Issue #12 Aug/Sept 2001

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The 2001 edition of IRONMAN USA saw many incredible efforts by both pros and age groupers alike.

Two pro athletes made their sunning IRONMAN debuts, and age group records fell in almost every category. In the women’s category tow familiar faces battled through the last miles to stand atop the podium.

The 7:00 A.M. start had 1809 wetsuit-clad Ironmen and women, a record number of athletes for an IRONMAN event. The two loop swim had many familiar names up front, as well as some surprises thrown in. While Australian Jon Van Wisse swan under his own course record in 46:16. A little over a minute and a half back the second group had some big surprises in it.

Joanna Zeiger had the fastest women’s time and was out in 47:22, three and a half minutes up on second place Andrea Fisher. Age grouper Bill Reeves of Durham, N.C. battled with swim star Alec Rukosuev to finish inn 47:19. Starting well on his first IRONMAN trip was Boulder’s Ryan Bolton as he exited the water in the top ten in 47:49. WIth his strong bike skills and obvious run speed, this was certainly a good sign. Defending champion, and fellow Boulderite Cam Widoff was within striking distance, only three minutes back of Bolton. Steve Larsen, the two time NORBA cross country champion, was a little back of the main contenders as he swam a 57:09. Also showing their swim power was Colorado’s Monika Bunting and Beth Anderson, exiting the swim in 51:07 and 54:31 respectively.The bike course consisted of two loops of rolling to steep hills, with no real places to rest. To no one’s surprise it was Steve Larsen posting the fastest split of the day, setting anew bike course record as he blazed through in 4:33:23. Trailing Larsen was Bolton, who was sticking to his plan on the bike.

“I made sure to stay in the heart rate zones I was supposed to IRONMAN USA Bolton takes second in his first IRONMAN race by A.J. Johnson photos by Cour Courtney Stapleton tney Stapleton Top left: a pleased Ryan Bolton finishes up; above: chasing Larsen on the run; left : Jim Harkness of Steamboat Ssprings places 30th overall.

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stay in, I never went over that which is exactly what I wanted to do”, he commented. The run specialist had some serious ground to cover, as Larsen had been on the run course for just over fifteen minutes by the time he headed out of T2. Coming in right behind Bolton was Austin, Tx. native James Bonney, who had the fourth fastest bike on the day. Widoff hit the run trailing Larsen by just under 23 minutes.

“I had been training real hard on the bike so I was just flat as a pancake on the bike, I had nothing on the bike,” Widoff said, despite having the seventh fastest bike split. Many Coloradoan age groupers were ready for the rolling terrain. In fact, most said they were too eager and paid for it on the second lap.

“I think I went a little hard on the first lap and paid for it on the second,” said Daniel Timm of Vail. Some did hold back and let the day come to them. “I actually did really well on the first lap. I held back and then everyone started coming back to me after 100 miles,” said Charlie Suthard of Boulder. Top bike times f o r Coloradoans were 5:24:55 by Mark Lesinski of Evergreen and Nadine Kerr of Fort Collins posted a time of 6:00:08.

For the pro men it came down to the two who were making their first attempt at the IRONMAN distance .

Larsen, having never run a marathon before, let alone after 114.4 miles of warm up. And Bolton, the short course speedster. Early on it looked as though Larsen would hang on easily, as he cruised through mile three in 6:35. But Bolton did start to eat into Larsen’s lead early. “On the second lap I know I wasn't’t making up as much time, and I knew he was still running strong. I was thinking that he might hit a wall at some point,” Bolton said afterwards. No one could have predicted how strong Larsen would run. Ultimately he had the third fastest marathon split behind on Bolton and Widoff. Larsen was first across the line in a new course record of 8:33:11. While Bolton’s top marathon time of 2:49:52 secured second, strongman Widoff used his quick run to take the last podium spot.

“I am right where I want to be. I really just enjoyed the day. Larsen had a great race, Ryan had a great race. For a first IRONMAN debut on a hard course like this it’s good for them,” Widoff said. He was also excited to see more American faces with him on the podium.

“I was really happy to see a couple American guys up there. It’s good to see them hold on for the run.”

In the women’s race the bike leg would not be as decisive as it was for the men. Zeiger took her swim lead and looked to extend it on the first loop of the bike. Passing through the 50 mile mark Zeiger had a then minute lead on FIsher, Mary Ellen Powers and Julianna Nievergelt. Another two minutes back was Canadian Heather Fuhr who was trying to close the gap in order to be close Above: Eric Orton of Denver; Right: Dan Timm of Vail

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for the run. Zeiger was first off the bike and out on the run, ahead of Powers by nearly three minutes. Fisher was in third coming out of T2, another minute back. It was Fuhr however that posed the biggest threat to Zeiger’s overall lead. With the swift footed Canuck only seven minutes back the race was to be decided on the run.

Fuhr took the pace out hard in the first miles in an attempt to close ground quickly. At a 6:15 pace she was able to start reeling Zeiger in. But Zeiger was not about to let her lead slip away easily. It wasn't’t until over the halfway point that Fuhr was able to pull even with the leader. Fuhr did pull away from Zeiger to a maximum lead of three minutes. In a strong counterattack during the last miles Zeiger picked up her pace and was closing in by 15 to 20 seconds a mile. Fuhr was able to hang on for the win with a time of 9:31:11, and a top marathon time of 3:01:28. The emotions of the win were evident as Fuhr broke into tears of joy.

“I know that Joanna’s a very good runner and she was one of the people I was worried about having too much of a lead. I just had to go for it and I went for it and I did pay for it a little bit at the end but luckily it was enough to hold her off,” Fuhr said.

Zeiger came through the tape two minutes later to take second, having run the second fastest women ‚ s marathon on the day.

Stealing the last podium spot was Laura Drake, who biked to the second fastest split.

For age group athletes the hills on the bike made the rolling run course even more difficult. Posting the top m e n ‚ s marathon was Jim Harkness of Evergreen, who covered the 26.2 miles in 3:12:32. Harkness was also the fastest man overall in a time of 9:47:45. For the women it was Tamara Harbison of Boulder setting the run pace as she posted a time of 3:56:13 and she was also the top woman in a time of 11:11:42. No one could have predicted how strong Larsen would run. Ultimately he had the third fastest marathon split behind on Bolton and Widoff.

Top: a grinning Cam Widoff crosses the line; right: Bolton breaks the tape; below: Greg Poliseo of Littleton on the run ❂

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IRONMAN USA Lake Placid, New York July 29, 2001 2.4/ 112/ 26.2 Colorado Results: First Name Last Name Time Place City State Country Category Place Category Bib#

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Colorado ranks as the most active state. That comes as no surprise to triathletes reading this. Especially for those of us living in Boulder, could life be any other way?

I have been an athlete all my life…perhaps endurance junkie is more descript. Once I started down the road toward endurance sports as a kid, I became buried in the lifestyle. I have gone through various gradations of fitness, but have never been inactive, or completely sedentary. I would literally go bonkers if inactivity were forced upon me.

The fact that I rely on activity and endurance sports to maintain my health and peace of mind has often led me to wonder what life is like on the other side. What would life be like from the seat of a couch potato? Every once in a while, I’ll pass the antithesis of the active life on a trail during the middle of a workout and momentarily look through their eyes at the wonder of movement and fitness that endurance athletes live by.

In reality, the majority of Americans go through life without swimming, biking or running. The closest many get to the experience of a long ride on wheels is driving to work and being stuck in rush hour. Many people run less in an entire lifetime than some of us in a single week. And wading into water over chest deep can be a frightful experience for a large part of the population.

