C3 Celebrates 30 years with Past, Present, and Future

July 24, 2025 · 0 Comments

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Looking out at the C3 James Dick Quarry, it can be hard to believe that it once held not an ounce of sand.

On Saturday, July 19, the quarry was filled with families and past and present athletes enjoying the beach, waterpark, and various other activities.

C3 Canadian Cross Training Club celebrated their 30th anniversary with a BBQ and a trip down memory lane, with speeches and stories from past attendees.

Barrie Shepley, head coach at C3, spoke of a time when there was no driveway, or even electricity on the site.

“Almost all of this has been done by complete absolute volunteers,” he said. “The people who were coming out here when the weeds were literally right across the beach, there were no lane ropes, there were no swim buoys, there was no place to put down your stuff, and a whole bunch of moms and dads and volunteers agreed to get together.”

“Literally every ounce of sand that you see here was laid down by a volunteer,” he continued. “All of the gravel driveway, all of the infrastructure, what we see in front of us, and if these people hadn’t believed in what we were doing, there was absolutely no way we could be there.”

When Shepley was in New Zealand for the 1994 World Championship, he wondered how a country of 3.4 million people could create Olympic champions in such a small place.

“We were over for the world championships for five weeks and by the time I left there I realized exactly what we have here. You took average parents, average school teachers, average counselors who said why can’t we make something special in our town for our kids,” said Shepley.

He shared that much of what everyone sees today is due to the Bechtel family.

Sean Bechtel, a former professional triathlete, trained at C3.

“In my estimation we would not have had the Andrew Yorkes, the Lionel Sanders and the Kyle Jones had it not been for Sean because he could have buzzed off to the States with some older guys and did his training, but he stayed here and he was a big brother to those guys and the reason that we were able to get another generation of athletes was because of Sean,” shared Shepley.

Bechtel remarked that it’s great to see how much C3 has grown over the years, and thanked his previous coach himself.

“You can say all the stuff about the C3 not happening or any of this not happening because of other people, but we all know that it’s all because of Barrie and what he does and how he brings people together and does everything. We’re all part of it but Barrie is definitely the glue that holds everything together and creates new pieces and brings more and more and more to the community,” said Bechtel.

Various other athletes spoke about the impact C3 has had on their lives.

Bob Knuckey, four-time Ironman champion and winner of the 1976 Toronto Marathon, made the switch to become a triathlete because of Barrie and C3.

He plans to beat his own Ironman time in Hawaii by two hours.

Hans Porten, a world triathlon athlete, has been a part of C3 for 22 years.

“I came to Canada, didn’t speak any English, learned it, Barrie Shepley saw me in a swimming pool, pulled me out and said, you look like a triathlete,” laughed Porten. “And that’s how it all started.”

Porten has won dozens of triathlons and shared that he is one of the top men in his age group worldwide.

Now, at almost 70 years old, he can reconnect with the athletes he met and trained with when he was 14 years old at the C3 celebration.

Shepley shared that something C3 prides themselves on is their commitment to equality for women.

“Our Board has half women, our coaching staff, our entire organization. Anytime there’s an opportunity for equal travel, equal prize money, equal visibility. It’s something that’s very important to see these young girls down here to realize that maybe, unlike their grandmothers that didn’t have opportunities, they absolutely should expect demand and require equal time, equal opportunity,” he shared.

Kristen Marchant is currently on her way to her second world pro championship. She also coaches bike workouts for C3. She said that at C3 she met many athletes who mentored her, and showed her what it took to become an elite triathlete.

“It’s been a great ride and I hope to see many more years with everyone,” she shared.

Some athletes had to come a little farther than others to celebrate C3’s 30th anniversary.

Mark Herbst is currently on a 30,000km journey to attempt a new Guinness World Record for the oldest person to circumnavigate the world by bicycle.

He was in New Zealand when he got a call from Shepley, “Any chance you can make it to Caledon by July 19?”

“I don’t even know what I’m doing tomorrow yet for mileage, but now I have to figure out the mileage to get to Caledon for July 19!” laughed Herbst.

It took thousands of kilometres and six straight weeks sitting on his bike, but Herbst was there to celebrate with his longtime friend Shepley.

They’ve known each other for about 20 years now.

Herbst was already heavy into triathlons and looking for a coach when he found Shepley.

Over the years, not only have they formed a strong relationship as athletes, but as friends.

Shepley and Herbst both sadly lost their wives to cancer, and Herbst shared that they’ve been able to be a strong support network for each other.

A significant part of Herbst’s journey is to raise $ 100,000 for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.

“There’s nobody else in the world I would do this for. He’s done such a great, great thing for this community with the quarry and I’m so happy to call him a friend,” said Herbst.

Andrew Yorke, a Canadian professional triathlete, joined C3 at the age of twelve.

Shepley shared that not only was Yorke a Pan American, Commonwealth Games, and World Championship-level athlete, but an Olympian from Caledon East who swam in the pools, ran on the Caledon trails, and swam at C3 regularly.

“It doesn’t happen on its own because I want to do it, it happens because of everyone else,” shared Yorke.

Shepley encouraged those attending to be teammates to one another in their own lives.

“If you’re out there and we inspired you one inch, figure out one tiny thing in the next 12 months you can do for your community. You might not live nearby, but you can make a difference somehow in your community. We really need to all realize that we are better by being just partners and teammates,” he said.