A Bend triathlete earned a surprise invitation to the Hawaii Ironman last month after winning his age division in the Ironman Canada.

Roger Daniels, 69, who did his first running race at age 40, picked up his first-ever Ironman win on Aug. 29 but didn’t know it until the following day.

The triathlon, held in Penticton, B.C., just north of the U.S. border on Highway 97, began with a 2.4-mile swim in British Columbia’s Okanagan Lake.

From there, riders embarked on a 112-mile bike route that included the ascension of two significant mountain passes. Racers then completed a 26.2-mile run leg.

Competing in a field of 16, Daniels completed the race in 14 hours, 3 minutes and 9 seconds, nearly 30 minutes in front of the second-place finisher.

An accomplished ultra-marathon runner, Daniels’ strength is the marathon while, he noted, swimming is his weakness.

”I was surprised,” said Daniels last week from his home in Bend. ”I’m at the top of my age group because I’m 69. They had twice as many entries as they did last year (in that age division) so I figured I didn’t have a chance to do anything.”

Daniels was even more surprised when he crossed the finish line to find that his timing chip wasn’t working and another racer’s name was connected with his time. The following morning, he looked at the results and noticed his name wasn’t included on the list of finishers.

”When I got done my friends said, ‘We thought you were in the bottom of the lake because (according to the timing chip) you never came out of the water,’ ” recalled Daniels, When his finishing time was finally determined, Daniels remembers race organizers asking, ”By the way, you won. Are you going to Hawaii?”

”I had to think a second, because it is pretty close turnaround,” said Daniels, who placed second at Ironman Canada in 2003 and third in 2004.

But, agree to the invitation he did, and now Daniels is preparing for triathlon’s big dance, the prestigious Hawaii Ironman which serves as the sport’s world championship event, It will be held Oct. 15 in Kona.

”I happened to be there at the right time I guess,” said the modest athlete of his first Ironman win. ”Part of it is we train on hills all the time.”

So, the steep climbs during the windy bike stage of the Canadian race – which Daniels claims is the second most difficult bike course of the more than 20 Hawaii Ironman qualifiers – gave him an edge.

Ironman Canada is the oldest Ironman event in continental North America and has been hosted for the 23rd time in Penticton, B.C., according to its Web site. Athletes at Ironman Canada competed for 100 qualifying spots to the 2005 Ironman World Championship.

”You always have things in your mind that you think you’d like to do,” said Daniels of the opportunity to compete in Kona. ”I thought I’d have a better chance next year because I’d be in a better age group.”

Next month, Daniels will head to Hawaii with Bend pal Lew Hollander, 75, who qualified to compete at the race by winning his age division last April at the Ironman Arizona in Tempe, Ariz.

Heather Clark can be reached at 541-383-0352 or at hclark@bendbulletin.com.