The Harvard Lions Club hosted the 11th annual Bare Hill Triathlon on Sunday, June 9, with transitions between the three segments of the race taking place on the field in front of the library. The race had participants swimming in Bare Hill pond, cycling past Fruitlands, and running a loop by Thurstons Cove. Athletes and enthusiasts could choose to do all three events individually, complete a duathlon which is just the cycle and run, or form a relay team with separate members for each event.
Team “Hombres” composed of Bromfield students Ben McWaters, Bowen Clarke, and Finn Candon poses for a photo after the race.
Charles Oliver runs toward teammate Laura Derse (not shown) after finishing the bike section of the Bare Hill Triathlon. (Photos by Julie Gowel)
Swimmers lined up at the town beach at 8 a.m. The peacefully still pond waters churned in the wake of almost 300 swimmers as they freestyled the .3-mile water course. From there, individual racers dried off and hopped on their bikes while relay participants passed timing chip ankle bracelets, used to track progress on the course, to teammates for the 10.4-mile cycling route. Returning to the library field, bikers ditched the wheels or passed the chip off for the last relay and raced the final 5 kilometers of the course on foot.
William McElgunn of Boston finished first overall, completing the course in 54 minutes, 47 seconds, the fastest in the race’s history. The amateur triathlete, who earned his professional card last year but won’t join the circuit until 2025, proclaimed Harvard to be the “most scenic course” he’s ever run.
“The run was beautiful,” said the first-place female finisher, Amanda Nurse of Concord. When asked why she chose the Bare Hill Tri to race, Nurse said, “I’m training for an Ironman event this year, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to get my feet wet. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law live in Harvard with their kids, and they’re doing the relay today, so it is a fun family event.”
The first-place relay team, “Trievolv,” made up of James Hamilton, Jake DeGrace, and Matthew Belley, finished the race in 1 hour, 1 minute, and 58 seconds. The third-place team, “Hombres,” was a Bromfield School varsity freshman powerhouse made up of Bowen Clarke, Finn Candon, and Ben McWaters. Clarke, the swimmer of the group, boasted the fastest swim of the day at 6:38. McWaters, cross-country and track competitor, took second place in the run, completing it in 17:35. Candon, a soccer standout, took to the roads on a mountain bike in a cautious move to combat possibly wet road conditions and crossed the finish in eighth place.
Another Harvard relay team included Select Board member Charles Oliver. Team “Derse/Oliver” came in fifth overall and included husband and wife Mike and Laura Derse who did the swim and run. respectively, while Oliver biked. “It was fun to see everybody on the beach,” said Mike Derse. “It’s almost like a kickoff to the summer season.”
“We’re really appreciative of the Lions,” added Oliver. “There had to be 20 of them out on the course making sure it was safe, as well as the police. You felt good about riding through intersections; it was really great.”
Race director and Harvard Lion Sue Reedich said registration numbers are bouncing back after the “themed race” trend. “The first year we did it, we had 350 people, the next it was 300,” she recalled. “Then we got into the years when there were glow runs, electric runs, mud runs, and the numbers dropped for all triathlons. Now it’s building back up to almost 300 again.”
The more racers, the better for the community, as the Lions Club donates proceeds to many different local organizations, including Clearpath for Veterans in Devens, Harvard Fire EMS Department, Loaves & Fishes food pantry in Devens, and the Virginia Thurston Healing Garden in Harvard, as well as providing scholarships to Harvard students. The main mission of the organization is to provide sight and hearing support such as medical treatment, glasses, and hearing aids for people in need.
Harvard Lions 11th Bare Hill Triathlon, June 9
Top 3 Harvard men
- Christopher Clark, third, 1 hour, 2 minutes, 17 seconds
- Harrison Binnick, 18th, 1:10:49
- Nathan Woolcock, 25th, 1:12:36
Top 3 Harvard women
- Lindsey Daniel, 58th, 1:22:00
- Hannah Dangel, 94th, 1:34:34
- Robin Hermans, 126th, 1:41:30
Harvard relay teams
- Hombres, third, 1:10:55
- Derse/Oliver, fifth, 1:17:40
