Second place rider John Kaiser, of Chicago, Illinois, cycles past some fishermen at the Clearwater bridge on Boy Scout Road Saturday, Aug. 1 during the Youth for Christ Seeley Lake Triathlon.
Racers wait at pink dots as the triathlon begins Saturday, Aug. 1 at 9 a.m. Some groups stood in the same spot because they planned to race together.
Vanessa Foerster weaves through traffic as she begins the biking portion of the race. The Bozeman native finished fifth in the race.
Kiernan Mortan drinks some water as she starts the running portion of the Triathlon. She finished 10th overall.
Triathletes finish the swimming portion of the event and quickly run to the next portion of the race.
SEELEY LAKE - Racers clad in wetsuits waited patiently under the starting arch of the Youth For Christ Seeley Lake Challenge Triathlon on Aug 1. The race, located on the River Point Campground and parts of Boy Scout Road, featured triathletes from all across Montana.
"I'm just glad we were able to give people an opportunity to choose to race if they wanted," Race Organizer Cheri Thompson said. "A lot of people trained for races and they have not had any outlet."
Thompson said the event was not guaranteed because of COVID-19. She usually applies for a use permit to rent River Point's Day Use Area in March, but they paused them. Around the Fourth of July, Thompson made a modified plan and sent it out.
Seeley Lake District Ranger Quinn Carver said approval of recreation events on the District is happening on a case-by-case basis. Event organizers are asked to provide a detailed Operating Plan prior to the event date that follows all local and state health guidelines for group size limits and demonstrates adequate health and safety mitigations are in place.
"We are very aware of how important events like this are to the communities and economies of Seeley Lake, Ovando and Condon," said Carver. "The triathlon organizers were quick to provide us this information in their plan. Additionally they limited participant numbers, shuttles, spectators and the ceremony to further comply with current recommendations and guidelines."
"I can tell you that people were really excited that we were willing to try and we are grateful to the Forest Service for letting us do this," Thompson said.
Modifications to the event included a mandatory mask mandate for all non-competitors. The racers were staggered at the start rather than a mass start, which spread out people enough to have no more than three to four in a group. Most people ran alone.
Thompson said there was one racer from Utah that competed virtually due to COVID. They are considering added a virtual class next year for racers to participate from all across the country.
The 37 racers took off into Seeley Lake for the 300- or 600-meter swim. Then they hopped on a bike for a 10K, and lastly ran a 5K to the finish line. Bozeman native Dylan Gillespie finished first in the race with a final time of 48 minutes, 32 seconds.
The Seeley race was Gillespie's first race this year and likely will be his only triathlon of the season. He last competed in December but enjoyed his time training and staying active for the last few months.
"This is such a sweet venue," said Gillespie. "It is in the shade, [with a] large transition area and the swim was super fun and clear."
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