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Caroline, Carolyn go off-road

It was a one-two winning punch for Rossland at the third annual Vernon off-road triathlon on Sunday, June 24.
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It was a one-two winning punch for Rossland at the third annual Vernon off-road triathlon on Sunday, June 24.

Rossland was represented by two women—Caroline Rousselle and Carolyn Buehler—and both returned home with gold and silver medals, respectively.

Buehler, first overall woman in the Vernon short course triathlon in 2012, decided to step up to the challenging long distance course this year.

Rousselle, owner of Rossland’s Revolution Cycle, confirmed that the Vernon trails provided some exceptional mountain biking

Off-road triathlon (formerly called “Xterra”) is starting to gain popularity in B.C., taking the triathlete off the pavement and onto the trails.

The event followed the order of a road triathlon beginning with a lake swim, followed by a mountain bike (typically cross-country) and finished with a trail run.

The Vernon off-road triathlon offered a short distance course (750 metre swim, 12.25 kilometre bike, 6.25 km. run) and a long distance course (1,500 m. swim, 21.25 km. Bike, 11.5 km. run), as well as a duathlon (trail run/mountain bike/trail run; short and long courses).

About a 4.5 hour drive from Rossland, the Vernon off-road triathlon is held at Ellison Provincial Park. Ellison, a 10-minute drive outside of Vernon, is located on sheltered Otter Bay (part of Okanagan Lake).

The race is in mid-June when water conditions are typically favourable (Sunday’s race boasted a water temperature of 18 Celsius with one swimmer wetsuit-free).