IRONMAN Boulder Brings out Talent
Colorado age-groupers turned in fantastic performances this past weekend. Former pro, and Texas-native, Clay Emge claimed his second straight IRONMAN Boulder title in a winning time of 8:39:59.
Boulder’s Rudy Kahsar turned in a stunning performance to claim second in a time of 8:52:45, followed by Colombia’s Juan Valencia, 9:04:31.
In the women’s race, Hawaii’s Lectie Altman took the win in 10:01:09. Her swim time of 53:11 helped her start full-throttle and she never looked back.
In second place was Utah’s Kathryn Throolin, 10:10:03, while Columbia’s Ana Naranjo rounded out the podium in a time of 10:23:05.
Congrats to all who braved the tough, IRONMAN Boulder course! View the full photo gallery of the action.
Goss Executes in Ecuador
Thanks to her fast swim split, 26:01, and run split, 1:24:22, Boulder’s Lauren Goss was able to take the title at IRONMAN 70.3 Ecuador with almost a six-minute cushion. Goss finished in a speedy time of 4:20:41, followed by second place finisher Laurel Wassner, 4:26:21, and third place finisher Pamela Tastets, 4:35:04.
In the men’s race, Boulder’s Davide Giardini did what he does best, lead the swim in a lightning fast time of 24 minutes flat. Giardini led for quite some time thanks to posting the second fastest bike split of the day, 2:08:51, but couldn’t hold on during the run where he turned in a time of 1:24:52. Giardini was able to finish a strong fifth place on the day in 4:00:38. Winner Cody Beals was too much for the competition to handle, turning in a winning time of 3:48:04.
Mario de Elias, who trains in Boulder in the summer, turned in a great performance and grabbed second place behind Beals in a time of 3:57:01. His run time of 1:14:17 was the fastest of the day. Also finishing a solid race was Boulder’s A.J. Baucco, who finished ninth in the pro field in a time of 4:18:32.
McDonald Pours on Talent at Vineman
Boulder’s Chris McDonald is no stranger to hanging tough on an IRONMAN course. Rain, shine, or humidity, “Big Sexy” knows how to fight until the finish and that’s exactly what he did at IRONMAN Vineman.
After exiting the water in seventh, McDonald threw down the second fastest bike split of the day, 4:32:58, helping him inch closer to leader Kyle Buckingham. Once on the run, McDonald and Boulder’s Richie Cunningham put on a show as they began their quest to catch the zippy Buckingham.
After some position changes on the run, McDonald finally took over second place and cut Buckingham’s lead in the final miles. However, Buckingham was too hot to handle on this day and claimed victory in a winning time of 8:27:58.
McDonald’s third fastest run split, 3:02:02, helped him cross the finish line in second, 8:34:53, about five minutes ahead of third place finisher Jonathan Shearon, 8:39:24.
Cunningham finished strong in fifth place with an overall time of 8:46:39. Rounding out the top ten was Boulderite Colin Laughery in 9:13:53.
Rest of the Best
Craig Alexander: 2nd 70.3 Philippines
Paula Findlay: 10th Montreal World Cup
Leon Griffin: 14th 70.3 Philippines
James Hadley: 12th 70.3 Philippines