Male individual racer Isaiah Hogberg blazes down Century Drive toward Bend while competing in the the 2024 Pole Pedal Paddle Saturday morning.  

Ask anyone who was at Riverbend Park Saturday afternoon what athletic event most encapsulates the spirit of Bend, and they would tell you it’s the annual Pole Pedal Paddle.

It’s everything that Central Oregonians love — skiing, cycling, running and kayaking — tied neatly into a 6-leg race that can be completed as a relay, in pairs or solo.

The only thing that would perhaps make the Pole Pedal Paddle more “Bend” would be if participants were required to chug a craft beer at the finish line.

But maybe the lack of alcohol is for the best considering all ages are encouraged to participate.

Spectators lined the course at Riverbend Park, as periodic cheers erupting when family members and friends saw their racer pass. Everyone was in consensus: this clear Saturday was much better than last year’s smoke-filled race. For many of the spectators — and the competitors — the PPP is an annual celebration that they grew up participating in.

Take, for example, Lauren Hartrich and Anja Bond-Welch who competed in this year’s race as a pair. Both are graduating seniors at Summit High School and remember participating in the Kids Mini Pole Pedal Paddle when they were younger. Once they got old enough, they started participating in the full-length race.

“As a kid we did it as a big team, so it’s fun to push yourself to go even bigger and do it with a smaller group,” Bond-Welch said.

For Bond-Welch and Hartrich, doing the PPP together was a way to celebrate their friendship. Both are going to different colleges next year, and they said it was nice to have this last hurrah together. Doing it together is also what got them through the race.

“Having a friend to rely on and count on — knowing I gotta keep pushing and keep going because she’s waiting for me at the next spot — it kept us going,” Hartrich said.

But the PPP isn’t just for the young. In contrast to the two 18-year-olds was 72-year-old Mike Cappiello, who competed in the PPP as a solo racer this year. It’s his fourth time doing the relay by himself, after competing three years as a pair with his friend Murray Perkins.

“This motivates me to get out there and train,” Cappiello said. “It’s such a great event. You have to be good in all five sports and running is really hard for me … Solo, it’s the equivalent to running a marathon — it’s roughly the same amount of energy and the same amount of time — but as a relay it’s not too hard, especially if you have a good runner.”

Of course, not everyone is as experienced as Cappiello. Colin Jordan, who completed the race as a relay with his partner and one of his friends, said that he saw several people holding their kayak paddles backwards during the kayaking part of the race.

“I don’t know if it was their first time kayaking, their first time seeing water or their first time combining the two. But they’re also out there having a great time and I’m an elitist, so don’t listen to me,” Jordan said with a laugh.

The PPP really is for everyone, though. It’s for families who want to do something fun together, for friends who want to create lasting memories and for competitive triathletes who want to push their limits.

In fact, this year race coordinators piloted a new non-binary category for competitors, and there were four adaptive sports teams competing with disability accommodations. Even the younger kids who can’t compete in the full race can still participate in the Mini Pole Pedal Paddle.

“Just come out and give it a try,” Bond-Welch said, hoping to encourage future participants. “You’re gonna have so much more fun than you think.”