It’s hard for me to imagine life without stretching my legs on wide open spaces or filling my lungs full of rarified air on a mountain trail or swimming through clear ocean waters far from shore—simply roaming over large distances without the aid of an internal combustion engine.

The freedom of movement and physical activity has come to mean more to my being than just physical health, going beyond the physiological aspects to encompass mental necessity and spiritual sustenance.

It has been theorized that any hard-core endurance athlete must be escaping from something. To an extent, I don’t doubt it. There are many things worthy of escaping in modern society and spending a day swimming, biking, and running can be a welcome relief from the realities of life’s main responsibilities. On a smaller scale, I don’t know any endurance athlete who doesn’t use a workout from time to time as a coping mechanism to life’s pressures. And in this regard, endurance activity sure beats the numerous less health-oriented escapes available and acts as a built-in pressure valve.

More importantly, however, the active life of an endurance athlete provides more than an outlet from the world’s headaches. The active life acts as an important map for proving what’s possible. The physical and mental demands of challenging activity provide important stimuli that positively affect other areas of life. It is no coincidence that a well-tuned athlete is often an equally successful student, worker or parent.

And beyond the individual, the feats displayed by endurance athletes act as important models for the rest of society, providing a look into the expanding realm of human potential.

When you learn that your 70year old neighbor finished an IRONMAN, it begins to shatter the paradigm that old age is automatically coupled with weight gain and bypass surgery.

And in a society where the amount of TV time logged by kids is increasing while the amount of outdoor playtime is decreasing, the model of an active life may be an important lifeline to the future. The active life proves to all of us what it means to be human: To celebrate life by participating rather than watching. Sound Mind and Body by Adam Hodges Living the Active Life … ❂

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You're at the pool's edge, ready for your first triathlon. You're prepared but nervous. You've never done any competitive swimming or cycling, but you were a pretty good runner in high school, so you're confident you'll finish. Still, you have a touch of those pre race butterflies. You place your feet carefully, toes just over the pool's edge, heart rate rising as you anticipate the start. As you crouch, ready, your focus aimed intently at the water, suddenly someone throws a blindfold over your eyes.

With little more than a cloudy, foggy sense of light, you realize all the rules have changed. Too hard? Unfair?

Blind triathlete Amelia Dickerson of Greenwood Village, Colorado doesn’t see it that way. Already a high school track and cross country competitor, Amelia, 18, has made her transition to triathlete guided by that cloudy, foggy sense of light, and a friend. In her first tri, the YMCA Triathlon for Ordinary Mortals (May 12, Pueblo, CO), she did better than just try. She finished third in her age group, 49th overall in a field of almost 200 women. How did she do it? Simple teamwork and refreshing common sense. In the pool she counts strokes, taking verbal cues from pool side to stay on line. At the end of each length of the 525 meter swim a ringing cow bell prompts her for the wall. She rides tandem (20k) and runs (5k) with her longtime competitive partner, 49-yearold Jim Flint, also the family friend who nudged her into the sport with the same sort of subtle finesse he uses to synchronize his arm swing and running strides with hers.

As Regional Director of USAT Officials, J i m says, "I would disqualify us." He means because of the tandem cycling. But it’s good-natured concession, and he points out that USAT does have sanctioned events for the Physically Challenged. But a DQ wouldn’t bother or stop Amelia. Winning isn’t why she’s racing. "Every time I go out I want to be better than the last time" she explains, energetically. She kept her transitions simple on a cool, gray, windy Saturday--shorts, helmet, t-shirt, same shoes for the bike and the run--scoring splits of 13:18/44:56/25:54. Like many first-timers she admitted she worried, "I hope I survive the swim," before the race.

As a team Amelia and Jim are practiced improvisers. Jim got the cow bell idea the day of the race. Laughing at herself, Amelia tells of coming to the race with a pair of mismatched shoes, leaving the tether they normally use for the run tucked in a shoe at home on the couch 100 miles away. Jim, a Systems Engineer by trade, rigged up another with climbing webbing scrounged from the back of his truck, and Amelia ran in the old sneakers she showed up in that morning. Their cycling leg in Pueblo was only the second time they’d been on the secondhand mountain tandem. "I think we went around the block maybe once to try it out," Amelia confessed.

That spontaneity and a sense of humor has tempered the competitiveness of the team from the beginning. "I tease Amelia all the time. She loves it," Jim claims. Before her Pueblo start, he joked with her about the cow bell idea. "It wouldn’t work if there were more than one blind swimmer," he realized, conjuring up a picture of every blind swimmer turning and swimming the other direction every time he rang the cow bell. Jim teased her, "That would be a funny sight, like something out of Monty Python movie." Once Jim showed up for a cross-country meet without his running shoes. Desperate, he took off for a nearby Runner’s Roost. When he returned, now in his new running shoes, he found Amelia had started the race without him. She’d talked a girlfriend who’d come along to watch into running with her. Rather than bemoaning the missed race, Amelia giggles at Setting Her Sights Higher by Wayne Sheldrake

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Jim’s blunder. On that day she ran "just for the fun of it."

It’s been that way with this team since the first difficult run of Amelia’s blind life. "Anyone could do this," Jim says, encouragingly, referring both to Amelia as a blind competitor and to himself as a teammate. "You just have to go out and try things." Amelia echoes Jim, "There’s no reason anyone can’t do this," she says. She points out that she’s done most of her running with a variety of "guides," and she even runs without a tether on a couple of her favorite runs. In three years she’s had only one mishap--a sprained ankle. To the prospect that others, physically challenged or not, might be motivated to get out there and try it because they’ve seen or heard of her competing, Amelia’s engaging enthusiasm is boosted a notch. "That would be cool," she says.

For now, a sanctioned PC event will have to wait. Amelia is a busy young woman. Honor student (3.75 GPA, including four AP courses), homecoming queen, and graduate of Cherry Creek High School, she’ll travel to Oregon this summer to meet and work with her first seeing eye dog. In the Fall, she will attend Colorado College as a recipient of the prestigious Boettcher Scholarship. What will Amelia "tri" next? She's preparing for an event with an open water swim. "That will be interesting," she says with the same talent for humble understatement she displayed as her inspired, awed and admiring competitors congratulated her finish in Pueblo. A couple of CC track athletes she met in Pueblo have encouraged her to run for the college team.

Someday she’d like to ride a bike across the United States.

Now and again someone who hasn’t seen Amelia in action or just doesn’t get it will ask why she does it.

