(12-6-05) From Press Release - Be part of triathlon history as indoor racing is redefined! The race site is set for the beautiful Korum YMCA, a state-of-the-art, 106,000 sq foot athletic facility in Puyallup, WA. Combined with the cutting edge technology necessary for accurate bike splits, this event will set a new, unprecedented standard for indoor triathlon!
The event will be held on Sunday, March 12, 2006 and promises to be the indoor event of the winter season. Waves of twelve participants will start every 20 minutes in Korum's luxurious indoor 82 degree pool. There will be two participants per lane. Athletes will then have twenty minutes to change and accumulate as much mileage as they can on their bikes, which will be hooked up to Elite Wireless Fluid Primo ElastoGel Trainers. Included in The Korum Y's state-of-the-art facility is a beautiful indoor track. the track is 1/6th of a mile so 6 laps = 1 mile. With only twelve participants on the track at a time, there will be plenty of room to maneuver. Lap counters will be located at every corner of the track for an accurate monitoring of the distance each athlete has run. After the run, the individuals race is now complete.
While the seasoned triathlete can push themselves to the physical limit in this race, the novice triathlete can gain valuable race experience and gauge their Tri-Fitness in a much more controlled environment. Athletes will be able to choose their own start time that is convenient and enjoy the race even more!
In addition to the Indoor Triathlon Championship, TriFREAK will be hosting new spectacular races throughout the Northwest in 2006, including the Federal Escape Triathlon, which made its debut in 2005. Visit www.trifreak.com for more information on these races.
Seattle Runner Wins Seventh Consecutive Seattle Marathon
(11-28-05) Uli Steidl of Shoreline, WA won his seventh consecutive Seattle Marathon on Sunday, November 27, breaking his own course record in the process. After winning the Portland Marathon in 1997 while running for the University of Portland, Steidl's long distance running career really didn't kick into high gear until 2000 and he's been on the fast track ever since. Just to name a few of his accomplishments, he has five consecutive Vancouver International Marathon titles to his credit - he also won the Bend Marathon in 2004 and 2005, and has continued to dominate the Seattle Marathon year in and year out.
SEATTLE TIMES ARTICLE
SEATTLE PI ARTICLE
2005 TRI NorthWest Rankings Posted
(11-9-05) The 2005 TRI NorthWest Rankings are now complete! Both the ranked duathlons and ranked triathlons in the TRI NorthWest rankings have submitted their results and the calculations have been made. Included are categories for Sprint, Olympic, Long Course and Best Overall.
Congratulations to all ranked duathletes and triathletes for 2005.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE RANKINGS FOR 2005
Congratulations to all ranked duathletes and triathletes for 2005.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE RANKINGS FOR 2005
Race Report: Ironman Hawaii 2005, Through the Eyes of an Age Grouper
(11-9-05) Submitted by Erik Blachford - How I Spent My Long Weekend in Hawaii...
I came to Ironman Hawaii here in Kona with a few goals. First, I wanted to finish the race. Second, I wanted to have a good strong run, avoiding the horrendous experience I had during the second half of the marathon at Ironman Canada two years ago. And third, I thought there was some chance I could run better than a four-hour marathon, something I'd not been able to do in Canada.
You'll notice that none of these goals had anything to do with my overall time, nor with my placement in the field or in my age group. I didn't care much about my time because I didn't know what to expect from the course, with its notorious hills, winds, and heat. And for me to worry about where I placed in a field dominated by people who had qualified for this race by placing in the top 5-10 of their age groups in some other 2005 Ironman event...well that would be silly (I, um, "qualified" by buying my spot on Ebay).
How did it turn out? Well. Very well, even. I finished, felt great throughout the marathon, and posted a marathon time of 3:59:20.
I checked in at the start around 5:30am, got my arms marked with my number - 1348 - and headed over to my bike to pump the tires one last time, put on my water bottles, and load up my little food pouch with energy bars. Sunrise wouldn't come until almost 7am, but the early morning glow was enough to see by. I half-believe that even absent that, the nervous energy on the Kailua Pier would probably have produced enough electricity to light the place up.
In most Ironman and half-Ironman races, there are a small handful of people who believe they can win their respective age groups. In mine, men 35-39, a large and very competitive group (can you say, "midlife crisis?"), there might normally be 10 people who arrive at the start prepared to battle hard for the win, or for the top 5 position that will win them a qualifying slot to Ironman Hawaii. They are all psycho, of course, but perhaps that goes without saying.
Now, imagine taking the people from the top 5 spots from all 17 worldwide qualifying races, and putting them all into one race. Instead of 10 people battling for the top few slots (and associated bragging rights - this is the World Championship after all), there are more like 100. It's intense. People don't smile a lot on race morning, and there's very little joking around.
