(6-29-09) Warm temperatures greeted the field once again for the 13th Annual Pacific Crest Long Course Triathlon on Saturday, June 27 in Sunriver, OR.
Last year's winner (and RaceCenter Northwest Magazine June/July issue cover boy) Matt Lieto was on hand to defend his title and was shooting for win number four at the PCT, but found himself chasing Boulder, Colorado's Mark Van Akkeren from the gun. Van Akkeren led out of the water by nearly three minutes with eventual second place finisher Lieto and third place finisher Guy Crawford (Seattle) exiting the water together in pursuit.
Lieto crashed out of Ironman Boise 70.3 on a rainy bike course in the City of Trees several weeks ago and, until the days leading up to this year's PCT, he hadn't run a step, and wasn't sure how he would feel during the race. The injury didn't seem to slow him down on the bike as he threw down the fastest split of the day. But Van Akkeren's 1 hour, 24 minute run was the trumped the field and was more than enough for the win in the 85-degree temperatures in Sunriver with a finish time of 4:07:09.
On the women's side 22-year-old Mackenzie Madison of Eugene, OR put together a well-rounded race to take the top spot on the podium. Her bike split was the second fastest women's time of the day. Brynje Enderle of Portland was chasing hard during the 13.1-mile run, but had too much ground to make up on Madison who broke the tape in 4:47:47.
More information about the event can be found at www.racecenter.com/pacificcrest. Full race results can be found at www.racecenter.com
Men's Overall Results
1. Mark Van Akkeren, 29, 4:07:09 - Boulder, CO
2. Matt Lieto, 31, 4:15:12 - Bend, OR
3. Guy Crawford, 30, 4:17:26 - Seattle, WA
4. Brendan Halpin, 25, 4:21:56 - Missoula, MT
5. Grant Folske, 32, 4:31:42 - Beaverton, OR
6. David Ciaverella, 43, 4:36:38 - Happy Valley, OR
7. John Craft, 36, 4:42:35 - Bend, OR
8. Warren Bloomberg, 39, 4:45:42 - Salem, OR
9. Steffen Brocks, 40, 4:49:18 - Portland, OR
10. Alex Yale, 28, 4:49:54 - Portland, OR
Women's Overall Results
1. Mackenzie Madison, 22, 4:47:47 - Eugene, OR
2. Brynje Enderle, 31, 4:56:16 - Portland, OR
3. Amy Bottenberg, 36, 4:59:16 - Reno, NV
4. Lisa Spenner, 34, 5:00:56 - Boise, ID
5. Lauren Trent, 46, 5:13:42 - San Jose, CA
6. Rachel Sears Casanta, 34, 5:15:37 - Richmond, CA
7. Suzanne Endsley, 43, 5:15:51 - Coeur D Alene, ID
8. Susan Fox, 42, 5:16:07 - Corvallis, OR
9. Chrissy Ruiter, 30, 5:22:50 - Bend, OR
10. Melissa Lynett, 32, 5:26:16 - Portland, OR
