As thousands of competitors turned out to participate in the 38th Annual Eppie's Great Race, a Benicia resident and Concord worker tells us what it was like to race in what organizers call "the world's oldest triathlon." 

"By the time I got to the kayaks I was weaving through plastic boats and inflatable ducks and stuff," said Tanner, who finished third in his age division and 10th in the overall ironman division.

Nearly 2,000 competitors, 1,200 bikes and kayaks, later ...

"We still have room for 200, maybe 300 more kayaks," said Eppie Johnson, who founded the race in 1974. "Tell people to come — we want even more — no other race in the world has this many kayaks going down a river."

Tanner, 51, finished the race in third place for the 50-59 age group Ironman division, with an overall time of 1:53:49.4.

He ranked at 10th, overall, with a 42:41.2 run; 31:41.8 bike ride and a 39:26.3 paddle down the river — for which he ranked at #1 in his division. He was in second place for the run and 11th for the bike section.

The course consists of a 5.82-mile run, a 12.5-mile cycle and a 6.35-mile paddle down to the finish line.

Race results:

Winners of this year’s event include: 

Ironman: Vic Vicari, 52, Sacramento (1:45:14)

Ironwoman: Donene Vukovich, 32, Cameron Park (1:57:38)

Men's Team: Dwelly Chiropractic (1:33:09)

Carl Dargitz, Runner, San Luis Obispo; Mike Brown, Cyclist, Orangevale; Johan Dahl, Paddler, Folsom.

Women's Team: Last Babes Standing (1:55:29)

Jennifer Kent, Runner, Sacramento; Lea Brooks, Cyclist, Rancho Cordova; Noelle Buer, Paddler, Sacramento. 

Eppie’s Great Race is a fundraising event benefiting the Sacramento County Therapeutic Recreation Services (TRS), which supports mentally and physically challenged individuals.

To date, Eppie’s Great Race has raised more than $920,000 for TRS, according to race organizers.

For more information, visit www.thegreatrace.org