In fact, there wasn't a lot of smiling for the few days preceding the race. Everyone was out on the roads, biking and running to work off nervous energy, without a lot of the little smiles and waves that constitute basic politeness back in the real world. And at the swim venue, where the buoys were already partly set up, the point seemed to be as much about strutting low body fat percentage as about warming up for the race to come.
Anyway, race morning was calm and warm as the sun rose over the hills, and the assembled field waited for the starting cannon. The pros started at 6:45am, just before the dawn, in a flopping froth of arms and legs. It's incredible that more of them don't end up with broken noses, teeth, and cheekbones from flying feet.
At 7am, after an aloha-tinged national anthem, the cannon went off for the age group field, and away we went. Or rather, away they went. I stayed treading water for a slow ten-count, reasoning that it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference to my time, but might help me avoid getting kicked in the face.
I took the swim easy, mostly because I'm still such a pathetically slow swimmer that there's no point in pushing it and wasting a bunch of energy. Still, 2.4 miles in the ocean with no wetsuit is a bear, no matter how easy you take it, and I emerged an hour and 41 minutes later much the worse for wear. As my stepfather-in-law Stu said later, I didn't look too good as I changed and hopped on my bike. Yep, that's because I didn't feel too good.
You triathletes will also appreciate how odd it felt to come out of the water, into transition, and have fully 95% of the bikes gone already. I had been expecting it, doing the simple math on my swim time and the quality of the field, but still, it's hard not to let that get to you just a little.
But hop on my bike I did, for an 11-mile loop in Kailua before heading out onto the Queen K highway for the long ride up to the turnaround at Hawi. It was still early, and not hot, so it felt great to get a little speed going. Most of the bikers were well past by the time I got to various checkpoints on the course, but there were still massive numbers of spectators yelling and cheering. It was amazing, really, that they kept it up even for those of us at the back of the pack. Though I suppose in hindsight I realize that during those early stages of the bike leg I was only about 40 minutes behind most of the pack - the gap would only get wider from there.
All along the route leading up the turnaround, I could see the real field coming back in the opposite lane. Faris Al-Sultan, the eventual race winner, was blazing along at the front, followed by a few follow packs then miles of age group winners from around the world. It was a hell of thing to watch, actually. Even from the other side of the highway you could see that they were setting a blazing pace.
Somewhere in there, I passed Sarah Reinertsten, who you might remember from last year's NBC coverage of the race (she races on a prosthetic leg, and last year wasn't able to finish). Talk about inspiring. I don't know how she kept her cool with the film crews hovering around her all day, but she was just cranking away with a smile on her face. Very impressive.
The 112-mile bike course in Kona is known for its hills (check), its heat (check, though this wasn't an extreme year, just average), and wind (not bad at all this year). I like to treat these events as adventures, so don't spend a lot of time scouting the courses in advance. That meant that I didn't have a great sense for just how many hills there were on this course. There are many, including a steady uphill the last 20 miles to the turnaround, which happened to be the only place where we hit any significant headwinds. Which also happened to be about the hottest part of the day. You get the idea.
The return from Hawi was easier, back down that 20 mile hill, then along the Queen K to town. The views from the top near Hawi are superb, making it into the kind of ride that you would love to do at a more leisurely pace with a bunch of friends. Though I suppose in that case you would start from the Four Seasons Hualalai, pedal up to Hawi, have lunch (perhaps a macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi with a crisp Chardonnay?), then cruise back down for a dip in the pool and a Mai Tai. But I digress.
Seriously, just as we were passing the entrance to the Four Seasons on the way back into town, I happened to be near another biker, and I said, "damn, wouldn't you just love to be in that Four Seasons pool about now?" She kind of frowned at me for joking around. I wanted to say, "Lady, I hate to break it to you, but we aren't going to win." Her look made me keep my mouth shut.
At least I got a couple of chuckles out of the volunteers at the aid stations by asking for a cold Heineken. Only time all day they heard that one, I'd wager.
By the time I got back to Kailua, the field was well along on the marathon, and the really fast racers were finishing. In fact, Faris Al-Sultan's time was about 8:14, which meant that he had won the race before I had started the marathon.
I felt great coming off the bike, and didn't even notice what my time split was, as I'd been paying much more attention to my heart rate than to my time (I later found out it was a little over 6 1/2 hours). My basic bike plan was to keep my heart rate from spiking up too much, conserving my energy for the run, when I'd really need it. There's something liberating about watching a number other than speed on the bike, especially when you are battling a headwind while going uphill. And it saved me a ton of energy that I would normally have put into trying to maintain my speed at the wrong moments.
