat Challenge an annual event in Haines.

“The only question we have now, as a steering committee for next year, is we have to consider the fact that there’s a very good chance this is going to double or triple in size,” Cohen said. “And so it could be interesting to deal with the fact that the Mosquito Lake launch area is very small. And so we’re not sure how we’re going to work that out yet.”

For more detailed race results, visit chilkatchallengetriathalon.com