Carbonear Sprint  

For today, the non race stuff.

The Carbonear Sprint was the second race of the year for me, The first being the Paradise Sprint. The only other time I did this race was 7 years ago in my first year in triathlon. That year was tough. It was windy, the pond was loppy, the climb from Victoria to the Freshwater turnoff was really tough, and the run almost did me in.

I don’t know why this event is so popular. Actually, that’s not really a fair statement. I should say, I don’t know which one of the tons of reasons, makes this race so popular. It’s the ultimate grass routes event. Even though it’s only a sprint distance race, it visits four beautiful communities on the north east Avalon. The swim is at Salmon Cove pond in Salmon Cove, and the bike route takes you from here, through Victoria, down through Freshwater, and into Carbonear. These are some of the oldest settled communities on the Avalon, which makes them some of the oldest settled communities in North America.

Despite the steep half kilometer climb at about the 10k mark of the bike, it’s a fast course. Probably because once you crest the hill, and start towards Freshwater, the descent is long, and allows you to pedal with some speed. This plus the fact that the distance is a little under 20k makes it a fast course, even with the hills.

Another big draw could be the steak dinner immediately afterwards.

It could also be the volunteers. For a 5k run in the pouring rain, I swear there was a water station every 1k. Dehydration was no excuse this year.

But for whatever reason, this years event swelled from about 65 participants last year to 140 this year.

The weather Sunday morning was foggy and cool. But the fog lifted prior to the race, long enough for the roads to dry. The impending rain also stayed away until I was nearly finished the ride. It then poured during the run.





I am already looking forward to next years event. Next post, the race.