Just before I finished the bike course, I saw Maryam, Jake, Stu and Roberta, and was able to pull over and have a quick chat, take a photo, and tell them I was doing fine. It was so great to have that kind of support out on the course. Jake had spent much of the previous afternoon working on special signage, including a huge sign saying, "Go, Ironyman!" I think he'd had some help from his mother on that one...
I swapped my bike clothes for running gear in the changing tent, then headed out on the marathon. I saw my "support crew" again about a mile in to the run, at which point Jake asked me, "Dad, are you coming home to the hotel with us?" Sorely tempted, I explained that I had some running to do first, but would see him back at the hotel after that.
As it turned out, the run was great from start to finish. I never faltered, never felt bad, never stopped eating. It's a beautiful course. Early in the marathon, running along oceanside Ali'i Drive, I looked out to see surfers catching breaks off the beach. Shortly thereafter, a surfer dude on a cruiser bike on the other side of the road was pedaling slowly along, then reached up into a flowering tree, pulled down a blossom and took a deep smell of it as went, without breaking pedaling rhythm. Despite the intensity of the surrounding event, Hawaii is still Hawaii.
(One moment on the marathon will always stick with me. It happened at about the 17-mile mark, when the course turns down towards the ocean for a final turnaround before heading back towards town and the finish line. Incredibly, I hit the turn right at the moment the sun started to set, perfectly lined up with the end of the road. I was literally running straight down into the setting sun for about three quarters of a mile. If I remember one thing about this whole race, it will probably be that stretch of 5 minutes or so.)
On the way back into town, running in the dark under an almost full moon, we all had to wear glowsticks somewhere on our bodies. At first I thought it was to keep us safe from cars, but quickly saw that the real threat was other runners coming from the opposite direction, still heading out to the turnaround. With no streetlights at all, all you could see were glowsticks bouncing up and down. I made a couple of Burning Man playa cracks to those immediately around me, but for some reason that didn't get a laugh. Hmm, maybe not too much crowd crossover between Burning Man and Ironman?
But back to those goals I mentioned at the outset. I realized at about mile 20 that if I picked up my pace I could potentially finish my marathon in under 4 hours. Reasoning that I'd always regret it if I didn't try, I dug deep and ramped up the pace. I found I had no trouble, so ramped it up a little more. Then a little more, this time uphill to the turn onto Palani Road.
By the time I saw Maryam about a mile from the finish I was running like I was in a 10km race, just hammering along. Then - boom - the turn onto Ali'i Drive for the finish, insane crowds and noise, little kids running alongside to high five me, people yelling and cheering from every direction. Pandemonium, after all those miles alongside the dark highway. Charge into the finish alley, stadium lights shining down on the bleachers and the crowd going crazy for those of us coming in four hours after the winner! Sprint by the woman greeting her kids, the guy blowing kisses to the crowd, hit the finish at a dead run with the biggest smile I've ever smiled... into the arms of waiting volunteers who prop you up, walk you around, get you water and a slice of pizza and steer you to
"You are an Ironman," yells the announcer as you cross the line. And man oh man do you ever feel like one in the moments after the race is done.
After we'd picked up my bike and gear, we stopped before going back to the car. We climbed up into the finisher bleachers and watched some other athletes come in, to the same deafening noise and excitement, watched the expressions on their faces and the sudden, if fleeting, spring in their steps. And it felt perfect.
I came to Ironman Hawaii here in Kona with a few goals. First, I wanted to finish the race. Second, I wanted to have a good strong run, avoiding the horrendous experience I had during the second half of the marathon at Ironman Canada two years ago. And third, I thought there was some chance I could run better than a four-hour marathon, something I'd not been able to do in Canada.
You'll notice that none of these goals had anything to do with my overall time, nor with my placement in the field or in my age group. I didn't care much about my time because I didn't know what to expect from the course, with its notorious hills, winds, and heat. And for me to worry about where I placed in a field dominated by people who had qualified for this race by placing in the top 5-10 of their age groups in some other 2005 Ironman event...well that would be silly (I, um, "qualified" by buying my spot on Ebay).
How did it turn out? Well. Very well, even. I finished, felt great throughout the marathon, and posted a marathon time of 3:59:20.
I checked in at the start around 5:30am, got my arms marked with my number - 1348 - and headed over to my bike to pump the tires one last time, put on my water bottles, and load up my little food pouch with energy bars. Sunrise wouldn't come until almost 7am, but the early morning glow was enough to see by. I half-believe that even absent that, the nervous energy on the Kailua Pier would probably have produced enough electricity to light the place up.
