A quick scan of the entry list for the 2026 Beaton Classic reveals many familiar names to folks who have ventured out to Moonlight Beach early on an August Sunday morning for this Sudbury summer tradition. In fact, when it comes to the 24 teams of four – split exactly evenly in groups of eight: co-ed, men and women – it’s apparent that the Beaton is something of a reunion point for many of these athletes. Assembled for what are largely individual pursuits (swim,cycle, paddle and run), these quartets compete as a team, with seemingly half of their training time spent conjuring up team names that range from witty to silly and everywhere in between. What to do, however, when a quarter of the foursome is simply unable to participate in a given year?

Siblings MacArthur and Cameron Young, along with multi-sport acquaintance Raphael Belzile, were in need of a swimmer this year and, truth be told, they could not have asked for better than Hudson Green. Celebrating his 16th birthday on race day, Green posted the fastest overall swim time (13:32), edging Sudbury Laurentian Swim Club teammate Ewan Duncan in the water (13:36) and helping to lead Team Kachow to a second-place overall finish in a time of 2:03.08. “They’ve been together for a while, and I kind of got called up,” said Green, a Grade 11 student at Collège Notre-Dame. Called up from where, exactly?

“Just sports in general, that community of 15- to 20-year-old boys who get together all the time,” explained Green.

That, in fact, is an essential part of both the Beaton Classic and the Sudbury Fitness Challenge. It would surprise no one to see many of the same athletes taking their best stab at Nordic skiing (Sophie Manarin Loppett) or mountain biking (Bush Pig Open) or simply a Thanksgiving weekend run through the trails (Turkey Gobbler). Green, however, is most at home in the water, and most certainly comfortable with making the transition from the pool to the lake, despite the inherent differences. “You have to look where you’re going out here – compared to swimming with your head down,” he said with a smile.

“Going out was a little windy with the waves, but coming back was pretty nice. I was happy with my swim.”

The son of accomplished triathlete Buddy Green, Hudson appears more likely to see exactly where his primary passion might lead before looking to expand much further – though he is set to compete in a duathlon this weekend in Milton. “I want to do something with my swimming – but I don’t know what yet,” he said.

“I haven’t chosen a career path, either, so I am kind of taking it step by step. When I get older, and swimming dies down a little, I think I’ll maybe introduce other things.”

That mindset is not terribly dissimilar to the voyage that 26-year-old local Ironman Kelly Thompson has navigated in recent years. The graduate of Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School not only captured the men’s solo event for the first time, snapping the four-year run of Dan Whalen, but also topped the entire field of two- and four-person teams with an impressive time of 1:56.43.

He was followed by Whalen (2:03.47), Julian Luoma (2:09.49) and Clinton Lahnalampi (2:10.04) while the undisputed Queen of the Beaton, Sara McIlraith, made it 10 straight women’s solo titles, her time of 2:20.09 comfortably ahead of Maija Nener (2:57.49) this year.

If Team Kachow did not have to look far to fill their swimming void, the same cannot be said for the Moonlight Express trio of Mike Commito, Richard Bradley and Kris Cacciotti, who placed third in men’s fours and fifth overall in 2:07.13. The troika travelled the globe in search of a paddler, settling on Shawn Bruins, a Hong Kong resident.

(And yes, there is far more to this story)

Though Bruins and his spouse made their way to Hong Kong in 1994 to pursue their careers in architecture, the pair had maintained a home in Lively – and a strong connection to Sudbury. An avid paddler, Bruins has enjoyed many a lengthy trek on the water with Rob Gregoris, the man who would have filled out the Express entry if not for an injury this summer.

With the two friends conversing, the decision was made to have Bruins step in for Gregoris, participating in the Beaton for a second time and first since 2016, all while partaking in a form of paddling that requires a definite change in style from the “downwind paddling” he favours these days. “It’s a different craft and a different type of paddle compared to kayak,” said Bruins, who still managed to post the second fastest time in his segment, behind only Randy Donato (29:47 vs 30:30). “Rob gave me a boat, and I came down for some practices, did a few practice runs and set the canoe up how I liked it.”

And while many in the field would prefer a glass-like surface on Ramsay Lake, Bruins is the exception, blessed with a multitude of experiences from doing a bit of canoeing before leaving for the Far East to tackling the dragon boating and outrigger canoe options in a part of the world where they are prevalent.

“The conditions were great today, with just a little bit of wind,” said Bruins. “I would have preferred even more wind.”

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Following are the top three finishers in the fours categories and the winners in each of the pairs divisions:

Fours Co-Ed
1st – Family Feud (Jennifer Abols; Kerry Abols; Bridget King) – 2:18.30

2nd – Immature & Dangerous (Lawrie Oliphant; Wanda Dewulf; Scott Hopkins; Ania Derecka) – 2:18.34

3rd – Last Minute Legends (Lauren Westby; Bill Slaght; Hannah Brown; Tejada Gieselman) – 2:21.46

Fours Men
1st – Kachow (Hudson Green, Raphael Belzile; MacArthur Young; Cameron Young) – 2:03.08

2nd – Sudbury Saturday Nightmares (Chris Eastick; Matt Schouten; Nic Kreutzweiser; Dalton Moncion) – 2:06.30

3rd – Moonligh Express (Mike Commito; Richard Bradley; Shawn Bruins; Kris Cacciotti) – 2:07.13

Fours Women
1st – Quadzilla’s (Carol Mourre; Suzanne Haley; Helen Dyke; Barbra Wolczak) – 2:23.53

2nd – Sole sisters (Michele Kendall; Karen Renout; Laura Young; Bridget Schulte-Hostedde) – 2:42.38

3rd – Quad Queens (Johanna Westby; Victoria Sanchioni; Colleen Bobbie; Amy Crawford) – 2:44.57

Pairs – Winners
Co-Ed – Richer (Megan Richer; Sean Thompson) – 2:23.36

Men – Bourdon Bursey Blitz (Laydon Bursey; Thomas Bourdon) – 2:12.15

Women – ICU Later (Julie Falvo; Melanie MacLeod) – 2:39.32

That Sudbury Sports Guy runs regularly in The Star.