2003 Boulder Peak Triathlon
By Chris Valenti Photos by Courtney Johnson
Women’s winner, Nicole DeBoomAugust 10, 2003 (Boulder, CO ) – Success! As usual, the Boulder Peak was everything it always is: safe, organized, well attended, and of course, grueling. However, the new course record certainly was unusually speedy. I am not complaining though; let the mark rise. If only we could all make it look so easy; it is indeed humanly possible.
We’ll just have to partially attribute the margin of victory to the format, which has been in place here for some time. I won’t go as far as to say that Paul Carlson was the first to temporally match the men and women’s pro fields, but I also won’t say that he didn’t. Nevertheless, it’s great, we don’t have to wait for each other to finish and there is the added fanfare and incentive.
The pro fields were once again…remarkable. Wes Hobson’s opening commentating bubbled with titles like two-time IRONMAN World Champion, two-time ITU World Champion, former Olympian, Olympic team runner-up, Xterra World Champion, Peak record holder, former Peak winners, recent IRONMAN winners, and on, and on…you know the list, you were probably there.
For most of the racers, the day began early as the first age group waves broke the water at 6:30, setting off toward the rising sun. As most of us discovered, it is rather difficult to spot ‘sun-colored’ buoys in the forefront of the sun’s rays, yet somehow, 1,319 racers found their way. The waves continued until 9:26:15 when the final wave of the day, the men’s pro wave, charged out after the women’s pro field, 16 minutes and 15 seconds behind. The men and women’s pro wave send-off times were adjusted such that they were essentially vying for an overall title and cash prize. The adjustment was calculated using averaged results from previous Peak winners, and the men and women’s fields were displaced by an amount that would hopefully bring them holding each other off at the finish line. Last year Conrad Stoltz sped his way to Nicole DeBoom’s heels by mile 2 of the run, but this year Simon Lessing didn’t even find hope until the turn around. I overheard Lessing say, “Coming out of transition off of the bike, 6 minutes down, I didn’t think I would catch her.” He did however, but with less than a mile left in the race. Nice work Paul, it was close.
As for the rest of the field, the race was scattered. The women left the water in pairs, more or less, with Amanda Stevens leading the way up the pebbled beach to the swim-bike transition. Nicole DeBoom was close behind however and eased her way into the lead well before the heights of Old Stage, capturing the second cash bonus. In the meantime, the men were beginning to exit the water, hustling up the beach in clumps, with five out front, Bochholz, Lessing, Moffat, Rhodes, and Bevan, followed closely by Tim and Tony DeBoom, Carter, Dvorak, Lovato, Valentic, Widoff, and me.
The bike leg would prove to be a deciding stretch of the race, drawing out those close groups on the swim to spotted members of some migrating constellation. Coming off of the bike, Anke Erlank, former Xterra World Champ, had moved up to second position, but Nicole was somewhat out of reach at that point. By the time the lead men broke out of T2 out onto the exposed run course along the dam and out the reservoir aqueduct, more that 5 women had already made considerable progress by foot. Now the race would be a matter of simplified leg work, no more equipment to rely upon, only a steady leaning cadence guiding the harriers. Simon was leading the chase at this point and initially it wasn’t hopeful.
By the end of the run however, the positions had shifted once again, Simon surged ahead with only a mile left to take the win, while Tim DeBoom had moved up to second man and fourth across the line, behind Nicole and Anke. The rest of the field would file in shortly after in an alternating mix of men and women. And, without hesitation, the final finishers moved in on replenishment and the closing ceremonies and awards.
Thanks again to Paul Carlson for a wonderful event and to my sponsors, E-Caps and Hammer Nutrition, Total Trainer, Breathe Right, Road ID, Egg Beaters, and Rudy Project, as I would not be here racing well without proper sustenance and support.
Boulder Peak Top Ten Women
1. Nicole DeBoom, 2:10:20
2. Anke Erlank, 2:12:07
3. Desiree Ficker, 2:13:32
4. Amanda Stevens, 2:16:21
5. Barbara Buenahora, 2:17:12
6. Monica Caplan, 2:17:53
7. Susie Gallucci, 2:19:06
8. Mary Uhl, 2:20:18
9. Blla Comerford, 2:22:23
10. Anissa Seguin, 2:25:30
Boulder Peak Top Ten Men
1. Simon Lessing, 1:52:33
2. Timothy DeBoom, 1:56:42
3. Ben Buchholz, 1:57:08
4. Tony DeBoom, 1:58:04
5. Bryan Rhodes, 1:59:01
6. Michael Lovato, 1:59:42
7. Chris Moffatt, 1:59:03
8. Christopher Valenti, 2:00:41
9. Cameron Widoff, 2:01:24
10. Peter Valentyik, 2:02:30