In most Ironman and half-Ironman races, there are a small handful of people who believe they can win their respective age groups. In mine, men 35-39, a large and very competitive group (can you say, "midlife crisis?"), there might normally be 10 people who arrive at the start prepared to battle hard for the win, or for the top 5 position that will win them a qualifying slot to Ironman Hawaii. They are all psycho, of course, but perhaps that goes without saying.
Now, imagine taking the people from the top 5 spots from all 17 worldwide qualifying races, and putting them all into one race. Instead of 10 people battling for the top few slots (and associated bragging rights - this is the World Championship after all), there are more like 100. It's intense. People don't smile a lot on race morning, and there's very little joking around.
In fact, there wasn't a lot of smiling for the few days preceding the race. Everyone was out on the roads, biking and running to work off nervous energy, without a lot of the little smiles and waves that constitute basic politeness back in the real world. And at the swim venue, where the buoys were already partly set up, the point seemed to be as much about strutting low body fat percentage as about warming up for the race to come.
Anyway, race morning was calm and warm as the sun rose over the hills, and the assembled field waited for the starting cannon. The pros started at 6:45am, just before the dawn, in a flopping froth of arms and legs. It's incredible that more of them don't end up with broken noses, teeth, and cheekbones from flying feet.
At 7am, after an aloha-tinged national anthem, the cannon went off for the age group field, and away we went. Or rather, away they went. I stayed treading water for a slow ten-count, reasoning that it wouldn't make a damn bit of difference to my time, but might help me avoid getting kicked in the face.
I took the swim easy, mostly because I'm still such a pathetically slow swimmer that there's no point in pushing it and wasting a bunch of energy. Still, 2.4 miles in the ocean with no wetsuit is a bear, no matter how easy you take it, and I emerged an hour and 41 minutes later much the worse for wear. As my stepfather-in-law Stu said later, I didn't look too good as I changed and hopped on my bike. Yep, that's because I didn't feel too good.
You triathletes will also appreciate how odd it felt to come out of the water, into transition, and have fully 95% of the bikes gone already. I had been expecting it, doing the simple math on my swim time and the quality of the field, but still, it's hard not to let that get to you just a little.
But hop on my bike I did, for an 11-mile loop in Kailua before heading out onto the Queen K highway for the long ride up to the turnaround at Hawi. It was still early, and not hot, so it felt great to get a little speed going. Most of the bikers were well past by the time I got to various checkpoints on the course, but there were still massive numbers of spectators yelling and cheering. It was amazing, really, that they kept it up even for those of us at the back of the pack. Though I suppose in hindsight I realize that during those early stages of the bike leg I was only about 40 minutes behind most of the pack - the gap would only get wider from there.
All along the route leading up the turnaround, I could see the real field coming back in the opposite lane. Faris Al-Sultan, the eventual race winner, was blazing along at the front, followed by a few follow packs then miles of age group winners from around the world. It was a hell of thing to watch, actually. Even from the other side of the highway you could see that they were setting a blazing pace.
Somewhere in there, I passed Sarah Reinertsten, who you might remember from last year's NBC coverage of the race (she races on a prosthetic leg, and last year wasn't able to finish). Talk about inspiring. I don't know how she kept her cool with the film crews hovering around her all day, but she was just cranking away with a smile on her face. Very impressive.
The 112-mile bike course in Kona is known for its hills (check), its heat (check, though this wasn't an extreme year, just average), and wind (not bad at all this year). I like to treat these events as adventures, so don't spend a lot of time scouting the courses in advance. That meant that I didn't have a great sense for just how many hills there were on this course. There are many, including a steady uphill the last 20 miles to the turnaround, which happened to be the only place where we hit any significant headwinds. Which also happened to be about the hottest part of the day. You get the idea.
The return from Hawi was easier, back down that 20 mile hill, then along the Queen K to town. The views from the top near Hawi are superb, making it into the kind of ride that you would love to do at a more leisurely pace with a bunch of friends. Though I suppose in that case you would start from the Four Seasons Hualalai, pedal up to Hawi, have lunch (perhaps a macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi with a crisp Chardonnay?), then cruise back down for a dip in the pool and a Mai Tai. But I digress.
Seriously, just as we were passing the entrance to the Four Seasons on the way back into town, I happened to be near another biker, and I said, "damn, wouldn't you just love to be in that Four Seasons pool about now?" She kind of frowned at me for joking around. I wanted to say, "Lady, I hate to break it to you, but we aren't going to win." Her look made me keep my mouth shut.
