Crescent Moon Triathlon Brings Summer to a Close

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