She says, "Sometimes people ask me why I do it and I say, ‘Yeah, I’m blind, but I still have fun.’ Why does anybody else do it? That’s why I do it. I want to be better than I was the last time." Jim Flint envisions Amelia as a potential world class ParaOlympics competitor. With drive like hers, it’s easy to see why. "Sometimes people ask me why I do it and I say, ‘Yeah, I’m blind, but I still have fun.’ Why does anybody else do it? That’s why I do it. I want to be better than I was the last time." ❂

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Half Vineman Cam Widoff couldn't stop the rising mountain biker-turnedtriathlete Steve Larsen at the 11th Half-Vineman in California on July 8th, but turned in a great 1:10:24 half-marathon for second place (3:57:45) four minutes clear of 3rd place Chris Legh of Australia. Boulder's tri couple Teri Duthie and Nicholas Cady had excellent performances with a 4th (4:39:31) and 5th (4:07:23) respectively. Cady even beat Boulder's Dave Scott, who had a very frustrating time changing a tire out on the course as he watched competitors go by. Scott will be returning to Kona for the first time since '96. It was good for him to get a race in, but surely disappointing for him to finish 8th. Corner Brook Not missing a beat after winning World Championships (see interview on page 20), Siri LIndley took her 6th ITU World Cup win (2:03:16) in a year at Cornerbrook on July 29th. One of the most loved races of all, the small and friendly town in Newfoundland hosts a big weekend of races capped off by the World Cup on a very challenging course. The half-million dollar budget festival weekend started in 1982 and has been a designated World Cup four times. Susan Williams, formerly Bartholomew, of Littleton, chose the race as one of her first forays back into elite racing after her first child, Sydney, was born last winter. She is clearly back in form recording an eighth place finish in a world class field that included the likes of Harrop, Montgomery, and Lindquist. Rock and Roll Triathlon Wes Hobson and Tony DeBoom headed out to Cleveland, the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, for a good $15,000 purse olympic distance race put on by Pacific Sports. The race has been the U.S. pro championships and an ITU race before, and with its long established reputation drew 1380 age groupers. Wes led the bike, but Tony was not too far behind him. The two ran together for a loop, but were passed by Australian Marc Lees. Tony had a faster run than Wes by two minutes and took second behind Lees (Tony: 1:40:06). Wes was overtaken by Alec Rukosuev at the end, pushing him to fourth (1:50:01) Carlsbad Triathlon This short race is longer than a sprint distance but shorter than olympic distance, consisting of a 1 kilometer swim, a 25 kilometer bike, and a 5 kilometer run. The twenty-year-old race drew a powerful elite field with a good purse and great perks for the pros. Nicole and Tim DeBoom decided to go out for some ‘in-race speed work’. Nicole was ecstatic to finish second behind Olympic silver medalist MIchellie Jones with a 1:11:41, and Tim took fifth in 1:06:06. Happy Birthday Inside Triathlon Inside Triathlon, one of the two national triathlon magazines has turned fifteen years old. Started in 1986 by dedicated triathlete and coach Lew Kidder, it was originally called Triathlon Today. Seven years later Boulder’s Inside Communications, publisher of Velo News, bought it, brought it to Colorado, and changed its name. Last year the publication switched to a standard glossy magazine from its tabloid-sized newsprint format and subsequently became the fastest growing sports magazine in the country.

Tinman Triathlon This years Tinman in Shreveport, Louisiana was also an ITU International points race and the U.S. pro qualifier for the world championships in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Olympian Jennifer Gutierrez of Greenwood Village came out of the water with the lead women and stayed with the first pack throughout the bike. She managed a fourth overall with a 2:01:25. Boulder’s Teri Duthie was 12th in 2:14:53. Siri Lindley (Boulder also) had to drop out during the run, not able to push through a foot injury she had coming in to the race (see interview on page twenty).

In the men’s race Boulder’s Paul Fritzsche and Andy Johnson, who both have just recently started competing in ITU events, finished 16th (1:54:05) and 18th (1:54:25). Veteran ITU racer Abe Rogers, now of Boulder also, placed 22nd (1:56:58). Jimmy Archer was at the tail end of the elite division, finishing 48th (2:12:57).

Newman Retires from Pro Racing Jill Newman (Colorado wind sprints...

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Springs) has returned to the career she gave up for her years of racing as a member of the U.S. National Triathlon Team. She also served as an elite athlete rep on the USA Triathlon Board of Directors. After representing the U.S. in ITU races all over the globe, she is now practicing corporate and sports law. Her firm, Holme, Roberts, and Owen, represents the U.S. national governing bodies of numerous sports. She and her husband Dane, originally of New Zealand, had their first child, a boy, on June 20th. BIG SKY DUATHLON 2.5 MILES/15 MILES/2.5 MILES JUNE 16TH BENNETT, COLORADO

United States Duathlon Championships Dannon Duathlon, Carlsbad, California 10K/40K/5K

Desiree is on the resident team at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colroado Springs. Although fourth overall, she was second American, therefore winning the silver medal for the championships.

This year we will be posting live race day updates from the Hawaii IRONMAN World Championship and the XTERRA World Championships. Check out www. coloradotriathlete.com for information on your favorite Colorado athletes!

JDS Uniphase Victoria International Triathlon (ITU Points Race) Victoria, British Columbia, Canada June 16th 8. Michael Smedley Co. Springs 1:54:36 10. Andy Johnson Boulder 1:55:13

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Wes Hobson was the top American finisher at the Lamasil AT Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. After winning the race in 1999 he was disappointed with his result, but this year’s race was heavily stacked with international superstars including Olympians and Olympic medal winners.

“I did have a decent bike and run,” he said, “which gives me confidence for the rest of the season.”

The title sponsor of the race is also one of Wes’s sponsors, and the Tuesday following the race he was tapped to promote the race’s television broadcast the next weekend. He was interviewed by 22 radio stations over five hours. Then on Wednesday flew to Boston to do television interviews with quarterback and fellow Alcatraz participant Doug Flutie. OA Class First Last City Final Class Swim Bike Run Age RankRank Name Name Time Time Time

Escape from Alcatraz 2001 Left: Wes Hobson; Right: the famous Hornblower swim start with the San Francisco skyline. Photos by Daphne Hougard. See more great photos on the inside cover!

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DIVISION RESULTS TOTAL NAME AGE SWIM T1 BIKE/MPH T2 RUN/PACE Female Pro/Open

Female 19&Under

Female 20-24

Female 25-29

Female 30-34

Female 35-39

Female 40-44

Female 45-49 1:15:28 1 Griffin-Kaklik Susan46 11:35 1:16 38:00 19.6 0:56 23:42 7:38 THE CENTER FOR INTEGRATIVE THERAPIES A Holistic Approach to Physical Therapy Traditional and non-traditional Physical Therapy Rolfing Massage Therapy Pilates Free initial consultation Insurance billing available 303.447.9939 1295 South Broadway, Suite B Boulder, Colorado 80303 OVERALL TOP TEN WOMEN AND MEN TOTAL NAME AGE SWIM T1 BIKE/MPH T2 RUN/PACE

Cheyenne Mountain Sprint Triathlon June 24, 2001 750m/20k/5k presented by The Total Performance Institute: www.thetpi.com

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TOTAL NAME AGE SWIM T1 BIKE/MPH T2 RUN/PACE 1:25:59 2 Troeger Susan 48 15:29 2:26 41:13 18.1 1:13 25:40 8:16 1:27:30 3 Bird Susan 46 13:51 2:01 43:10 17.3 1:39 26:51 8:39 Female 50-54

Female 55-59 1:44:36 1 Fady Karen 58 17:11 3:17 49:49 15 1:54 32:27 10:27 2:05:00 2 Thornton Louise 58 22:02 3:23 51:54 14.4 2:10 45:33 14:40 AGE NAME SWIM T1 BIKE MPH T2 RUN PACE TOTAL Male Pro/Open

Male 19 & Under

Male 20-24

Male 25-29

Male 30-34

Male 35-39

Male 40-44

Male 45-49

Male 50-54

Male 55-59

Male 60-64 1 61 Thornton George 13:55 2:24 43:57 17 1:45 33:51 10:54 1:35:51 2 63 Whitford Don 17:00 6:29 44:06 16.9 1:32 27:20 8:48 1:36:26 Male 65-69 1 67 Sturtevant John 18:13 2:41 46:46 15.9 1:44 30:39 9:52 1:40:02 2 67 Leonard Brad 18:36 2:38 45:24 16.4 1:40 33:48 10:53 1:42:05 Male 70-74 1 71 Welo Bob 19:39 3:54 50:31 14.8 1:24 33:25 10:46 1:48:52 Relays

F.I.D.O.S. is Friends Interested in Dogs and Open Space "Dogs shall not be allowed on Open Space except where specifically permitted. Where dogs are permitted on Open Space, they shall be on a hand-held leash." These words are quoted from the Draft Long Range Management Plan of 1994 for City of Boulder Open Space. Thanks to the dedication of FIDOS volunteers' efforts this never became a reality. Instead a privilege was created for responsible dog lovers known as "voice and sight". It means that your dog must be within your sight and under verbal control at all times.The work continues with every new land acquisition, and every proposed change of visitor usage. We are striving to create voice and sight areas in County of Boulder Open Space, where dogs presently must be on leash. Join us in being heard as the civil and equitable voice of responsible dog lovers on the Front Range. If you have a dog on the Front Range, you should belong to FIDOS. FIDOS P.O. BOX 18928 BOULDER, CO 80308 303-447-FIDO FORT FIDOS P.O. BOX 821 FORT COLLINS, CO 80522 970-226-2100 Call or write for a free copy of our newsletter!