At least I got a couple of chuckles out of the volunteers at the aid stations by asking for a cold Heineken. Only time all day they heard that one, I'd wager.
By the time I got back to Kailua, the field was well along on the marathon, and the really fast racers were finishing. In fact, Faris Al-Sultan's time was about 8:14, which meant that he had won the race before I had started the marathon.
I felt great coming off the bike, and didn't even notice what my time split was, as I'd been paying much more attention to my heart rate than to my time (I later found out it was a little over 6 1/2 hours). My basic bike plan was to keep my heart rate from spiking up too much, conserving my energy for the run, when I'd really need it. There's something liberating about watching a number other than speed on the bike, especially when you are battling a headwind while going uphill. And it saved me a ton of energy that I would normally have put into trying to maintain my speed at the wrong moments.
Just before I finished the bike course, I saw Maryam, Jake, Stu and Roberta, and was able to pull over and have a quick chat, take a photo, and tell them I was doing fine. It was so great to have that kind of support out on the course. Jake had spent much of the previous afternoon working on special signage, including a huge sign saying, "Go, Ironyman!" I think he'd had some help from his mother on that one...
I swapped my bike clothes for running gear in the changing tent, then headed out on the marathon. I saw my "support crew" again about a mile in to the run, at which point Jake asked me, "Dad, are you coming home to the hotel with us?" Sorely tempted, I explained that I had some running to do first, but would see him back at the hotel after that.
As it turned out, the run was great from start to finish. I never faltered, never felt bad, never stopped eating. It's a beautiful course. Early in the marathon, running along oceanside Ali'i Drive, I looked out to see surfers catching breaks off the beach. Shortly thereafter, a surfer dude on a cruiser bike on the other side of the road was pedaling slowly along, then reached up into a flowering tree, pulled down a blossom and took a deep smell of it as went, without breaking pedaling rhythm. Despite the intensity of the surrounding event, Hawaii is still Hawaii.
(One moment on the marathon will always stick with me. It happened at about the 17-mile mark, when the course turns down towards the ocean for a final turnaround before heading back towards town and the finish line. Incredibly, I hit the turn right at the moment the sun started to set, perfectly lined up with the end of the road. I was literally running straight down into the setting sun for about three quarters of a mile. If I remember one thing about this whole race, it will probably be that stretch of 5 minutes or so.)
On the way back into town, running in the dark under an almost full moon, we all had to wear glowsticks somewhere on our bodies. At first I thought it was to keep us safe from cars, but quickly saw that the real threat was other runners coming from the opposite direction, still heading out to the turnaround. With no streetlights at all, all you could see were glowsticks bouncing up and down. I made a couple of Burning Man playa cracks to those immediately around me, but for some reason that didn't get a laugh. Hmm, maybe not too much crowd crossover between Burning Man and Ironman?
But back to those goals I mentioned at the outset. I realized at about mile 20 that if I picked up my pace I could potentially finish my marathon in under 4 hours. Reasoning that I'd always regret it if I didn't try, I dug deep and ramped up the pace. I found I had no trouble, so ramped it up a little more. Then a little more, this time uphill to the turn onto Palani Road.
By the time I saw Maryam about a mile from the finish I was running like I was in a 10km race, just hammering along. Then - boom - the turn onto Ali'i Drive for the finish, insane crowds and noise, little kids running alongside to high five me, people yelling and cheering from every direction. Pandemonium, after all those miles alongside the dark highway. Charge into the finish alley, stadium lights shining down on the bleachers and the crowd going crazy for those of us coming in four hours after the winner! Sprint by the woman greeting her kids, the guy blowing kisses to the crowd, hit the finish at a dead run with the biggest smile I've ever smiled... into the arms of waiting volunteers who prop you up, walk you around, get you water and a slice of pizza and steer you to
"You are an Ironman," yells the announcer as you cross the line. And man oh man do you ever feel like one in the moments after the race is done.
After we'd picked up my bike and gear, we stopped before going back to the car. We climbed up into the finisher bleachers and watched some other athletes come in, to the same deafening noise and excitement, watched the expressions on their faces and the sudden, if fleeting, spring in their steps. And it felt perfect.
Masters Athletes Have Strong Showing in World Championships
(10-31-05) Submitted by Kirk Rose - Several area athletes traveled to Hawaii to compete in the ITU World Age Group Championships on October 9, 2005. The following Northwest age groupers among the competitors representing the United States included the following:
Richard Earle, M45-49 (Salem, OR)
Jim Gulasky, M60-64 (Lebanon, OR)
Becky Obletz, F45-49 (Portland, OR)
Sandra Wiebe, F55-59 (Vancouver, WA)
Gar Hakney, M55-59 (Boise, ID)
Paul Decoursey, M55-59 (Boise, ID)
Kirk Rose, M55-59 (Albany, OR)
Madonna Buder, F75+ (Spokane, WA)
While there were other Northwest athletes this was a very strong contingency of 'older athletes'.
