Rob Cross wins Tongass ToughMan

The third annual Tongass ToughMan triathlon drew 22 competitors to swim, bike and run through Wrangell, with Rob Cross logging the best solo time of 7 hours, 54 minutes and 40 seconds.

After sparse turnout last year, the July 3 event this year attracted almost as many competitors as 2019.

The triathlon results:

Solo

Rob Cross, 7:54:50

Patrick Howell, 9:11:00

Robbie Rooney, 12:45:00

Senoe Harris (completed swim and bike but not the run)

Team

Jackie McMahon, Ceona Koch and Jason Rooney, 8:39:30

Jimmy Nelson and Chadd Yoder, 8:42:35

Sage Smiley, Mitchell Feske and Jonas Crabtree, 9:00:35

Kate Thomas, Angie Flickinger and Alex Freericks, 11:02:15

Organizer Nic Howell said he and fellow organizer Ceona Koch worked out some of the kinks from last year. For example, this year swimmers were taken out from the dock by boat and then swam back, rather than have them swim out and then back. The change helped things go much more smoothly, he said.

“I am really happy that it was such a perfect day for swimming,” said Sage Smiley, one of the participants. “Everything fell together so well.”

With the success of the 2021 ToughMan, Howell said he is excited for next year and is planning for bigger and better things.

“Now I feel comfortable opening it up and trying to make a bigger event out of it, bringing in people from out of town,” he said. “Something we hope to add next year is a smaller kids’ triathlon.”

 

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