Aug.1, 2001- The early morning drive out Highway 40 to Lake St. Louis was commuterless, but held instead a caravan of bike-laden vehicles making its way lemming-like to the waiting waters of Lake St. Louise. Passing each car in turn revealed an intent driver with coffee cup in hand, turning with a quizzical look to see who else arose at 5 a.m. on that Saturday. Upon reaching the proper exit, the convoy’s turn signals came on in unison and all proceeded steadily to the parking area.

The 7:30 a.m. start meant that the earliest arrivers would be in the transition area before the first real rays of light fell. The air temperature had fallen overnight into the mid to upper 60’s and as a result there was a chill in the air and wisps fog coming off the warmer lake. The sun wouldn’t radiate warmth until just after the starting signal.

Three hundred and twelve athletes ranging in age from 13 to 66 readied themselves with a nervous energy fueled by caffeine and/or adrenaline while the announcer barked last minute instructions. Final bike adjustments were made, helmet and shoes were positioned just so, and eventually the group headed en masse to the beach. Waves of fifty swimmers would head out at regular intervals until the sands were empty, this format being more race-friendly for first-times and to those whose swimming isn’t their strong suit.

Rick Barnes exited the water first in 9 minutes and 59 seconds while Michael Bub followed just 7 seconds back. The other top swimmers would find their glory short-lived as they were quickly outmatched on the bike leg. Bub recorded the second fastest bike split of the day, enough to overcome Barnes and put over a minute cushion on him at the start of the five mile run. Barnes averaged 5:41 per mile to get close, but Bub held on for the apparent victory. The only problem was that all of the contenders weren’t in yet.

Mark Gowler started in a later wave and presented a real threat to displace Bub as the overall leader. After what seemed an interminable wait, Gowler arrived at T2 in just over one hour and two minutes. He would have to average almost 5:30 miles to wrest the lead from Bub. Gowler managed a 30:42 five-mile run and took third nearly three minutes off the winner and two minutes back of Barnes.

Bub, who is currently training for his fourth Hawaiian Ironman competition, manages to put in about 8000 Yds. swimming, 250 miles biking, and 35 miles running in a typical week. When asked if he viewed this comparatively short race as just another day of training he responded, "No, it’s still a race to me. It’s sort of like the local championship."

Given the fact that all the other local triathlons have pool swims and that Lake St. Louis has a storied, nineteen year tradition, it’s easy to see his point of view. Despite bouncing back and forth between the big lake and small lake, moving from summer to autumn, and seeing a succession of ever-changing race directors, this race is still the one local triathletes point to each year. Until someone hosts an event in the Missouri or Mississippi Rivers, this venue offers the only non-chlorinated swim leg in the St. Louis metro area.

An interesting sidebar to the event was the fact that the top nine male finishers were at least 30 years old. Makes one wonder where the local young blood of this sport might be. A look to the 30^th overall position might give a clue. Thirteen-year-old Kevin Capps finished just twelve minutes behind Bub in an outstanding performance

The women’s race provided far less drama as Dee Dee Kohn emerged 7^th from the swim, but quickly established a commanding lead on the bike and never looked back. Her victory was by a convincing four minutes over capable runner-up Pam Quarenghi.

In Lake St. Louis Lite, also known as the short course, Keith Duguid and Juliet Lilledahl took the honors. Perhaps the biggest winners of all were former local resident Christopher Anast and Kyle Olmstead. Anast is a former local resident who made the drive from Chicago to finish the short-course in under one-hour-thirty-nine with the use of a prosthetic leg. A pre-race chat left the impression that this 24 year old has a quiet determination that we all should strive towards. Olmstead on the other hand is a 20-year-old athlete afflicted with Muscular Dystrophy. In the months leading up to the race, Deeds Fletcher generously donated his time to train the undaunted Olmstead. Overcoming a formidable physical handicap and a challenging race course, Olmstead finished to a tumultuous crowd who lined the finish chute.

The post-race feast and subsequent award ceremony capped off the morning. The racers mingled and chatted as they gathered their gear. As they walked their bikes out of the transition area more than one was heard to say, "I can’t wait for next year."