Sandra Wiebe pulled off a fantastic double along with the "ageless" Sister Madonna Buder. Sandy won the 55-59 Female Age Group at the ITU age group championship and then, in record setting time, won the her division at the Ford Ironman World Championships Kona, HI the following week. Sister Madonna also won her age group (women 75-79) at the ITU age group championship, and then went on to win the women's 75+ category at Ironman Hawaii the next week. And just seven weeks earlier, Sister Madonna became the oldest female to compete and Ironman distance triathlon.
Portland’s Becky Obletz was 5th in Honolulu in her age group 45-49, Jim Gulaskey at 19th in the Men 60-64, Paul Decoursey at 8th in the 55-59 male category. It was a tough day for the 55-59 age group as they started over two and a half hours later than the first group and the surf, trade winds and heat became big factors. Some participants received medical treatment on the run for heat related conditions.
Many athletes from around the world converged on the islands of Hawaii in October and our local athletes represented the Pacific Northwest well -- and certainly deserve recognition for their efforts at the end of the 2005 triathlon season.
Editor's Note: This report had been submitted to us for publishing, but originally omitted Sister Madonna Buder's astonishing performance. RaceCenter regrets the error. Special thanks to Barbara Larrain (an accomplished masters triathlete from Portland) for informing us of our omission.
Richard Earle, M45-49 (Salem, OR)
Jim Gulasky, M60-64 (Lebanon, OR)
Becky Obletz, F45-49 (Portland, OR)
Sandra Wiebe, F55-59 (Vancouver, WA)
Gar Hakney, M55-59 (Boise, ID)
Paul Decoursey, M55-59 (Boise, ID)
Kirk Rose, M55-59 (Albany, OR)
Madonna Buder, F75+ (Spokane, WA)
While there were other Northwest athletes this was a very strong contingency of 'older athletes'.
Sandra Wiebe pulled off a fantastic double along with the "ageless" Sister Madonna Buder. Sandy won the 55-59 Female Age Group at the ITU age group championship and then, in record setting time, won the her division at the Ford Ironman World Championships Kona, HI the following week. Sister Madonna also won her age group (women 75-79) at the ITU age group championship, and then went on to win the women's 75+ category at Ironman Hawaii the next week. And just seven weeks earlier, Sister Madonna became the oldest female to compete and Ironman distance triathlon.
Portland’s Becky Obletz was 5th in Honolulu in her age group 45-49, Jim Gulaskey at 19th in the Men 60-64, Paul Decoursey at 8th in the 55-59 male category. It was a tough day for the 55-59 age group as they started over two and a half hours later than the first group and the surf, trade winds and heat became big factors. Some participants received medical treatment on the run for heat related conditions.
Many athletes from around the world converged on the islands of Hawaii in October and our local athletes represented the Pacific Northwest well -- and certainly deserve recognition for their efforts at the end of the 2005 triathlon season.
Editor's Note: This report had been submitted to us for publishing, but originally omitted Sister Madonna Buder's astonishing performance. RaceCenter regrets the error. Special thanks to Barbara Larrain (an accomplished masters triathlete from Portland) for informing us of our omission.
Wenatchee Man Wins Age Group Title at Xterra Worlds
(10-24-05) Jason Jablonski of Wenatchee, WA won the overall age group title this past weekend at the 2005 Nissan Xterra World Championship in Maui, HI in a time of 3:01:48. The overall women's age group title was captured by Marion Summerer of Freiburg, Germany.
Jablonski won the Moonlight Basin Off-Road Triathlon on July 24 held in Big Sky, MT and qualified to compete at the US Championships held in Lake Tahoe on October 2. He then went on to take second place in the men's 30-34 age division at the Tahoe event, which was his ticket to competing in the world championship.
NOTE: The 2005 Nissan Xterra World Championship will be broadcast on CBS on Super Bowl Sunday, February 5, 2006 at 12 noon EST.
For complete race results, photos and a recap of the pro race, check out the Xterraplanet.com
Jablonski won the Moonlight Basin Off-Road Triathlon on July 24 held in Big Sky, MT and qualified to compete at the US Championships held in Lake Tahoe on October 2. He then went on to take second place in the men's 30-34 age division at the Tahoe event, which was his ticket to competing in the world championship.
