The first female to complete the 29th St. Albert Triathlon was surprised by her success.
“I’m definitely really happy with my performance. I didn’t really know what to expect coming in because this is my first time doing the sprint tri,” said Anne Charles, the sixth overall finisher out of 119 competitors, including 53 females, in one hour and 13 minutes. “I went out there and tried to do my best and it ended up turning out pretty well I guess.
“It’s the highlight of my season.”
Charles, 24, was clocked at 11:19 in the 750-metre swim, 38:10 in the 20-kilometre bike ride and 23:30 in the five-km run.
“I kind of looked at the results from last year and got a gauge as to where the fast times were so I was hoping to be under 40 minutes for my bike, around 11 minutes for my swim and then 23 minutes for my run. I was kind of around that for all my disciplines so I was happy with all of my times,” Charles said.
A close second by 51 seconds was Andrea Bowman for eighth place overall. The first-place 35 to 39 female posted times of 12:18 in the swim, 37:38 on the bike and 23:55 on the run.
Bowman and Charles were racing in heat five.
“I knew who to look for on the race course,” Charles said of her friend from Spruce Grove. “As I went out for my run I saw her coming in off her bike and I know she’s a good biker so I was anticipating on her being close. So I knew with her being close on my heels I was going to have to push hard to come to the finish line first with her being right there.
“It was kind of cat and mouse. I was the mouse and she was the cat so I knew she was chasing me down.”
The triathlon ended before a heavy downpour sent everybody inside Fountain Park Recreation Centre for the awards ceremony.
“I was definitely anticipating biking in the rain when I looked at the weather forecast (Saturday), but I was lucky that we really only got a sprinkle on the bike and then didn’t have any rain during the run; it was kind of just after that,” Charles said. “It was actually a really ideal day for a triathlon because it didn’t actually rain but it wasn’t sweltering hot so I find I race a little bit better when it’s a little bit cooler because you don’t end up overheating.”
The last major event for Charles was the 2017 Great White North and in the Olympic distance (1.5-km swim/40-km-bike/10-km run) placed seventh at 2:36:59 as the second-best female behind Lisa Ulrich of St. Albert in sixth place at 2:35:45
Ironically, Ulrich was last year’s fastest female in the St. Albert Triathlon at 1:08:54 for sixth place overall.
Growing up in Prince Albert, Charles was a competitive swimmer while doing track and cross-country running before joining her mom, Dulcie, and sister, Christina (“They’re my inspirations”) as a 17-year-old triathlete at the Fred Dunn Triathlon in Waskesiu, Sask., western Canada’s oldest triathlon, which started in 1981.
“I asked for a bike for my 16th birthday and my mom was kind enough to get me one and that’s what got me going I guess,” Charles said. “So far it’s been really fun.
“My swimming background definitely helps me with the swim and running. It helps with general overall endurance. It’s given me a good leg up in triathlon for sure.”
Charles averages about two triathlons of various distances per year.
“It really helps me stay active, stay fit and stay healthy, which is the primary goal of any physical activity, whether you’re competitive or not. It’s that whole staying healthy aspect. It’s definitely something my mom has taught me,” said the physiotherapist graduate of the University of Alberta.