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Earlier Sunday morning, while the XTERRA competitors enjoyed a rare chance to sleep in before their 10:30 start time, the sprint distance Microsupreme XT took place as a precursor to the main event at the Keystone XTERRA Festival.

When I first saw the name of this race, I began pondering the meaning of the initials ‘XT’.

An acronym, I thought. But for what? The first part of the race’s name sounded like a good beer. But all I could conjure up for the XT is ‘eXtra Tiny’. I’m sure there is a more logical and straightforward explanation. Perhaps it simply represents an abbreviation of XTERRA, which is more likely. And symbolically, the Microsupreme XT is an abbreviation of the full XTERRA, much like a Half-Ironman is a shorter version of a full IRONMAN.

At any rate, I liked the idea of getting in a workout before covering the main event. And I figured the sprint distance would be a fun way to jump back into the sport after three years away from triathlon racing. You can take the athlete away from competition, but you can’t take the competitive spirit away from the athlete…or something like that. I looked forward to stringing all three together again.

I have spent the summer seeking out epic trail runs in the Rockies and have mainly relied on running over the past few years as my fitness staple. Swimming and biking have been sporadic. Having sold my road bike after my last race in 1998, the one consistent aspect of biking has been commuting around town. And I have gotten in the water enough to maintain a decent feel. I figured my general fitness would be good enough to attack the sprint course at Keystone and enjoy every moment of it.

I arrived early to set up my transition area and began my warm-up for the 8:00 race. A mellow run, some spinning on the bike, last minute checks in the transition area—entrances, exits, bike location—and I was ready to head down to the water. Having also sold my wetsuit, I borrowed one from a friend. Wetsuits were required for the cold lake and for some reason I thought I had borrowed a fullsleeved suit. When I arrived at the edge of the lake, I pulled up the wetsuit and realized there were no arms. And I was really looking forward to those sleeves! Well, at least it had legs, I thought. And as I waded into the water, the temperature didn’t seem too bad. The feared sub-55 degree water was a more balmy 60 degree plus. I swam out into the lake for a warm up and rediscovered the added buoyancy of a wetsuit.

The chill hit me as we listened to the pre-race directions and waited the last ten minutes before the precise 8:00 start time.

Not a moment too soon, the cannon sounded and the pack shot off with a jolt. I had lined up in a direct line to the first buoy and sprinted to the front, joined by three other swimmers who came in from the side. I got behind the feet of one guy until we went around the first buoy, then passed him as he began to lag. I settled into the line behind the other two around the second buoy, and then started to move around them to snag the lead. I passed the final guy before reaching the beach and exited the water in the lead with him on my shoulder.

The one event I was trained for was running and I took advantage of the long run to T1 to secure the lead. Once in the transition, it all came back to me. Wetsuit off. Shoes on. Helmet buckled. Out of there!

The adrenaline rush of racing on a bike came back, a feeling I have missed. I cruised out the bike path to Jack Straw Road and calmed my breathing and heart rate on the first climb. With a glance back, I saw I had a nice lead, but the second guy was still too close for comfort.

In the past, biking was usually my strength, although technical mountain biking has always been a big weakness. A few years after beating out Scott Schumaker for an IRONMAN spot in a long-course race in Evergreen, he handed me my lunch in an off-road race there, pre-XTERRA days. Mountain biking is a different ballgame and I hadn’t even been road biking lately. As I entered the first stretch of single track, my focus narrowed to the task at hand. The course wound up the mountain, zigzagging back and forth across cleared ski runs and rocky wooded sections. With a quick glance down the slope every now and then, I caught a glimpse of the second man climbing up from below. I reached the top and it was time to hustle down the mountain. The descent was a nice break from the quad and lung-burning ascent, but I had to double my focus to keep my bike from jumping out of my hands as I flew over the rocky single track. Once on the road, I flipped it into the big chain ring and enjoyed the speed back to T2. My desire to pedal fast ran up against the technical demands of mountain biking. On P PR RO OV VI ID DE ES S P PR RE EC CU UR RS SO OR R T TO O M MA AI IN N E EV VE EN NT T A As ss si is st ta an nt t E Ed di it to or r A Ad da am m H Ho od dg ge es s t ta ak ke es s f fi ir rs st t p pl la ac ce e i in n t th he e s sp pr ri in nt t X Xt te er rr ra a

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the way, I overshot a few corners but got back on track with no worries.

I entered T2 with the lead and once again the instincts came back. Bike racked. Helmet off. Running shoes on. Grab race belt. I left the transition and fumbled with the race belt. I finally got it on correctly and settled into a run pace. The single track run became a full contact event. Bushes and low-lying tree branches lined the last section along the river. And I even surprised a few dogs and retired couples out for a Sunday stroll. I maneuvered around the obstacles and made my way to the last one—the river crossing. I splashed through and dashed up the pavement to break the tape at the finish line. Mission accomplished.

I never did figure out if XT stands for anything in particular. But it was great to be done with a morning workout and kick back to watch the stunning performances of the athletes competing in the full XTERRA. If I ever figure out this mountain biking, maybe I’ll have a go at Wild Thing someday. -Adam Hodges Microsupreme XT Results (down to top 10 women) .5K/13K/5K

APEX COACHING Providing expert individual coaching to all endurance athletes.

Neal Henderson, MS, CSCS USAT Certified Coach (303) 875-5751 Email: apexcoach@qwest.net www.users.qwest.net/~apexcoach "On the day of victory, no one is tired" -Anonymous

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From the reports about Toronto, when you hit T2 you went out on the run and left everybody far behind. What were you feeling at that point in the race? “I would say probably the most important part of that race for me, or the greatest part of that race, was when I came out of the water. Because for the first time in my career I achieved one of my major dreams which has been to be able to swim well enough to actually be able to come out with those lead swimmers, you know, Barb Lindquist and Loretta Harrop and Nikki Hackett. So the fact that I had done that, I could have almost ended the race there and been the happiest girl around because that is something that I had been working so hard at for so long. So once I came out of the water with those guys I kind of knew that I was running pretty well in training and I knew that I would be fired up to get out on the run and do the very best that I could. So on the bike it was just a matter of staying up and not crashing like some of the others did. So by the time that I made it through the bike and got out on the run I think I was thinking ‘Okay, I know I can do this. I just need to go out. And, in my head, what I wanted to accomplish was to have the fastest run of the day no matter whether I was winning the race or coming in last. I just wanted to know that I had the fastest run split of the day because I kind of wanted to prove to myself that my running was on and that I would be ready for Worlds a couple weeks later knowing that I was running well. So I think when I did tear out of transition right after I got in there that was definitely my mission. Not to win the race, I wasn’t even thinking about winning the race I was just thinking about running as fast as I was capable of running and having the best race that I was capable of on that day.

