Congratulations to Duathlon Overall Winners Jake Rhyner and Alicia Kaye

by Kevin Grogan

The 3rd edition of the Cherrylake Farm Duathlon took place this Saturday morning with near perfect racing conditions. While the duathlon is the marquee race, the event also consists of a 10k and 5k kilometer run.  The event drew elite professionals from around the globe (USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, Spain, and Brazil) since it was the first year that offered a $1,200 professional prize purse.

The duathlon format was a 5k dirt run, followed by a  20k road bike, and finishing with a 2.5-kilometer dirt run. Both challenging run portions took the competitors through the scenic tree-lined hills of Cherrylake before hitting the hill known as the “Cherrylake Wall” just before the end of the loop.

Both overall duathlon winners came from south Lake.  New dad, Jake Rhyner of Groveland, won the men’s side.  Rhyner put the hammer down on the bike and came into the second transition with a 62-second lead.

Rhyner said with a chuckle, “I woke up this morning at 4:30 am to change my daughter’s poopy diaper and actually felt great.  “I knew that to get on the bike, I had to do my thing and take advantage of my cycling strength against the quick feet of these young ITU professionals.  That portion came together for me and I was able to give myself enough of a cushion going into the second run.”

As for the ladies, Alicia Kaye was able to feed off a strong men’s field for the victory.

Alicia stated, “It was nice to race out there with so many local amateurs and friends.  Winter Garden’s Patrick Sirois and I flip-flopped on both the bike and the run all day long.  It’s nice to get out there and race with these local athletes that train with us.”

The Cherrylake Duathlon was produced by South Lake Multisports Kimberly Grogan and Cherrylake Farms Caraline Jones.  Many thanks to all of Cherrylake’s staff and owner Timothee Sallin for hosting such a memorable morning.

Duathlon