Woodstock Triathlon Club supports competitors of diverse ages, goals

Dave Jenkin (left) and Janet Thompson prove age is not a limiting factor when it comes to triathlons. Jenkin founded the Woodstock Triathlon Club ( https://woodstocktriathlonclub.ca/ ) in 2015 and along with Thompson, continues to compete at the world championship level. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

Age, it is said, is only a number.

There are those of us however, for which that number is an annual reminder the warranty on original parts including knees, hips and backs is running out.

But for 76-year-old triathlete Janet Thompson, that number’s ascension provides both an opportunity to be a young member of an older age class, and also add to the gap where she can still be competitive against much younger racers.

Laughing, she recalled an old TV commercial in which the fitness levels of Canadians was compared unfavourably to Swedes.

“I like to think, I don’t see any 70-year-old Swedes here - the Canadians are doing pretty good.”

A varsity women’s hockey player during her time at the University of Western Ontario, Thompson also ran track including hurdles and the 4-by-400-metre relay. Graduating to a teaching career in phys-ed, math and science, she was a long-time cross-country running and skiing and track coach at Woodstock CI and Ingersoll DCI.

Introduced to five and 10-kilometre runs by male teaching counterparts, she decided to try a triathlon toward the end of her teaching career.

“I’m a runner, own a bike and thought I could swim,” she explained, diving into her first sprint event, a 750-metre swim, 20K bike ride and 5K run at Lakeside.

“I wasn’t that bad,” she assessed, “I just wasn’t that good.”

Looking to up her game, Thompson joined the Woodstock Triathlon Club (WTC). Founded in 2015 by retired educator Dave Jenkin, the organization is home to over 35 members. The club provides mutually-supportive shared training opportunities including long ride Saturdays, lane swim Mondays, track Tuesdays and open water swim Wednesdays, along with access to professional coaching. Jenkin, WTC head coach and membership director is a convert from hockey who began his triathlon journey at 42, advancing to become a National Coaches Certification Program instructor for Triathlon Ontario. The WTC hosts an annual kids’ duathlon in June and its membership provides volunteer support for area events. More information is available by visiting the website https://woodstocktriathlonclub.ca/ or emailing woodstocktriathlonclub.ca.

“We have everyone from beginners doing a tri-a-tri (400 metre swim, 10K ride, 3K run) to world champions,” said Jenkin. “And everything in between.”

Triathlons can be a bit addictive he admitted, but in balance, are a very healthy pursuit.

“It’s about a lifestyle, you choose to stay healthy, eat healthy and exercise.”

Jenkin has competed in ‘seven or eight’ world championships, winning his age division sprint title in Montreal in 2022. He has done numerous half-ironmans, a 1,900 metre swim, 90K ride and 21.3K run and one full event - twice those distances, once being enough for him - in Lake Placid. Jenkin enjoys pushing himself, competition and the inherent challenge of setting and achieving a goal, elation mixed with pain at each finish line.

“And you feel great at what you accomplished - and you should.”

Thompson competes in around 10 triathlons a year, linking many events to locations where she has friends. The majority are sprint distance (750, 20 and 5) although she does one Olympic-distance event annually: 1,500 metre swim, 40K bike ride and 10K run. Her training routine is swimming two or three times a week, cycling around 100K and running ’30-ish’ kilometres. In competition, she worries about the swim the most, going out hard to keep some separation.

“The bike is just go hard, keep going and don’t have a flat.”

Thompson’s anchor leg is her strongest, as a runner, she considers that the ‘fun’ part, an attitude which generates some skepticism among compatriots in the transition zone.

“They look at me like I’m nuts,” she smiled.

Thompson also competes regularly at the world championship level at locations including Rotterdam, Holland; Lauzon, Switzerland; Hamburg, Germany; Montreal, and Ponte Vedra, Spain in 2023. Her focus in Ponte Vedra was the super sprint event, a 300-metre swim, 5K ride and 1.5K run, in which she finished second. Feeling good about her performance there, Thompson entered the Olympic distance race, winning the 70-74-year-old division title at the age of 73.

Thompson is also consistently in the top five in more localized events, which should be noted, usually have an age division of 50-plus. In one race, she was able to take a ‘loss’ to a 51-year-old philosophically.

“She’s 25 years younger than me - I don’t feel a whole lot of shame losing to her.”

WTC membership ranges in age as well as goals, club president Brandon Shearing who started at 14, now in his early 20s. But as both Jenkin, who will be competing in the 75-year-old division next year and Thompson are proving, it’s a sport whose enjoyment can last well beyond official retirement age.

“It’s a challenge to try and push yourself so you push the clock back a bit,” said Jenkin. “You can do it right through to you’re 76,” he added, smiling at Thompson.

“Or 80,” she responded, smiling in conclusion.