There have been several races last year and this year where you have had the fastest run split of the day. Were you thinking that you were in a position to win because you often have that fastest split?

“You know I’m sure that probably inside I knew that. But the way that I’ve been trying to race this year is just taking all of the focus off of trying to win, but just keeping my main focus just doing the very best that I can every step of the way throughout the race. And knowing that, I think that I started feeling a bit more confident that if I were able to do that, I would have a great shot at winning the race, or having the fastest run. That’s been kind of an important thing for me in every race, no matter what's happening and where I am coming off the bike. I have been really trying to get that fastest run split in every race just so that I can have that in the back of my memory. Just to know that, if I am in that situation, if I’m jumping off the bike at Worlds with twenty other women, that I can say to myself, ‘Look, i should be the fastest one here, and this is what I have to do.’ I would never go out and say to myself while I’m in a race, ‘Siri, you’ve always the fastest run split you should beat all these women.’ That’s just not at all the way I think. It’s more about that I know what I can do and its a matter of doing the very best that I can. And if I can do that, no matter where I finish , I’ll be happy with the effort that I put in. I guess in anything that’s the most important thing. Its not the winning or the losing, its the effort that you put in to something.”

Since you have changed your focus off of thinking about the win, you have won most of your last World Cups. Do you think having that slightly different attitude has helped you in your racing? “I think absolutely. Because I don’t feel like I have any pressure on myself when I race now, which has been a huge change. And it’s funny because a lot of people say that once you start winning the pressure is going to be incredibly intense. But really it has taken the pressure off myself because ever since even before I won my first World Cup race I had changed my philosophy of racing. Where as last year, say before Olympic Trials, I just wanted so desperately to make the Olympic Team and to do this and to do that, and it was all about this end that I was shooting for. After that kind of all fell apart and I didn’t make the Olympic Team I went to train with my new coach and my new training partners my attitude just became, ‘okay, I’m in this because I love this sport and I want to become the best Siri W Siri Wins W ins Worlds orlds An interview with Boulder ’ ’s newest s newest W World Champion orld Champion With a new attitude and a new coach, Siri Lindley has become almost unbeatable on the World Cup circuit, winning 6 of her last eight starts. Since barely missing a place on the U.S. Olympic Team for Sydney she has found an inner strength that has carried her to victory after victory. Two weeks before the World Championships in Edmonton she left all of the top ranked women in the world behind in the Toronto World Cup...

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athlete and the best person that I’m capable of being through all this hard work.’ I just want to be the best I can be. That’s what its been all about from the day I started with him and all throughout this season. That’s so much less pressure than saying, ‘I need win this race or I need to make this team or I need to get this ranking.’ Once you put a label on something that you’re trying to accomplish, a label like that, it just puts too much pressure on you and you can’t perform as well.” You had an entry in to this Worlds because of what they are calling sort of a wild card entry because you had to drop out of the Shreveport race [the US qualifier for Worlds]. What happened at the Shreveport race?

“I was injured going in to the race. Unfortunately in the World Cup in Rennes, France, which I ended up winning, thank God, I had had a plantar fasciaitis problem which really wasn't’ that big of a deal, except that it was pretty painful, but there was about a 400 meter run from the water to the transition area. It was a carpet over a bunch of rocks and I was running up the carpet and just jammed right on top of a rock that went straight through my plantar fascia and tore some of the fascia. So I made it through that race but for two weeks afterward I was unable to really walk at all and definitely not run. I had a problem on my hands and I was seeing a few doctors there. It was absolutely necessary for me to do the Shreveport race in order to make the World Championship Team. Of course I went and was totally determined to get through the race and do the best that I could and hopefully make the top six which would put me on the World Championship Team. It was horrible. A week before Shreveport I was trying to do some running so I didn’t lose everything, and in doing that everything was being affected. My kick in the swim, I couldn’t kick because I was getting knee stuff from compensating. So I had a bunch of problems going in just due to that injury. I got out on to the run and thought that I would just mentally be able to overcome it and be able to run through and do what I had to do. But my body just wasn’t going to go. So I had to drop out. Of course I was devastated because I thought, my God, I can’t believe I’m not going to make World Championships and I’m not going to have a shot at doing that race. Fortunately things turned out great in the end in that they [ITU officials] were recognizing my ranking, which I think was second in the world, and fortunately they let me in on that merit. But I really didn’t know until a couple of days before the race in Edmonton that I was actually going to be racing... I’m pretty sure that the ITU was pushing because they said to me they wanted to have all the best athletes at the World Championships racing. Therefore I think they felt that because at the time I was second that it wouldn’t be a great thing if I wasn’t racing. And thank God for that. I was absolutely thrilled that they allowed me to race. I had prepared myself for not racing, because I thought I’m not going to let myself get as devastated as I have in the past, like for the Olympics. It was kind of funny. Because I got a wildcard my number was 60. I was the very last number at the race. So my bike was miles down the transition area, and they were announcing all the people for the start of the race and I barely made the start because I was coming all the way from behind. But it was cool. You come into a race number 60 and it kind of motivated me even that much more to prove that I should be there and it’s good that they let me race. So that was definitely added incentive on the day of the race for sure.”

At the Championships, did you feel like you had a good swim that day? “Actually no. I felt like my swim was pretty crappy. Unfortunately the first lap of my swim was just horrible and I think I lost a bit of time. It was a tight swim, definitely a difficult course. The second lap I was able to catch up to where I was in the lead chase pack. Of course it would have been much nicer to come out with the front leaders again in that race. But it just didn’t happen. And it ended up working out okay anyway. We biked really, really hard to try and catch up. And then they had the crash up at the front, which obviously was horrible for those guys, but it ended up with us having a better shot at catching them earlier on in the race.”

Did you catch them when they had the crash?

“No, it took us about a half a lap, or so to actually catch them. There were two girls, Kathleen Smet from Belgium and then two German girls, Joelle Franzmann and Christiane Pilz and the four of us just absolutely put our heads down and hammered away knowing that we needed to capitalize on this opportunity. I was pretty bummed because some of my friends were in the crash, and that’s always upsetting to see, but we were in the race and we thought now it’s our chance to go catch them. So we really for the first two laps were just balls out just going as hard as we could. When we caught up to them and formed the whole first pack it was still pretty important to ride hard and be working really hard out there because we still had Carol Montgomery behind us and Photos courtesy of Sportsworld Media Group Chilli/Allsport/Brian Bahr

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some of the other runners. You don’t really want to get off the bike with those guys if you don’t have to.” You passed Michellie [Jones] right before you even exited the fence of T2. Did you feel at the beginning of the race that she was your toughest competition or did you feel like maybe Nikki or Loretta was your toughest competition? “ That ’ s interesting because in a sense I knew that if I were looking at other people I would have thought Loretta was going to be my major competition because she is my training partner and in training she was just on fire for the couple of weeks before that race. So I knew that she was going to be the one to beat. But going in to every single race I try not to think about the people that I’m racing against. Instead I’m thinking my biggest competitor out there is going to be myself because I’m the only person that I have control over. It’s no sense in me worrying about what somebody else is going to do on race day. I’m just going to worry about tackling my own weaknesses, whatever they may be mentally on that day.” Post-race you said that you weren’t afraid to lay out all of what you had on the bike, and that you’d still be able to run fast. Was that a scary strategy for you or did you have that much confidence that you could kick on the whole bike and still run? “My coach is the most incredible coach in the world, I think, and our training is probably the hardest training that you could ever imagine for this distance in triathlon. But as miserable and hard as it can be in training, the greatest benefit of it for sure is that you get in a race and you know you can cover the distance and you know that you can go absolutely all out the entire way and survive it. It wasn’t necessarily a confidence like, ‘oh, I’m great and I can do this..’ Its just knowing. I knew the fitness that I had worked so hard at achieving and I knew that I had that fitness at that point. In every single race in July and August that was something that gave me the confidence to know that at least I have a chance .

