Zeller wins revived Big Horn Canyon Triathlon

A small but intrepid group of triathletes swam, pedaled and ran through the course of the Big Horn Canyon Triathlon, held Saturday in the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area for the first time since 2018.

Ben Zeller, who started the triathlon years ago and assisted with this year’s preparation, won the event in a time of 1:42:23.2, with times in each segment as follows: half-mile swim, 17:29; transition, 3:16.2; 10.2-mile bicycle ride, 48:04; transition 1:44.8; 3.1-mile run, 31:49.3.

Second was April Nicholls, who completed the course in 1:42:59.5, followed by Paul Gardner, age 15, in 1:44:35.8 and Bryce Gardner in 1:50:37.5.

Thomas Gardner, age 12, won the Youth Division in 1:28:43.6, completing a 400-yard swim, a six-mile bike ride and a 1.5-mile run.

The team of Jourdan May (swim), Shelly Schultz (bicycle) and Lacee Davila (run) completed the course in 2:02:03.

Among the adults, Zeller had the fastest swimming segment with his 17:29 time, Nicholls the fasted bicycle ride in 47:03.3 and Paul Gardner the fastest running segment in 23:34.

The Gardners, of Manti, Utah, were in town for a Mayes family reunion.

“Paul wanted to do at least a 5K while we were here,” father Bryce said. “It’s  a good course. It’s fun. It’s a lot of uphill, but the downhill coming back is nice. He wanted to challenge me, so he wanted to run with the adults and not the youths.”

“It was a lot of fun but definitely different than I’m used to,” Paul Gardner said. “I’m used to 5Ks.”

Paul is a cross country and track athlete at Manti High School.

Zeller said it was great to see the triathlon return to the national recreation area, noting that he suggested the return to Lovell Recreation District manager Kristine Henley. Lovell Rec agreed to sponsor the event, and Zeller said he would help on the day of the race and help line up the course, though he said he didn’t have time for the long registration process.

“I hope we do it again next year,” Zeller said. “It’s a fun triathlon, though it was more difficult than I remember. It’s a perfect day. The lake is glassy.”

Henley said the permitting process through the National Park Service took a lot longer than she expected, which limited her ability to promote the race. But the small numbers didn’t bother her for the first try.

“It was nice to start small for my first one,” she said. “I hope it will grow next year. I’ll start the permitting process sooner so we can get the word out.

“It’s simple out there. It takes less manpower (to run) than in town.”

Henley said she would like to thank Big Horn County Search and Rescue for being on hand during the swim and to guide traffic on the park highway, the Zeller family, Paige Thomas, Janet and Joe Koritnik for timing work, Mark Garrison, the National Park Service and Ben Zeller for his help with route planning and setup. 

See more photos on page 12.