Racers of all ages, experience levels enjoy annual Cereal City Triathlon

BATTLE CREEK — On the water, over land, or on wheels. It takes someone who can do it all to win the annual Cereal City Triathlon & Duathlon.

And on Saturday, Grant Keaffaber proved to be the best of the best at all three disciplines after winning the 2023 Cereal City Triathlon & Duathlon at Goguac Lake in Battle Creek.

While the 29-year-old Keaffaber did well in the swim and the bike portion of the triathlon, the distance runner won the race in the 5K portion.

"I ran in college at Indiana Wesleyan, so that's where I can make up ground. I was third or fourth out of the swim and fourth after the bike. I have been working on the swim ever since college, and that's the hardest part for me. But once I got to the run, I felt good," said Keaffaber, who finished fifth overall last year. "It's a fast course. there's a lot of people here, competing and watching, so that's great."

Keaffaber, who moved to Battle Creek two years ago, finished in 58:29 with Tyler Lewis of Fort Wayne second at 58:59 and Kalamazoo's Jeremy Sikkema third at 59:43.

The top finisher in the women's race was 55-year-old Kim Houtkooper, who beat the next competitor in her division by almost 2 minutes and more than 20 years.

"Age is just a number," Houtkooper said. "But age doesn't matter. We are all out here to support each other. It's a great local race. There are a lot of familiar faces cheering each other on. A very supportive environment."

Houtkooper, of Battle Creek, finished in 1:08.23 with Hannah Glendinning, 34, of Clawson taking second in the women's division at 1:10.03 and Battle Creek's Brooke Mikle third at 1:10.43.

The course begins at Willard Beach with a 500-meter swim in Goguac Lake, followed by a 12-mile bike ride through the city and a 5K run around Riverside Park. There was also a 3K run duathlon and super sprint.

Event organizer Emily Bandeen said the combination of the triathlon, the super sprint and the youth race, all in one spot, is what bring people out as there were 209 competitors on Saturday.

"This is a great race for beginners. We have some triathlon training groups that meet for six weeks before it, so we have a lot of first timers. But it's a fun community race and there is a lot of camaraderie.. And we have a lot of youth racers, so we are kinda growing triathletes out here," Bandeen said.

MORE: Cereal City hosting a triathlon for the kids, too

Nicholas Probst of Mishawaka, Indiana, won the duathlon in a time of 1:09.04

2023 Cereal City Triathlon

Male Overall: Grant Keaffaber, 58:29

Female Overall: Kim Houtkooper, 1:08.23

Male 19-under: Sean Siems, 1:02.26

Female 19-under: Brie Siems, 1:15.59

Male 20-29: Christopher Schnettler, 1:10.21

Female 20-29: Gen Moore, 1:14.03

Male 30-39: Jared Kuehnlein, 1:00.36

Female 30-39: Megan Roberts, 1:16.56

Male 40-49: Christopher Gregory, 1:03.54

Female 40-49: Allison Halonen, 1:18.36

Male 50-59: Christopher Cooley, 1:12.52

Female 50-59: Kellie Hoffman, 1:33.41

Male 60-69: John Schuler, 1:13.17

Female 60-69: Thresa Brady, 1:24.06

Male 70-over: James Scholl, 1:19.12

Duathlon

Male Overall: Nicholas Probst, 1:09.04

Female Overall: Kailee Schuett, 1:25.09

Super Sprint

Male Overall: N. Janet, 48:19

Female Overall: A. Storm, 55:37

Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick.

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Racers of all ages, experience levels enjoy Cereal City Triathlon