PORT ANGELES — In a very close finish for such a long endurance race, the team of Senior Streakers edged Motley Tu Tue by just 41 seconds for the Big Hurt championship this weekend.
Senior Streakers finished the four-discipline race in 3 hours, 51 minutes and five seconds, while Motley Tue Tue finished in 3:51:46.
The battle for third and fourth was close, as well. Raise the Bar finished third in 3:52:31, while Sound Bikes & Kayaks was fourth at 3:52:52, just 21 seconds behind. In all, the top four teams were within 1:47 of each other, remarkble given the 54.6-mile length of the overall race.
The Big Hurt entails a 15-mile mostly downhill mountain bike leg, a 2.6-mile kayaking leg through Port Angeles Harbor, a 30-mile road cycle leg to the west of Port Angeles and a 10K foot race along the Olympic Discovery Trail. People competed as individuals and as part of two-person and four-person teams.
Senior Streakers was more than 10 minutes behind after the mountain biking and kayaking legs, but gained some time on the leaders in the cycling leg and then had a solid 10K at :35:47 — second best overall — to eke out the victory. Sound Bikes & Kayaks had a commanding 29-minute lead over Senior Streakers going into the final leg, but struggled in the 10K.
The individual ironman division came down to a duel for the third straight year between Michael Finley of Bellingham and Joey Gish of Sequim. Finley won with a time of 3:26:35, edging out Gish at 3:28:44. Finley also won in 2021, 2022 and 2024, while Gish came in second for the third straight year. The two of them were more than 20 minutes ahead of third place.
Gish had an eight-minute lead on Finley after the mountain bike and kayaking phases, but Finley came back with a dominant cycling leg, winning that leg by nearly seven minutes, then beat Gish by 3½ minutes in the 10K.
Gish had the top mountain bike leg at :55:16, while Spencer Lazzar had the best kayaking leg at :22:26. Finley had the top cycling leg (1:20:16) and the top 10K (39:59).
Port Townsend’s John Mauro, a multiple winner of numerous local 10K and marathon races, tried his hand at the Big Hurt, and came in third at 3:48:48.
The top female individual was Erin Frederickson, who finished in a time of 4:27:43, good for 10th overall. A total of 40 racers finished the individual event.
In the ironman masters, Scott Harrington took first in a time of 4:28:41 while Catherine Copass was the top female masters in a time of 5:12:41.
The top tandem team was Husky Has-Beens in a time of 3:48:04, winning by 25 minutes. The top masters team was Island Dudes in 4:20:59 and the top high school team was Sophomore Demolishers in a time of 4:42:27.
A total of 36 four-person teams finished, while 16 two-person teams finished, as more than 200 people competed in the 54-mile event.
The Big Hurt is put on by Peninsula Adventure Sports, which will next hold the Salt Creek 24 at the Salt Creek Recreation Area on Oct. 25-26. The Little Hurt was also held Sunday at Peninsula College for kids in as part of Peninsula Adventure Sports’ big weekend. Look for more on the Little Hurt in Wednesday’s sports section.
Full results can be found at www.tinyurl.com/2026BigHurtResults.
2025 Big Hurt
Saturday, Sept. 27
Four-person Team — Senior Streakers, first, 3:51:05; Motley Tu Tu, second, 3:51:46; Raise the Bar, third, 3:52:31.
Two-person Team — Husky Has-Beens, first, 3:48:04; Cupcake and Sprinkles, second, 4:13:42; Cliff Squared, third, 4:19:02.
Masters Team — Island Dudes, first, 4:20:59; Fifty is the New Sixty, second, 4:30:16; FourC, third, 4:44:45.
Ironman Male — Michael Finley, first, 3:26:35; Joey Gish, second, 3:28:44; John Maruo, third, 3:48:48.
Ironman Female — Erin Frederickson, first, 4:27:43; Chelsea Korbulic, second, 4:36:28; Madeline McLean, third, 4:44:37.
Ironman Masters Male — Scott Harrington, first, 4:28:41; Carl Hilton VanOsdall, second, 4:54:54; Yudie Thio, third, 4:57:40.
Ironman Masters Female — Catharine Copass, first, 5:12:41; Jennifer Little, second, 6:46:51.