There were races when we’d have a big pack of girls and a lot of people wouldn’t be working and I would kind of go to the front. And I didn’t care if I pulled for the whole entire race because I knew what I’d done so many times in training. I’ve done forty k time trials followed by an all out ten k run and I know that I can handle that. Normally in drafting races the race is actually easier than the training that we’re doing. So I think its just a matter of knowing that I had done the work, that I’d felt that pain before.” You were named United States Olympic Committee Athlete of the Month for July. What significance does this have for you? “It’s funny, all these things. It’s so amazing. My mom tonight just made this photo album up with all these pictures of all of my races and the wins and stuff like that. I kind of looked at it and I’m like, ‘my God was this me? Did I do these things?’ I don’t think I’ve actually taken the time to think about what’s happened over this season because I’ve been go, go, go. It really hit me and got me kind of emotional to see because it was the first time that I really thought about what had happened and at the same time I thought about that as well [the award] and that’s huge. Who would have ever dreamed that I would be accomplishing the things that I did this summer? I would never have believed that of myself. I know that’s pretty lame, but I wouldn’t have. So it’s just the most amazing feeling in the world and I feel blessed in a way. Blessed that I have had the determination to follow this program and really stick my head in there and go for it and never give up. And my dreams have come true. It’s incredible to actually see the rewards of all your hard work. I hope that everyone gets the opportunity at some point, the people that are working out there day after day and putting their heart and soul into it like I have, I hope that they can come up with an accomplishment of whatever sort that makes them feel the way that I do now because it’s an incredible, fulfilling feeling.”

Interestingly enough, so many of us who thought you would make it to Sydney, we’re all thinking that perhaps the fates are pointing towards Athens [2004] instead. Are you looking towards Athens? “I’m trying not to. Right now I’m kind of making every single race the most important race there is. I’ll enter Cancun in November, and right now that is my main focus. I think I’m going to keep it that way all the way up until 2004. If on that day I make the Olympic Team and I get to go to Athens then I’ll treat that race just as I have every other one this year. I’m not going to make the same mistake I made last year where I said I’ve got to make the Sydney Olympics, it’s do or die, it means everything to me, and if I don’t make it who knows I’ll just die. The effects of that when it doesn’t happen are just really devastating and I refuse to go through that again. If I can continue to work as hard as I have been and continue to perform and make things happen then hopefully that will just be a natural progression. I would certainly love to be there and would love to have a shot at representing my country and making them proud.”

You already make us proud Siri. -interview by Kristen McFarland

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Lake Placid, New York.

The site of the 1980 Winter Olympics was selected for the qualifying race for the 2001 World Age Group Championships. Unfortunately, the weather was closer to winter than summer on June 2nd. The Wednesday before the race it actually snowed in the picturesque upstate New York town.

After checking into the hotel Thursday, I heard a decision had been made by U S A Triathlon to turn the race into a duathlon due to the water temperature in Mirror Lake … a brisk 55 degrees. I was disappointed to hear this news. Not that I'm a great swimmer, but I usually do fairly well in my age group in the first leg of the race. With the first 6 finishers in each age group qualifying for the World's, the competition would be very tight for the spots. At the race meeting Friday it was announced there would be a swim, but it would be shortened to 500 meters. Needless to say, the changes back and forth created some controversy. Some folks left their wetsuits home thinking the swim was cancelled. Mike HIghfield, president of USA Triathlon, worked to solve the problem. By putting the competitors who had no wetsuits into later waves and soliciting athletes to loan their suits to others, a system was created to pass off suits from earlier waves to later waves. Race morning was overcast, with the air temperature at 54 and the water 56 degrees. Wave starts were spread nicely, and the swim, while a bit shocking to the system, was over quite quickly. Transitions were a little slow since people were doning various layers of tops, gloves, etc., not normally worn during races.

The bike course was generally downhill on the way out, with some climbing coming back into town. Fortunately, the roads had pretty much dried out after the overnight rains. With only a few turns, the course was fairly safe. The run, while advertised as flat, seemed pretty hilly to me. The first half was mostly up with a mile and a half steady climb to the turn-around point. A return into town led to the finish line in the Olympic skating oval. Thankfully, it wasn't so cold that we needed to lace up our ice skates to cross the finish line. Colorado competitors faired well with 10 individuals landing in the top six spots in their age groups to automatically qualify for the world championships in Edmonton. On a personal note, I managed to get the sixth spot in my age group, but a calf injury two weeks after the race will keep me home that weekend. In regard to the race quality, USAT did a very good job under difficult circumstances. The one major mistake was the pre-mature communication on their web site that the swim was cancelled. But the final decision was the right one. All other organizational aspects of the race were first rate. Lake Placid provides a great venue and with next years race scheduled for later in June, the weather should be more cooperative. -Steve Roberts COLORADO COMPETITORS

(second overall)

*qualified for Worlds as one of top 6 in age group Monica Caplan was 2nd overall.

Ryan Ignatz was 4th overall.

Author Steve Roberts at IRONMAN USA ‘99 K. MCFARLAND Worlds Qualifier...

A Chilly Affair

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MALES - OVERALL WINNER 1 247 RIC ROSENKRANZ COLO SPGS 04:23:23 FEMALES - OVERALL WINNERS 1 244 CAROLANNE TURTLE LITTLETON 05:00:21 FEMALES - 15 to 19 1 107 MELISSA HINMAN PARKER 06:23:47 MALES - 20 to 24

FEMALES - 20 to 24

MALES - 25 to 29

FEMALES - 25 to 29 1 110 FRANCES JOHNSON LITTLETON 05:48:55 2 142 KIRSTEN MC CAY-SMITH FT COLLINGS 05:52:27 MALES - 30 to 34

FEMALES - 30 to 34

MALES - 35 to 39

FEMALES - 35 to 39 1 126 SUSIE WASSON ARVADA 05:54:26 MALES - 40 to 44

FEMALES - 40 to 44 1 111 CHRIS MC KELVEY CARBONDALE06:38:26 2 106 BARB HEWITT LAKEWOOD 07:05:17 MALES - 45 to 49

FEMALES - 45 to 49 MALES - 50 to 54 1 232 AL MARVIN DENVER 05:25:53 2 118 ROGER MYERS LAKEWOOD 06:32:53 FEMALES - 50 to 54 1 117 LA REE MORRIS MORRISON 07:44:12 MALES - 55 to 59 1 235 BRUCE WILSON BOULDER 05:33:58 2 146 DENNIS WEST DENVER 05:44:11 MALES - 60 to 64 1 147 RICHARD FRIEDMANN LAKEWOOD 07:46:31 MALES - NO AGE GROUP GIVEN

MALES - OVERALL WINNER 1 563 ROMUALD LEPERS BOULDER 02:10:24 FEMALES - OVERALL WINNER 1 505 SARA ROSENKRANZ COLO SPGS 02:30:19 MALES - 15 to 19 1 528 CHAD SEYMOUR LITTLETON 02:19:29 2 530 THOMAS TAYLOR FARMINGTON/NM 02:36:10 FEMALES - 15 to 19 1 404 ELIZABETH KUDNER BOULDER 03:22:34 MALES - 20 to 24