NOTE: The 2005 Nissan Xterra World Championship will be broadcast on CBS on Super Bowl Sunday, February 5, 2006 at 12 noon EST.
For complete race results, photos and a recap of the pro race, check out the Xterraplanet.com
Grand Columbian Tri Announces International Long Course Distance Event for '06
(10-20-05) From Press Release - The Grand Columbian Triathlon Race Committee is pleased to announce the very first "Nice Distance" triathlon in North America. The ITU Long Course is a 4K swim, a 120K bike and 30K run - a variation of the well known "Nice" France distance and long course standard used for the ITU World Long course Championships. The Grand Columbian long course will be a direct ITU World Championship qualifier as a USAT signature event. Top finishers will qualify directly for Team USA. The Grand Columbian Iron distance and Long Course Triathlons are the 2006 USAT Pacific Northwest Regional Ultra distance and Long Course Championships. The Half Iron is a US Half Championship qualifier.
This is the first opportunity for North American athletes to experience this distance on the continent. It is long enough to represent a great challenge but short enough to be able to be "raced". The decision to host this race represents the commitment by Total Health Events to give athletes a chance to test themselves against the ITU long course standard. Combined, the Grand Columbian triathlons will offer the best endurance triathlons in North America. "We have an unparalleled venue in the wide open course, amazing vistas and inspiring bike routes. The scenic run course along the Columbia River will easily accommodate all distances." The Grand Columbian will present the highest quality that USAT races have to offer and the stature of a true championship race. Now in its third year, the Grand Columbian is rapidly establishing itself as one of a handful of "must-do" races in North America based upon the course, the outstanding community support and highest quality race management.
One prevailing question was whether to replace the Iron race with the ITU Long Course or run them both. "We thought long and hard about the issue" stated Jonathan Hoskins Race Director. "We heard from numerous athletes that there is a real interest in continuing the special iron event as well as introducing the ITU Long Course. Given the responses from athlete, we were able to craft a win-win by offering the ITU Long course Championship distance as a unique special event on a variation of the Iron course. We are blessed with an exceptional venue for the best endurance triathlons in North America. Our community volunteer base is thrilled to continue Iron triathlons and, with modifications, support both endurance events as well as the Half-Iron."
The organizers have decided to cap total participation in all three races at a combined 650 athletes. Although the course could handle up to 1,200 athletes, the organizers want to ensure every athlete feels personally supported and part of a complete Championships event experience.
The Grand Columbian International Triathlons will be held Saturday, September 16, 2006 in Grand Coulee Dam area. North Central Washington USA. For more information go to the website at www.thegrandcolumbian.com
This is the first opportunity for North American athletes to experience this distance on the continent. It is long enough to represent a great challenge but short enough to be able to be "raced". The decision to host this race represents the commitment by Total Health Events to give athletes a chance to test themselves against the ITU long course standard. Combined, the Grand Columbian triathlons will offer the best endurance triathlons in North America. "We have an unparalleled venue in the wide open course, amazing vistas and inspiring bike routes. The scenic run course along the Columbia River will easily accommodate all distances." The Grand Columbian will present the highest quality that USAT races have to offer and the stature of a true championship race. Now in its third year, the Grand Columbian is rapidly establishing itself as one of a handful of "must-do" races in North America based upon the course, the outstanding community support and highest quality race management.
One prevailing question was whether to replace the Iron race with the ITU Long Course or run them both. "We thought long and hard about the issue" stated Jonathan Hoskins Race Director. "We heard from numerous athletes that there is a real interest in continuing the special iron event as well as introducing the ITU Long Course. Given the responses from athlete, we were able to craft a win-win by offering the ITU Long course Championship distance as a unique special event on a variation of the Iron course. We are blessed with an exceptional venue for the best endurance triathlons in North America. Our community volunteer base is thrilled to continue Iron triathlons and, with modifications, support both endurance events as well as the Half-Iron."
The organizers have decided to cap total participation in all three races at a combined 650 athletes. Although the course could handle up to 1,200 athletes, the organizers want to ensure every athlete feels personally supported and part of a complete Championships event experience.
The Grand Columbian International Triathlons will be held Saturday, September 16, 2006 in Grand Coulee Dam area. North Central Washington USA. For more information go to the website at www.thegrandcolumbian.com
Eugene Wins Bid for 2008 Olympic Trials
(10-15-05) From USATF Press Release - Returning the country's most prestigious pre-Olympic event to one of the most hallowed sites in the sport, USA Track & Field on Friday awarded the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials to Eugene, Ore. The host of the 1972, '76 and '80 Olympic Trials and the 1999 and 2001 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the University of Oregon's Hayward Field will be the site of the 2008 Olympic Trials, where the roster for Team USA will be selected for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The Olympic Trials will be held from June 27-July 6, 2008.
