Duane Latimer of Boissevain proved his mettle in Whistler, British Columbia on July 29. He participated in the Ironman Canada race, starting at 6:20 am and not finishing until 10:51 pm. The race included swimming, biking and running, and it was a challenge to say the least. The temperature was a burning 34 degrees and many people did not finish due to heat exhaustion. There were 2,000 people signed up and only 1,190 completing the race, with Latimer saying he saw many people passed out on the side of the road for the bike/run portion.
Latimer’s total time was 16 hours, 31 minutes and 28 seconds. He did the swim in 1 hour, 20 minutes and 18 seconds, the bike in eight hours, three minutes and 56 seconds and the run in six hours, 47 minutes and three seconds. He finished 804th out of 869 by gender, and 1,095th place out of 1,190 overall.
Traditional Ironman distances are 2.4 miles for swimming, 112 miles on bicycle and 26.22 miles of running. He has done two half’s before, the last in Calgary in July 2017 and in New Zealand in March. Latimer is planning on doing another full and half within the next year.
“The Whistler course was very difficult,” Latimer said. “There was lots of climbing on the bike and rolling hills on the run, but the scenery was beautiful, which kept me going. I’m feeling pretty good, just a few aches and pains.”
A lot has changed since the International Peace Garden was dedicated in 1932, but the basic premise of peace between two nations has not changed.
The Garden celebrated its 85th anniversary on July 14 and 15. According to CEO Tim Chapman, the events over the two days were well attended.
“I think it went really well,” Chapman said. “There were a lot of visitors who were not here for many years.”
Although the weather looked ominous during different parts of the day, and did interfere with one or two events, Boissevain’s celebration of the national birthday went on more or less as planned.
A spot of rain and a few rumbles in the sky could have impacted Canada Day more than it did. According to coordinator Christina Ducharme, overall the event was successful.
As they say goodbye to their second home for the last thirteen years, the Class of 2018 found school was not a scary place after all.
The latest graduating class of 27 took their last look at Boissevain School as students on a warm day on June 27. With family, friends and teachers looking on, and the fire bell tolling an unmistakable tribute, they were able to reflect on what is a lifetime of memories.