FEMALES - 20 to 24

MALES - 25 to 29

FEMALES - 25 to 29

MALES - 30 to 34

FEMALES - 30 to 34

MALES - 35 to 39

FEMALES - 35 to 39

MALES - 40 to 44

FEMALES - 40 to 44

MALES - 45 to 49

MALES - 50 to 54 1 437 CLIFFORD LOEB FT COLLINS 02:50:21 2 321 JIM SHVIRAGA LOUISVILLE 03:47:04 FEMALES - 50 to 54

MALES - 55 to 59 1 510 MICHAEL CHESSNOE DENVER 02:50:37 2 310 JIM FINLEY MASONVILLE 03:15:53 MALES - 60 to 64

MALES - 65 to 69

Ft. Morgan Elks Tinman Triathlon June 9, 2001 (olympic distance +) results at right Ft. Morgan Elks Half IRONMAN June 9, 2001 results below

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On June 9th athletes showed up to test their fitness in the Fort Morgan Tinman and 1/2 IRONMAN Triathlons. Located just a few hours drive from Denver, Boulder, or Greeley, Fort Morgan was well located to attract some of Colorado’s best triathletes. Despite the cancellation of last year’s race, this year race officials were able to offer the 1/2 IRONMAN distance for the first time, in addition to the 1k swim, 50k bike and 10k run Tinman.

The race was cancelled last year due to the fact that there was a conflict between an irrigation company and the state of Colorado. The two sides could not come to an agreement about the lake, and that dispute lead to race officials not getting a date that they could use the lake until it was too late. Officials felt that they could not go all the necessary work to promote and hold a strong race. This year however, race director Larry Worth was given a date early enough to get the race going, and even expand the race. "It’s about the best we’ve had in a couple of years", Worth commented on this years event.

As it seems with most races, the start was delayed.

With 1/2 IRONMAN contestants leaving first in two separate waves, things finally got started after an initial 30 minute delay. Unfortunately, successive waves were delayed even longer. At the last minute swim course safety officials decided that it was unsafe to start the next wave until the last swimmer from the previous wave had reached the half way point. This proved to be a real problem for the middle to final waves. Some of those waves ran up to an hour late. Considering that pre race nutrition can often make or break your day this was truly problematic. Adding to the swim debacle was the difficulty in navigating the course. While buoys were set up, they were hardly visible in the early morning glare. The only instructions swimmers received was to keep the buoys on your right and to take a right at " that buoy out there". The markers in the water were a little more than three feet and placed very far apart making for a tough first leg. As Paul Fritzsche, second overall in the Tinman put it, " a combination of sun glare and drifted buoys made the course difficult to follow." Additionally the length of the course had to be questioned. The 1/2 IRONMAN distance saw a top time of 34ldj minutes, while the Tinman had a top time of dkk. Given these times one can only assume that both courses were long.

After completing the challenge of the swim it was on to a fair bike course. With no real hills to speak of there was really no place to make a big move. However the constant rolling terrain would prove the course to be deceptively difficult.

The course was a point to point affair starting from Jackson Lake and ending in Fort Morgan .

Tinman athletes raced for 31k while the half iron competitors raced the standard 56 miles. With no real shade to speak of and water stations few and far between hydration became an issue. Half Iron T TR RO OU UB BL LE ES S A AT T T TI IN NM MA AN N B BY Y A A. .J J. .J JO OH HN NS SO ON N Photos: Top right and above: Author A.J. Johnson; right: Jimmy Archer If you didn’t get the water bottle hand off perfectly, it was entirely possible to go right on through without any fluids. Additionally the aid stations had only water, no sports drink, gels or bars. With Allsport drinks as a sponsor it was hard to believe it was not available to any athlete on the course.

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racers had only three stations to pick up fluids. The aid stations consisted of three to four people handing out water bottles. If you didn’t get the water bottle hand off perfectly, it was entirely possible to go right on through without any fluids. Additionally the aid stations had only water, no sports drink, gels or bars. With Allsport drinks as a sponsor it was hard to believe it was not available to any athlete on the course. The bike course was at times difficult to follow, but in general was decently marked. The real problem was determining who your competitors were. With two different races happening on the same course you had to ask which event a person was competing in.

Determining who you had to chase and who you could let go was impossible without asking. Some marking on the calf to indicate which event the person was competing in would have made a world of difference. Fortunately congestion was not an issue. Most athletes I spoke with had no problems getting around other athletes. Most likely this was due to the large time gaps in between start times.

Getting on the run course things were tough from the start. Being a point to point bike, racers had to leave their run gear in a bag to be taken to Fort Morgan, where the bike course would end. The logistics of first getting the gear to the site and then handing the correct bag to the correct athlete were difficult. During the pre race meeting any explanation of how T2 would work immediately inspired more questions and confusion. Athletes did not know if they had to call out numbers, would they have to search for their bags, or ultimately would their bag even be there? Despite all of the confusion on the athlete’s part most transitions went smoothly. While some had bags waiting for them, others did have to quickly search for the right gear. Fortunately no one had to run barefoot.

The course itself was simple but brutal. A simple out and back 10k for the Tinmen and Tinwomen and 13.1 miles for half iron competitors that ended where the bike began. The course was mostly flat, with no shade. Again, it was the lack of aid stations that hurt the course’s quality. The stations were too far apart, only one Top right: Ryan Haug; top left : Sarah Goldfine; bottom right: Grant Helicky; bottom left: Kyle Boschen

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had Allsport, there was no food, and the cups were the size of those you get at the dentist. One had to grab two cups to get any decent amount of water and most had to stop at the stations to get adequate liquids. Also, due to the fact that Half Iron competitors had a further turn around point some of the final stations were close to bare by the time they reached them. This was also a problem for some of the elite racers because they had started so far behind other racers. " I was disappointed to discover that the water stations were too sparse and barley had anything left by the time we passed by them," said Paul Fritzsche. Poor aid stations are tough enough, but add in heat and a lack of shade and the final leg can become extremely difficult. Upon crossing the finish line racers ironically got the food and drink they were looking for on the course. There was plenty of fruit and Allsport to be had, apparently organizers had saved it all for the end. The award ceremony was complicated by a number of mis-timings. At one point a woman was recorded as running a sub 18 minute 10k, while one man had run a 45 minute half marathon. By the time it was all cleared up, most athletes had left.

Choosing to get home rather than wait to accept their award. The awards were actually very nice. The top three in each category received an engraved silver travelling mug.

Also on the bright side, all athletes did get their swim gear back as it had to be transported from the swim start to the finish line.

So what do athletes take away from this race? It was a tough, solid race that has great potential. With it’s proximity and challenging course it has the ability to attract many athletes from around the state. However, to capitalize on that potential some improvements have to happen. Obviously aid stations need to be more abundant and have better items available, detailed maps of the course need to be available to every athlete in their race pack, and organization of the pre and post race activities needs to be improved. This was the first time that both a half iron distance and a shorter distance race had been run together for this event. By making some simple changes race directors could turn this race into a Colorado favorite.

