I joked with Brian Michasiw earlier this week – calling him the Godfather of Saskatchewan running. After winning six Saskatchewan Marathons earlier in his career (along with so many other events), his more important accomplishment is having such a positive influence on thousands of runners as the owner of Brainsport for almost 36 years.
But Brian isn’t the central figure of this story. Instead, it’s his two oldest kids. On Saturday, May 9th, Oskar Stack-Michasiw and his younger sister Lydia Stack-Michasiw will follow in their father’s iconic footsteps as they will compete together in the Bridge City Duathlon – a race that Brian won at least five times in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
“It’s exciting as a dad,” quipped Brian while in his Brainsport office this week. “The duathlon was tailor-made for me.”
Lydia and Oskar will compete in the sprint team division, which means Lydia will run 5K before Oskar bikes 20K – and then Lydia will finish with a 2.5K run to the finish line.
While you will never hear Oskar brag, the cycling distance should be tailor-made for him. The 20-year-old Saskatoon native is one of North America’s top endurance off-road cyclists – recently finishing fourth in the U23 age category in the most-prestigious gravel bike series in the world.
“I chose to do this event at home because it is nice to do something local,” said Oskar, who has competed in the United States, Mexico and trained in Spain. “And competing with my sister should be great. I think it will take the pressure off both of us because we are family. This will probably be more enjoyable and less stressful, even though we will still be racing.”
A grade 12 student at Walter Murray, Lydia is a national champion in cyclocross – which is high-intensity bike racing with small amounts of running. She is also as member of the Riversdale Athletic Club in Saskatoon with a speciality in the 400-metres.
“I’ve done a lot of very intense bike racing and also track (running) races. I find those types of races really nerve-wracking. But when my dad asked if I wanted to be on a team with Oskar, I thought it actually might be fun,” explained Lydia.
Blessed with two great parents who are ultra-talented – Elizabeth (mom) is a gifted endurance cyclist, as well – Lydia and Oskar will forever remember competing together in the duathlon. There are not many brother-sister combos in the country that can make that claim!
FINISH LINES: There are just 30 spots remaining in the Bridge City Duathlon. You can get more information at www.triathlonsaskatoon.org… Like so many great stories, there is help behind the scenes. A special thank-you to CBC Saskatchewan’s Leisha Grebinski (who is also one of the key organizers on May 9th) for tipping me to the story.
