HARVEYS LAKE — From the shores of Sandy Beach right to the Lake Noxen Elementary finish line: the Back Mountain Triathlon once again delivered a showcase of incredible endurance, eye-popping athleticism and an outstanding sense of community spirit.
The Triathlon followed up on a dazzling debut in 2023 with an even bigger, even better sequel on Sunday, as the area’s best and brightest competitors tackled the course once again.
The community came out in droves to support the triathletes as they made their way around the course, some armed with signs, some with noisemakers but all adding to what was already a great race day atmosphere.
“Overall, it was an incredible race,” triathlon race director Dave Bass said. “I’m super happy with the response from the community.”
Well before the race’s 7 a.m. start time, a large crowd gathered at the swimming start line, with music playing and the Triathlon volunteers making their last-minute preparations as the first wave of triathletes got ready to hit the water.
Before the horn was sounded to start, Bass took the time to honor Times Leader executive editor Joe Soprano, an avid athlete himself and a Back Mountain Triathlon supporter, who couldn’t be present at the race on Sunday. The Times Leader is a media sponsor of the Back Mountain Triathlon.
After the athletes began their swim, the crowd fanned out along the course, waiting to support the riders at various spots along the bike and run courses or at the finish line.
That support, particularly prevalent at the finish line with music, fans and fellow participants waiting to welcome each finisher home, was a huge boost to the triathletes as they made their final push to the line.
“It’s such an amazing feeling, it gets me so energized,” said Ann Balonis, the overall winner of the women’s Olympic-distance race. “To see the community out, people all along the course, it was a lot of fun.”
Balonis was joined in the winner’s circle by Thomas Doran, the overall winner of the men’s race. Sean Robbins and Kristin Buchholz-Quigley won the inaugural sprint-distance men’s and women’s races.
The family team of Matt Kearns, Brady Kearns and John Kearns won the Team Relay race, and Wayne Devine won the AquaBike competition.
It seemed like everyone was a familiar face to one another, one of the things that makes the Back Mountain Triathlon stand out.
“It has a real small-town feel to it,” Bass said. “Everyone’s having a good time, it’s pretty relaxed.”
Several local nonprofit organizations will directly benefit from the proceeds generated by the Triathlon, and a few of them were on hand to join in the fun.
For competitors famished after running such an intense race, the Kunkle Fire Department was waiting with a chicken and barbecue dinner right at the finish line.
“A lot of people put a lot into this triathlon, they should be proud of what they do,” Kunkle fire chief Jack Dodson said.
Another such organization was the Food Dignity Movement, a group that aims to fight food insecurity by connecting local farmers and their produce with members of the community.
“The Triathlon has been such an incredible supporter of Food Dignity,” said Amanda Gordineer, the director of Food Equity for Food Dignity.
The Food Dignity table had fresh produce available for runners at the end of the race. Additional proceeds for area nonprofits were generated through a bake sale and a basket raffle held onsite.
After the race, awards were handed out to the top overall winners, as well as for the top three finishers in each age group.
The Triathlon Committee partnered with the Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame to sponsor and distribute the awards to the top overall finishers, and Hall of Fame president Jim Martin handed out the awards to the day’s winners.
After assisting Martin and handing out more awards on his own, Bass said that he had already begun to formulate some ideas for the Triathlon’s third go-around in 2025.
But for now, 2024 provided another successful installment of a race that’s already carved out a big place in the Northeastern Pennsylvania sports scene.
“I’ve raced all over the country,” Bass said. “I’d put this triathlon up there with any other race in the country.”
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