Eight Squamish residents faced grueling heat and constant headwinds during the 12th annual Ironman Canada held in Penticton Sunday (Aug. 28). The winds kept racers cool, but scorching heat left a record number of racers dehydrated, many of whom ended up in the "did not finish" category.
But three ironwomen and five ironmen from Squamish made it under the 17-hour cutoff. Among them was Mae Palm, affectionately known as Marathon Mae, who was racing with the dual goal of establishing a new record in her 65 to 69 age category with a time of 13 hours 19 minutes or less, and qualifying for the Ironman World Championships held in Kona, Hawaii. Palm turned out to be the only person in her category, which meant she would automatically qualify for the Worlds upon finishing. So she sacrificed the record in order to keep fit enough to take on the Worlds, which is just six weeks away. Palm finished with a time of 14 hours and 35 minutes. "I ran part of the marathon and walked the rest," she said. "It worked, my legs feel really good."
Palm said she was thrilled to see so many other locals in the competition. Neil McKinnon set the fastest time among them, coming in at 11 hours 17 minutes in the 40 to 44 category. Teresa Hoivik in the 25 to 29 category came in at 11 hours 37 minutes.
"I'm so proud of her time," said Palm. "And she was so aggressive. If she keeps it up, she can easily be in the top ten. The peak is usually in the mid-30s."
Hoivik was competing in her first Ironman this year and said she thought it went very well. "I was hurting in the end," she said. "But when I finished - I was crying I was so happy - it didn't even matter."
Hoivik also had trouble in the constant headwinds, but persevered.
"Mentally you've just got to keep yourself going because you're out for so long," she said.
Hoivik said it helped to have people from home nearby, which included her training partner, Sarah Hieseman. Hieseman came in at 13 hours and 10 minutes in the 25 to 29 category.
Ben Eksteen is known as a local doctor, but still sought out advice from the local legend before race day.
"He asked me where he should position himself," said Palm. "I was quite honoured he would ask me for advice."
Eksteen ran the race in 11 hours, 45 minutes in the 30 to 34 category. Some competitors had additional challenges such as Chris Neufeld, who trained for a year only to approach the starting line with a cold. Neufeld finished the race in 14 hours and 4 minutes in the 30 to 34 category. Daniel Stiner came in at 15 hours 53 minutes in the 50 to 54 category. Stiner called the event fabulous and said the volunteers were great, but struggled during the race. After struggling through an eight-hour bike ride, the marathon was merely "damage control" he said. Zak Gilson raced a time of 12 hours, 29 minutes in the 30 to 34 category.
"I'd love to meet all of them and shoot the breeze," said Palm.
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