Top left: Karen Grabau; bottom left: Grant Iancone; Bottom right: Paul Fritzsche ❂

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Pro Men

Pro Women

15-19 Men

20-24 Men

25-29 Men

30-34 Men

35-39 Men

40-44 Men

45-49 Men

50-54 Men

Challenged 1 Paul Martin :18:13 01:55:44 01:02:44 3:16:41 20-24 Women

25-29 Women

30-34 Women

35-39 Women

40-44 Women

45-49 Women 1 Jean Farmer :23:38 02:51:55 01:22:49 4:38:22 50-54 Women 1 Libby Harrow :23:09 02:33:34 01:24:39 4:21:22 2 Barbara Kostner :24:11 02:49:17 01:20:38 4:34:06 J Ju ul ly y 2 9,, 2 1 K Ke ey ys st to on ne e,, C Co ol lo or ra ad do o 1K K/ / 2 6K K/ / 1 0K K O Of ff f R Ro oa ad d T Tr ri ia at th hl lo on n p pr ro o a an nd d t to op p a ag ge e g gr ro ou up p r re es su ul lt ts s

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High and dry in the Rockies, athletes meted out strong doses of competition and suffered at the hands of arguably the most challenging XTERRA course on the circuit. One might expect the altitude to lessen its grip on the locals, but Colorado athletes hurt just as much as the lowlanders at the XTERRA Central Championship in Keystone on July 29. "That was one hard race," said an exasperated Wes Hobson after finishing. Hobson started off the day by posting the fastest swim split, 12:38, on the two-lap course around Keystone Lake. Hobson led Kerry Classen and Scott Schumaker out of the water. A minute behind, Mike Vine of British Colombia hit land ready to rumble. And everyone’s mountain biking nemesis, Ned Overend of Durango came ashore just over two minutes back, followed shortly by France’s Nicholas LeBrun. With thoughts of the climb up Keystone Mountain via rocky single track, swimmers made the long dash from the swim exit up to T1 to put their knobby tires to the test.

Colorado ’ s favorite pair of lungs, Ned Overend, wasted no time in exerting his dominance on the bike. At the summit, Overend owned the lead and rode it back down the mountain into T2, clocking 1:09:29 for the fastest split by nearly a minute. "I got some time on the climb," said Overend. "Then Vine took some back on the downhill." Vine let it all hang out while chasing Overend down the mountain. After successfully staying in his pedals through Wild Thing, Vine entered T2 with the third fastest bike split of the day, nineteen seconds behind Overend. Meanwhile, LeBrun was on a mission as he rode the second fastest bike split to take back ground on the leaders. Down 1:42 when he entered T2, LeBrun headed out on the run struggling to make his lungs draw in enough oxygen in the altitude air to match the strength of his legs. With Overend, Vine and LeBrun securely onto the run X XT Te er rr ra a K Ke ey ys st to on ne e H Ho os st ts s T To ou ug gh h C Co om mp pe et ti it ti io on n o on n T To ou ug gh h C Co ou ur rs se e B By y A Ad da am m H Ho od dg ge es s P Ph ho ot to os s b by y C Ch hr ri is s A Ac cc ca ar rd do o Pat Brown (Boulder) with his race face on

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course, Conrad Stoltz and Michael Tobin were next to arrive into T2.

Vine, whose strength usually consists of biking, brought his running legs to Keystone. Adequately recovered from the oxygen debt he suffered during the opening swim, Vine quickly erased Overend’s lead during the first two miles of the run. By the last two miles, a hard charging LeBrun had caught Overend and had his sights on Vine.

"I just tried to hold a steady pace for the run," said Vine. "Nicholas was bearing down on me at the end." Fortunately for Vine, the end soon came and he wrapped up the Central Championship in Keystone the same way he did the Eastern Championship a month ago in Richmond, VA. His 2:04:41 victory put him atop the 2001 XTERRA points series with a perfect score.

Second overall, LeBrun finished the day with the fastest run split, 39:45, and also climbed to second in the series standings. Overend held off Stoltz and Tobin for third to claim a podium spot for his home state. "I came here hoping to win," said Overend. "But I’m not disappointed. These guys are good. I thought Nicholas might catch Mike the way he was running. I had a fast bike, but not fast enough."

Seth Wealing, Dave Harrison, Pat Brown, Wes Hobson and Justin Thomas rounded out the top ten in the race where the winning time was nearly four minutes faster than last year’s, making Vine’s 2:04:41 the new mark to beat on the Keystone XTERRA course.

Meanwhile, the women were engaged in their own battle on the trails, gunning for a new course record of their own.

Former world champion Cameron Randolph blasted the swim with the lead men and exited the water in 13:39. Raleigh Tennant of Australia and Brigitte Lacy of Colorado Springs conceded less than twenty seconds to Randolph and quickly followed her up the 200-meter path into T1. A minute later, Colorado favorite Kerstin Weule of Evergreen came ashore looking for a fourth victory at Keystone. South Africa’s Anke Erlank left the water two minutes down, but eager to ride. Further back, Colorado’s Monique Merrill and pro mountain biker Melissa Thomas of Denver shed wetsuits for mountain bikes and got to work on the climb to the 11,640foot summit of Keystone Mountain.

Buoyed by her lead out of the water, Randolph worked to keep at bay the slew of pursuers hammering up the single track behind her. At the summit, Erlank, Weule and pro mountain biker Melanie Top left: Ned Overend (Durango) passes Conrad Stoltz.; Bottom: Kerstin Weule (Evergreen) has to settle for second behind South Africa’s Anke Erlank (right)

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McQuaid from Canada were all ready to pounce like mountain lions on Randolph’s tenuous lead. On the wild descent, the mountain bike specialists took control and rearranged the ordering. Erlank, taking advantage of her recent training in Boulder, moved securely into first. A few minutes later, a relentless Thomas, riding the fastest bike split of the day, 1:23:44, entered T2 followed by Merrill, Randolph and Weule.

After waking up feeling horrible, a struggling Weule continued to battle on the run whose difficulty only added to her misery. Still, Weule gave chase and ran down all but Erlank with her 47:38 run split, second fastest behind Jenny Tobin’s 46:01. Erlank claimed victory and a new course record in 2:28:08. Weule, last year’s XTERRA world champion, took second only a few minutes off Erlank’s finish and well under her old Keystone course record of 2:36:55 set in 1999.

Randolph rounded out third followed by Merrill, Thomas, Cheri Touchette, Tobin, Kerry Barnholt, Jodi Mielke and Lesley Tomlinson in the top ten.

Weule’s performance was enough to secure her position at the top of the points series while Erlank moved to second in the standings. Weule will be gunning for yet another world championship in Maui on October 14. In the amateur competition, Josiah Middaugh of Vail posted a 2:17:24 to claim first in the race. "It was a tough course," said Middaugh. But despite the challenging terrain, he improved upon last year’s performance by twenty minutes.

Middaugh is hoping to make the trip to Maui to experience the world championships first-hand.

Kelly Schalk ran to the fastest overall time for the amateur women and Jari Kirkland from Breckenridge followed next as the first Coloradoan. Kirkland will compete in Maui for the second year in a row. And she’ll be even more prepared for the technical mountain biking this year. Kirkland has spent the summer racing for a local mountain bike team to hone her skills and will attempt Montezuma’s Revenge, a 24-hour mountain bike race the week after XTERRA Keystone in the same neck of the woods.

The 2001 Nissan XTerra U S A Championship Race Series continues with the West Championship in Half Moon Bay, CA on August 19 and the USA Championship in Lake Tahoe on September 23. The XTERRA World Championship will take place in Maui on October 14. Look for a legion of Colorado athletes led by Kerstin Weule and Ned Overend to take on the race in Hawaii.

Top left: Coach Neal Henderson (Boulder); Top right: Pat Brown beats pal Wes Hobson (both Boulder) across the creek; Bottom left: winner Mike Vine; right: Scott Schumaker (Boulder) ❂