As the Sunday morning rain drizzled down upon their heads, runners and bikers alike continued to push toward the finish line of the fourth annual Craig Greenfield Memorial Triathlon and Duathlon in and around Depot Park.
Nineteen-year-old Matt Inch (1:22:19) of Clarkston took first in the triathlon field after a third-place finish in 2006. Inch edged closest competitor, fellow 19-year-old and Lake Orion native Andrew Kuehl (1:27:20), by more than five minutes.
Derrick Fries (1:31:46) was the other Clarkston top-10 finisher, taking seventh place. Krista Walker of Linden, Mich. had the best female time, finishing 18th in 1:37:11.
Kip Litton, of Clarkston, captured the duathlon crown for the area as well. Litton, 45, had the event’s best time of 1:28:45. Last year Litton placed third in the event.
Paul Labudde (1:28:57) of Sterling Heights was second and Eric Gauthier of Clarkston (1:30:15) finished third.
More than 300 athletes took part in the event, which should raise between $7-$10,000 for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Erin O’Mara of Goodrich (1:39:30) finished 31st in her third triathlon, her first attempt at the Greenfield tri/du.
‘I really like doing memorial races and tri’s. And this was close to home,? O’Mara said.
?(The course) was very interesting. There was a little traffic buildup on the bikes, after that it was a nice ride.?
Aaron Melch of Woodhaven (1:33.26) placed seventh in the duathlon.
‘It’s a nice course and there’s a lot of people along the way, so that’s nice,? Melch said.
Brandon Rosengren of Clarkston (1:41:15) made his triathlon debut Sunday after training for nearly a month.
‘I wanted to try it out. It was definitely long and it tested your endurance. The swim was a bit of a struggle,? Rosengren said.
The race, which has raised more than $90,000 for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, is organized by Corey Greenfield. Greenfield and her family organized the outing in honor of her brother Craig, who passed away in 2000 of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
To look for results of all the athletes who participated Sunday, visit www.3disciplines.com., click on race results, then 2007 results and the Greenfield Memorial.