Built to last

A number of South Canterbury builders swapped their tool belts for race bibs at the end of January, as they competed for bragging rights in the Builders’ Challenge at the Placemakers-sponsored Timaru Triathlon

Branch operator Brendan Leary says five teams took part in the inaugural challenge, going head-to-head to see who measured up over the 51km course.

“It was a lot of fun. There was some great banter and we managed to find an old shield, which we made into a trophy for the winners,” says Brendan, who teamed up with his trade sales manager Simon Rees and 17-year-old open water swimmer Korlina Volkov to take part in the challenge.

“I did the 10km run and Simon did the 40km ride. Korlina’s sister works in the store and we got her in the team because she’s a great swimmer. She and Simon gave me a big lead heading into the run, but I’m not as fast I used to be and a lot of people got past me; we ended up finishing fourth out of the builders!”

The trio completed the course in 2 hours and 39 minutes, just under six minutes behind challenge winners Kerry Peneamene, James Smith and Jarred Millar of Henderson Building.

Brendan says that since the event, more builders have expressed their interest in taking part.

“I’ve had a lot of guys come to me and say they’d love to give it a go. We’re looking at organising our own customer event in a few months and are encouraging builders to enter.”

Overall, the Timaru triathlon attracted more than 60 competitors with the fastest individual winner clocking 02:08:25. The fastest team overall completed the course in 02:01:08.

Young gun

After blitzing the 750m triathlon swim in 17 minutes and eight seconds to finish third fastest overall, Korlina Volkov didn’t have much of a chance to catch her breath.

The 17-year-old had to get ready for the 2.5km PrimePort Timaru Ocean Swim – a separate event held on the same day.

The youngest competitor in the ocean race field, she was the third-fastest woman home. Her time of 38 minutes and 29 seconds was also good enough for eighth overall and first in the under-25 female category.

A former New Zealand junior champion, Korlina swapped competitive pool swimming for open water events.

“I really enjoy the open water swims. Probably the only downside of open water swimming is when you catch a mouthful – it’s awful!”