ELLENSBURG -- A shady tree or ice cream usually marks the occasion for 95-degree weather, but Sunday, 87 people chose swimming, biking, and running a total of
36 miles from Vantage to Ellensburg in the 2008 Whisky Dick Triathlon.

It was a first-time entrant, Wenatchee's Jason Jablonski, who battled through the hot conditions to take top honors, with a time of 2 hours, 34 minutes, 32 seconds. The wiry-framed Jablonski -- who placed second in last week's XTERRA Vashon Off-Road Triathlon -- was seventh after the swimming portion, but stormed into a commanding lead on the cycling leg and outdistanced Robert Pritchett of Ellensburg, who finished in 2:41.35.

"I am not a swimmer," said the 34-year-old Jablonksi. "The thing about triathlons is it takes so much time to train. Within the top ten guys, there is such a small difference between physical strength, but a huge difference in mental toughness."

The course is one of the most challenging in the state with one mile of swimming, 26.4 miles of biking, and 8.8 miles of running.

After swimming in the Columbia River, competitors jump on their bikes and ride up the steep and windy Vantage Highway, before running through Ellensburg to the finish line at the Kittitas County Fairgrounds.

Third-place competitor Ladd Preppernau of Ellensburg passed 13 competitors on the bike portion, but said the run was difficult because Pritchett was setting a blistering pace on the hot asphalt.

"He (Pritchett) was maybe ten seconds ahead of me on the running transition and then he was absolutely gone," Preppernau said.

Pritchett posted the fastest time in the running leg (51:18.8) to easily hold off Preppernau, who was
81/2 minutes slower on the run and finished in 2:50.20.

The race was only Preppernau's second, as he moved from Portland back to his roots of Ellensburg a month ago. Still, he shaved nearly 20 minutes off last year's time and said that preparation for the run was prime factor in the difference in times with Pritchett.

"Living in Portland it was tough to train for the run because it's always cloudy there," Preppernau said. "But the heat didn't affect me too much, I just kept pushing on."

Heat also could describe the situation for last year's female individual champion Heidi Hubler, who said there was plenty of pressure on her to defend that title. Hubler handled that heat, along with the high temperatures, to finish first among women and 16th overall in 3:10:24.

"I was nervous because I felt like there was this expectation for me," the two-time defending champion said. "But then I just started to do my own thing and focused on the things I needed to do. It felt a lot easier this year. This is an outlet for me to have fun because I am one of those persons that has to always be doing something."

Promoter and competitor Vince Nethery felt that Sunday's race could not have been run any better. In his 15th appearance at the Whisky Dick, the 52-year-old from Wenatchee finished seventh with a time of 3:04:27, and said the race will be back again next year.