William McGhee competes in Sunday’s Lima YMCA Kewpee Triathlon at Ottawa Metro Park.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA – Ed Alyanak, a 44-year-old Dayton area resident, felt compelled to compete in Sunday’s Lima YMCA/Kewpee Triathlon at Ottawa Metro Park.
Alyanak not only competed in Sunday’s triathlon, but he pulled away for a convincing victory in a time of 1 hour, 7 minutes and 46 seconds.
Alyanak’s nearest competitor was an Allen East graduate, 19-year-old Keaton Lehman, who crossed the finish line in 1:11.00. Jacob Chontos was a close third (1:11.07).
Sunday’s triathlon consisted of a 500-yard swim, a 15-mile bike ride, and then culminated with a 5,000-meter run.
There also was a duathlon on Sunday that was comprised of a 2-mile run, a 15-mile bike ride and a 5,000-meter run, which ran simultaneously with the triathlon. There also was a relay option for these events.
“I did this race before I got married, but I can’t remember when. I think I was second (place) back then,” Alyanak said. “Stechschulte is my wife’s maiden name – Ann Stechschulte. She’s the famous one in the family. We now have three kids. We spent some time with the family yesterday. I can’t resist doing a fun race. It’s just fun.”
Ann (Stechschulte) Alyanak is a 1997 Bluffton High School graduate and a 2001 graduate of Purdue. She was a multiple-time U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier in the marathon.
Added Alyanak, “This is the second time that I’ve done this race, but it’s been over two decades. I’m not a young man anymore, and I felt every step of that run too.”
Lehman, a former multi-sport athlete at Allen East, and now a sophomore at Ohio Northern University, said that he still has the strong desire to compete.
However, Lehman had to overcome a major setback this year before getting back to doing triathlons.
“This is my first one (triathlon) this year,” Lehman said. “In January, I had bilateral hip surgery. So, I wasn’t even planning on doing this. I got through it all with God and my mom and dad supporting me. Even when I was down and barely walking, they were right there for me. So, it’s amazing to be out here today.”
Last year, Lehman finished third at the Lima YMCA/Kewpee Triathlon. On Sunday, Lehman lost contact with Alyanak early on. It wasn’t until the running portion of the event that he finally saw Alyanak.
“Coming off the bike, I wasn’t sure how far he was ahead of me,” Lehman said. “I was just running like there was no tomorrow. I was ready to suffer. I was ready to hurt.
“Right when I found him on that path (during the run), it was like a shark tasting blood. I was going after him. Nothing was going to stop me.”
On the women’s side, 43-year-old Abbie Meyers successfully defended her Lima YMCA/Kewpee Triathlon title as she pulled away from the competition, en route to a winning time of 1:22.05.
Meyers realized after she graduated from high school, that she needed to find a sport to satisfy her competitive appetite.
That was when she started to compete in triathlons.
“I played basketball (at Bluffton High School),” Meyers said. “I played on the Pirates team that went to state my junior and senior years. I graduated in 2000. I didn’t pick this (triathlons) up until college. I needed something to do. I felt like I could still stay competitive as I got older. It’s been fun.”
Meyers’ nearest competitor on Sunday was 18-year-old Carmen Blaine, who recently graduated from Elida. Blaine finished a distant second with a time of 1:27.47.
“I wanted to try to redeem the title,” Meyers said. “Knowing this (Sunday’s triathlon) is the 40th year, I figured there would be some pretty good athletes out here, and there were. (There were) more guys than girls though.
“I was all in on the bike, so I didn’t really know where I was until I got to about midway through the run, and I saw there were no girls. So, I felt petty confident.”
Blaine, who will be competing on the triathlon team at Trine University this coming school year, admitted that she did not know where Meyers was.
“She (Meyers) was just gone. Then I saw her when we passed (on the run). She was out there,” Blaine said with a grin. “But I think I dropped like 12 minutes from last year.”
Blaine’s father, 48-year-old Brandon Blaine, helped pace his daughter up through the bike portion of the event. However, his daughter pulled away from him during the run. Brandon Blaine’s finishing time was 1:34.30.
“He helped me a lot on the bike. He stayed right with me the whole time, but I got him on the run,” Carmen Blaine said about her father.
Meyers’ husband, Aaron, placed fifth overall in Sunday’s triathlon with a time of 1:19.48.
In Sunday’s duathlon, Joseph Carl won in 1:30.53. Julia Smith won the women’s duathlon (1:39.08).
**Complete results for the Lima YMCA/Kewpee Triathlon/Duathlon can be found at usaracetiming.com or https://results.raceroster.com/v2/en-US/results/5gqbsjbk75jytvmk/results
