After having the 2020 and 2021 Ironman Canada triathlon cancelled due to Covid 19 and having trained for each of these events, this woman decided that she would create her own Cowichan Valley Ironman. On September 4, 2021, this woman completed her first Ironman distance in the Cowichan Valley. She swam the 3.9 km distance at Fullers Lake, she biked the 180.2 km distance starting at Fullers Lake through Chemainus to Ladysmith to Duncan, through some residential areas of Duncan to Allenby Road and Koksilah Road to Lakeside Road to the Trans Canada Highway and through Cobble Hill and down Cobble Hill Road to the Trans Canada and up the Malahat to the South Shawnigan Lake turnoff, through Shawnigan Lake, back to Cobble Hill and to the Trans Canada and down Cowichan Bay Road through Cowichan Bay and unto Tzouhalem Road to Donnay Drive into Maple Bay unto Herd Road and then Osborne Bay Road through Crofton and Crofton Road to Chemainus Road, turning unto Henry Road to the Trans Canada Highway continuing south to Norcross Road and Drinkwater Road to Somenos Road to Cowichan Lake Road and through to Lake Cowichan ending at North Shore/Meade Creek Road. From there she proceeded to do a 5 km running loop before heading back into Lake Cowichan to run the Cowichan Valley Trail down to Sherman Road and then continuing down Canada Avenue across the Trans Canada Highway and ending at the Sportsplex for the 42.2 km marathon distance. She accomplished this Ironman distance within a few minutes of 13 hours.

This image definitely defines "Cowichan On the Go". I followed her, taking photographs for her, during the entire distance--from the swim to the bike to run, stopping at various locations enroute to snap a few images. This image was taken from the parking lot at Maple Mountain Park on Osbourne Bay Road, and it was raining at this time (this location is approximately 120 km into her bike distance). During the bike route, I had stopped at 17 different locations for photo opportunities. Each and every time she seen me, she would smile--always smiling and she referred to me as her "personal paparazzo". It was quite the day, with many great photo opportunities.