Daltons hoping to complete ironman course in 17 hours
Paul Dalton gets in some practice in preparation for his participation in the Ironman Canada
race in British Columbia on Sunday. The event combines swimming, biking and running.
His daughter, Paulette, will also be participating. Eric McCarthy/Journal Pioneer
race in British Columbia on Sunday. The event combines swimming, biking and running.
His daughter, Paulette, will also be participating. Eric McCarthy/Journal Pioneer
ERIC MCCARTHY 
The Journal Pioneer
ST. EDWARD -- The Boston marathon is a walk in the park compared to this - St. Edward resident Paul Dalton leaves Thursday for Penticton, B.C., where he and his daughter, Paulette, are registered to compete in Sunday's Ironman Canada race.
Dalton has already run three Boston Marathons and has qualified for next year's race. His daughter, a nurse in Toronto, is still a few seconds away.
"I'd say next year she'll qualify," he predicted.
"I thought just getting her to Boston would be a big thing, but Ironman Canada is 10 times that," said Dalton as he prepared for his flight to the West Coast. He'll meet Paulette at an airport in British Columbia.
Ironman is a triathlon competition combining swimming, biking and running.
But that description does not pay the event justice. Participants will swim 3.8 kilometres across the Okanagan Lake, then hop on their bicycles and pedal 180 kilometres, with climbs of up to 1,500 metres. They end the endurance event with a full marathon run - 42.2 kilometres.
"I don't know who invented these things," he quipped.
Participants have 17 hours to complete the course and the Daltons are hoping to cover it in 13. They're not in it to win, Paul confirms. They've been advised to give the field a 30-second head start before plunging into the first leg of the race.
Paul registered for this year's event on 2007 race day.
The $1,000 entry fee was too steep for the nursing student, but her contest story about Wigwam socks and her desire to race with her father earned her the entry prize.
"So it was meant to be," her father suggests.
Paul, who marked his 50th birthday on July 4 with a 100K bike ride and 5K run, took up swimming in 2002 when Paulette suggested they try a triathlon.
He could only last two laps of the Mill River pool starting out. Now he does laps off Miminegash harbour.
He expects to be well behind his daughter when he exits the lake Sunday.
"She's a faster swimmer," acknowledges Paul, who will be working to close the gap on the bike and admits there's a competitive spirit between them.
"Some day she'll pass me and I'll give her a High 5 as she goes by," he commented.
Paul extended thanks to individuals and organizations that are helping to sponsor his participation in Sunday's race.
Dalton has already run three Boston Marathons and has qualified for next year's race. His daughter, a nurse in Toronto, is still a few seconds away.
"I'd say next year she'll qualify," he predicted.
"I thought just getting her to Boston would be a big thing, but Ironman Canada is 10 times that," said Dalton as he prepared for his flight to the West Coast. He'll meet Paulette at an airport in British Columbia.
Ironman is a triathlon competition combining swimming, biking and running.
But that description does not pay the event justice. Participants will swim 3.8 kilometres across the Okanagan Lake, then hop on their bicycles and pedal 180 kilometres, with climbs of up to 1,500 metres. They end the endurance event with a full marathon run - 42.2 kilometres.
"I don't know who invented these things," he quipped.
Participants have 17 hours to complete the course and the Daltons are hoping to cover it in 13. They're not in it to win, Paul confirms. They've been advised to give the field a 30-second head start before plunging into the first leg of the race.
Paul registered for this year's event on 2007 race day.
The $1,000 entry fee was too steep for the nursing student, but her contest story about Wigwam socks and her desire to race with her father earned her the entry prize.
"So it was meant to be," her father suggests.
Paul, who marked his 50th birthday on July 4 with a 100K bike ride and 5K run, took up swimming in 2002 when Paulette suggested they try a triathlon.
He could only last two laps of the Mill River pool starting out. Now he does laps off Miminegash harbour.
He expects to be well behind his daughter when he exits the lake Sunday.
"She's a faster swimmer," acknowledges Paul, who will be working to close the gap on the bike and admits there's a competitive spirit between them.
"Some day she'll pass me and I'll give her a High 5 as she goes by," he commented.
Paul extended thanks to individuals and organizations that are helping to sponsor his participation in Sunday's race.
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