"Eugene's bid proposes an unprecedented focus on athletes, and plans for celebrating the sport that will make it a great fan experience," said USATF CEO Craig Masback. "Hayward Field is hallowed ground in our sport and Eugene's vision for what they can do to connect track's past, present and future won the day. All of us at USA Track & Field congratulate John McCasey and the Sacramento Sports Commission for offering a tremendous bid to host the 2008 Olympic Trials. Deciding between Sacramento and Eugene was a very difficult task, and we'll always be grateful to John and his group for their intense interest and enthusiasm for our sport, and for raising the bar in the staging of this event in 2000 and 2004," Masback added.
Submitted by the Oregon Track Club, Eugene's bid for the Olympic Trials stressed an athlete-friendly focus and deep community support. Key elements of Eugene's bid included expanding seating at Hayward Field to up to 17,000 spectators, upgrading the entire warm-up and competition area, implementing an upgrade to media facilities and staging expansive new athlete programs over the next four years.
"We are ecstatic, yet humbled by this tremendous opportunity," said Oregon Track club President Greg Erwin." We will do everything in our power to make this the most unforgettable experience for the athletes, the spectators and the people of Oregon."
The site of the most prestigious invitational track meet in the country, the Nike Prefontaine Classic, Eugene has long been dubbed "Track Town, USA" for its rich track and field history and the community's appreciation of the sport. The Nike Prefontaine Classic regularly draws standing-room-only crowds, while athletes consistently rate Hayward Field as having one of the most compelling atmospheres of any stadium in the world.
The largest national championship track meet in the world, the U.S. Olympic Trials hosts more than 1,000 athletes as they compete for the right to represent Team USA at the Olympic Games. More than 350,000 fans attended the last two Olympic Trials in Sacramento, and at each edition of the meet, more than 1,000 members of the media from around the world cover the event while thousands of volunteers and officials provide support.
Other finalists to host the 2008 Olympic Trials were Sacramento, Los Angeles/Carson, Calif., and Columbus, Ohio.
For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org
STORY [Oregonian]
STORY [Register Guard]
Ironman Hawaii Set for Saturday
(10-13-05) Athletes from around the world will test their mettle in this year's Ford Ironman World Championship slated for Saturday in Kona, HI located on the western shore of the Big Island. Coverage of the event will be available in real time at IronmanLive.com.
Marathon Mania
(10-11-05) Marathon season is in full swing and you know this by simply looking at the calendar and seeing that the month of October is upon us. On October 9, four marathons of significance to runners in the Northwest took place - all on the same day including the 34th annual Portland Marathon, the Bend Marathon (in its second year), the Royal Victoria Marathon (in Victoria, BC), and the Chicago Marathon. And not to mention the fact that the Lake Tahoe Marathon took place the day before (on Oct 8th).In an attempt to avoid overcrowing on this particular weekend, Lake Tahoe race director Les Wright announced that his event will be moving to Sept. 30, 2006 - two weeks earlier to avoid being staged on the same weekend as the inaugural Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon that will take place next year.
First Time Marathoner Wins Portland
(10-10-05) 25-year-old John Lucas from Eugene captured this year's title at the 34th annual Portland Marathon. His winning time of 2 hours, 26 minutes, 28 seconds was not close to a course record, but was impressive considering that Lucas had never run a marathon before.
Yumiko Minato of Portland won the women's division in 2:44:30 beating second place finisher Wendy Terris of San Antonio, TX by over eight minutes.
Also notable is the fact that three out of the top ten finishers in the men's race were from Eugene, OR, a town known for its running roots, and running talent. Among the top Eugene runners was Matthew Lonergan, husband of elite runner Marla Runyan who gave birth to their first child on Sept 1 of this year.
RESULTS HERE
STORY [Oregonian]
Yumiko Minato of Portland won the women's division in 2:44:30 beating second place finisher Wendy Terris of San Antonio, TX by over eight minutes.
Also notable is the fact that three out of the top ten finishers in the men's race were from Eugene, OR, a town known for its running roots, and running talent. Among the top Eugene runners was Matthew Lonergan, husband of elite runner Marla Runyan who gave birth to their first child on Sept 1 of this year.
RESULTS HERE
STORY [Oregonian]
Intro to News & Features
(10-8-05) This is where we will be posting our thoughts and comments about running and triathlon in the Pacific Northwest - with a little cycling mixed in here and there. This will be a quick and easy way for us to share brief editorial, photos, race information and commentary with you.
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