Crescent Moon Triathlon Brings Summer to a Close

By Courtney Johnson

September 19, 2009 (Denver, CO) – Over 500 athletes celebrated the end of summer by competing in the Crescent Moon Sprint Triathlon.

Under beautiful Indian summer skies and perfect temps, Dan Mackenzie won the men’s elite division in a time of 56 minutes 2 seconds. Mackenzie, who competed in the Chicago Triathlon a few weeks earlier, led the race from start to finish.

“I felt strong on the bike, stronger than I have felt in a while,” he said. “Knowing Jordan was behind me, I knew I just had to hold on for dear life on the run.”

In fact, Jordan Jones finished a mere 26 seconds behind Mackenzie in 56:28. Jones returned to racing at Crescent Moon after fracturing his leg earlier in the season.

“This was my first hard run after breaking my leg,” said Jones. “I felt good. So that is positive since I will be racing Westchester this coming weekend.”

Former pro triathlete Gordo Byrn returned to race his second race of the season and finished fifth overall.

“My wife Monica was really the one that got me going again,” he said. “Next I plan on heading to Longhorn to try to snag a Clearwater spot for next year.”

Molly Smith took the Elite Women’s Division, finishing in 1:08:56. The 29 year old from Denver was racing for the first time in the elite division.

“I thought I would give it a try and see,” Smith said. “I just love triathlon and I had a faster day than I hoped. I was able to manage my weakness, which is swimming. It is a beautiful day and a good way to end the season.”

Smith took over the lead after catching Valerie Kuhns on the run. Kuhns, 27, of Highlands Ranch, took second in the elite division with a time of 1:13:15.

Twelve year old Corrine Morales from Golden was the youngest female athlete, finishing 97th overall in 1:15:11.

Seventy year old Ann Weaver from Denver was the oldest female finisher in 1:56:27, 498th overall.

The youngest male finisher was 6-year-old Quinn Ralston from Colorado Springs. He clocked a time of 1:12:11, good for 62nd overall.

From Pueblo, 68 year old James Wright was the oldest male competitor. Wright finished 464th overall in 1:46:25.

Crescent Moon is the last triathlon for the 2009 season put on by Racing Underground, but more racing action will return in 2010.

Top Ten Women

PLACE	FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	AGE	SWIM	T1	BIKE	T2	RUN	FINISH	CITY
1	BRYN	MORALES	17	10:26	1:14	31:55:00	1:04	20:15	1:04:52	GOLDEN
2	JENNY	POWELKA	33	12:10	1:20	30:41:00	1:07	20:26	1:05:43	FORT COLLINS
3	BARB	BLAKLEY	31	12:00	1:31	30:22:00	1:17	22:22	1:07:29	DENVER
4	MELISA	MINER	33	12:31	1:36	30:17:00	1:16	22:38	1:08:17	DENVER
5	ERICA	PEDRON	33	12:09	2:07	31:50:00	1:39	21:03	1:08:46	AURORA
6	MOLLY	SMITH	29	14:14	1:52	30:46:00	1:03	21:04	1:08:56	DENVER
7	EMILY	LOOSE	28	11:59	2:17	33:58:00	1:28	21:13	1:10:53	BOULDER
8	NANCI	GOLDSMITH	43	12:52	1:36	31:00:00	1:23	25:29:00	1:12:17	LITTLETON
9	VALERIE	KUHNS	27	11:27	2:05	33:05:00	1:33	25:07:00	1:13:15	HIGHLANDS RANCH
10	JAMIE	DAVIDSON	29	11:51	2:11	33:33:00	1:30	24:34:00	1:13:36	BOULDER

Tope Ten Men

PLACE	FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	AGE	SWIM	T1	BIKE	T2	RUN	FINISH	CITY
1	DAN	MACKENZIE	27	9:14	1:06	27:16:00	0:56	17:31	56:02:00	DENVER
2	JORDAN	JONES	28	9:42	1:09	26:53:00	1:00	17:45	56:28:00	GOLDEN
3	DANIEL	MCINTOSH	25	9:54	1:09	27:04:00	1:02	17:35	56:41:00	BOULDER
4	CODY	WAITE	31	10:20	1:20	26:29:00	1:01	18:13	57:21:00	LAKEWOOD
5	GORDO	BYRN	41	9:34	1:04	27:45:00	1:03	18:39	58:04:00	BOULDER
6	MICHAEL	SAMMONS	49	9:14	1:55	27:40:00	1:16	20:03	1:00:07	CENTENNIAL
7	EDWARD	OLIVER	40	10:46	1:25	27:17:00	1:19	20:42	1:01:27	LITTLETON
8	MARK	DILLARD	43	12:11	1:17	26:59:00	1:14	19:52	1:01:31	ENGLEWOOD
9	GREG	HERICKS	40	10:33	1:22	28:39:00	1:17	20:34	1:02:23	DENVER
10	TAYLOR	DUDLEY	39	10:36	1:34	29:08:00	1:31	19:58	1:02:45	BOULDER