Last Year for Race Director Barry Siff
By Courtney Johnson
August 9, 2009 (Boulder, CO) – While standing on the beach watching the pros come in from the swim, 5430 Race Director Barry Siff got a bit sentimental.
“I didn’t think it would hit me,” he said, as he called out the swimmers by name after recognizing their strokes in the water some 500 yards from shore.
This was the last 5430 Long Course and Boulder Triathlon Series race he would direct since IRONMAN is poised to take over the operation next year.
“It was definitely the best 5430 Long Course we have ever had,” he noted.
A sold out field took to the water under cloudy skies, rare for an August morning in Boulder. As the day progressed, the clouds broke and over a thousand athletes completed the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1 mile run. Seventeen year-old Erika Sweigert from Victor, Idaho was the youngest finisher in 5:11:29, while Lone Tree’s Dick Berry at age 69 was the oldest finisher in 6:16:59.
Tim O’Donnell, 29, won the men’s race in 3:45:51, just one week after winning 70.3 Calgary. O’Donnell dominated the course, claiming the swim prime in 25:34, the bike prime in 2:03:44 and the run prime in 1:15:16. The effort also allowed him to set a new course record.
“I was really surprised how strong I felt,” he said. “After racing in Calgary the previous weekend I was pretty beat up. I had some real trouble with my calves. They didn’t want to recover! I ran a loop of the run course on Friday before the race and had to walk at times because they were in so much pain while running.”
Runner-up Tyler Butterfield, 26, finished over five minutes behind O’Donnell in 3:51:44. Leon Griffin, 29, finished third in 3:53:15.
“I was pretty motivated to keep the pressure on for the entire race,” said O’Donnell. “After losing the race last year so close to the end I felt like I had some unfinished business this year!
“I was really surprised to be that far under the record AND win all the primes. When I got off the bike and heard I had four minutes I was pretty shocked and just let the momentum keep rolling. I came through the first lap of the run and saw I was way under course record pace. That really got me excited and fueled my fire to keep running hard!”
That unfinished business O’Donnell mentioned was getting some redemption after being passed by Simon Thompson in the last mile of the run last year. O’Donnell has spent lots of time working on his run since then.
“I have been really working on my running this year,” he said. “This winter I did a huge run focus training block which has given me a great base. It is also a culmination of the work I have been doing with my running for the past three years with my coach Cliff English. We have been seeing a huge breakthrough in training that we are just now realizing in races.”
Current XTERRA World Champion Julie Dibens, 34, was able to hold off a fast running Chrissie Wellington, 32, to take the win in 4:10:58 setting a new course record while having the fastest bike split of the day.
“I had a feeling it was going to be a good race and I am happy we both came out to do it. I was hurting the whole time knowing she was behind me. I came out really wanting to nail it on the bike and use this as a test for Clearwater. I suffered on the run and know I have lots of work to do there.”
Wellington was able to close the gap to less then two minutes with the day’s fastest run for the women in 1:24:54, which allowed her to finish second in 4:12:18.
“Julie beat me in an intense game of Scrabble on Thursday night so I should have known she would win today,” joked Wellington.
“I was happy with my bike and run but my swim kind of let me down. Overall, I just love being out here and having fun. Julie and I train together and I really respect her.”
First year pro Brooke Davison, 38, had a great race, finishing third in 4:24:00.
Top 20 Women
| FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | AGE | DIV | SWIM | T1 | BIKE | T2 | RUN | FINISH | TIME | CITY | |
| 1 | JULIE | DIBENS | 34 | F-Pro | 28:01:00 | 0:31 | 2:12:10 | 1:05 | 1:29:13 | 4:10:58 | 4:10:58 | BOULDER |
| 2 | CHRISSIE | WELLINGTON | 32 | F-Pro | 28:58:00 | 0:34 | 2:16:38 | 1:15 | 1:24:54 | 4:12:18 | 4:12:18 | BOUDLER |
| 3 | BROOKE | DAVISON | 38 | F-Pro | 27:47:00 | 0:32 | 2:23:01 | 0:48 | 1:31:54 | 4:24:00 | 4:24:00 | BOULDER |
| 4 | AMANDA | STEVENS | 32 | F-Pro | 25:52:00 | 0:26 | 2:26:47 | 0:58 | 1:32:30 | 4:26:32 | 4:26:32 | COLORADO SPRINGS |
| 5 | KAT | BAKER | 22 | F-Pro | 27:57:00 | 0:25 | 2:23:25 | 1:14 | 1:33:59 | 4:26:58 | 4:26:58 | CANBERRA, AC |
| 6 | SUSAN | WILLIAMS | 40 | F-Pro | 28:41:00 | 0:29 | 2:23:14 | 1:10 | 1:35:11 | 4:28:44 | 4:28:44 | LITTLETON |
| 7 | KELLY | JARRETT | 30 | F-Pro | 34:53:00 | 0:42 | 2:25:31 | 1:17 | 1:28:43 | 4:31:04 | 4:31:04 | BOULDER |
| 8 | ROCHELLE | HAIR | 35 | F35-39 | 34:17:00 | 1:14 | 2:25:55 | 0:51 | 1:29:43 | 4:32:00 | 4:32:00 | MAMMOTH LAKES, CA |
| 9 | TRACY | THELEN | 30 | F-Pro | 31:23:00 | 0:51 | 2:30:58 | 1:01 | 1:30:38 | 4:34:49 | 4:34:49 | COLORADO SPRINGS |
| 10 | KAREN | MELLIAR-SMITH | 35 | F-Pro | 28:54:00 | 0:38 | 2:33:01 | 1:04 | 1:33:26 | 4:37:01 | 4:37:01 | DENVER |
| 11 | ERIN | O’HARA | 26 | F-Pro | 31:57:00 | 0:37 | 2:31:29 | 1:22 | 1:33:14 | 4:38:36 | 4:38:36 | BOULDER |
| 12 | JOCELIN | PETRELLA | 30 | F-Pro | 28:47:00 | 0:30 | 2:34:28 | 1:08 | 1:34:27 | 4:39:18 | 4:39:18 | DENVER |
| 13 | REBECCA | WITINOK-HUBER | 25 | F-Pro | 27:56:00 | 0:30 | 2:27:30 | 0:57 | 1:43:15 | 4:40:06 | 4:40:06 | BOULDER |
| 14 | KELLY | BERGKESSEL | 28 | F25-29 | 29:58:00 | 1:26 | 2:26:56 | 1:11 | 1:41:42 | 4:41:11 | 4:41:11 | LONGMONT |
| 15 | AMANDA | DURNER | 36 | F35-39 | 26:28:00 | 1:20 | 2:34:57 | 0:56 | 1:40:01 | 4:43:39 | 4:43:39 | COLORADO SPRINGS |
| 16 | TERI | CADY | 33 | F30-34 | 29:08:00 | 1:26 | 2:27:41 | 1:20 | 1:44:51 | 4:44:24 | 4:44:24 | LOUISVILLE |
| 17 | ANNE | BASSO | 26 | F-Pro | 31:33:00 | 0:32 | 2:30:57 | 1:11 | 1:40:23 | 4:44:33 | 4:44:33 | RALEIGH, NC |
| 18 | KERRIE | WLAD | 38 | F35-39 | 34:18:00 | 1:29 | 2:35:49 | 1:10 | 1:33:04 | 4:45:49 | 4:45:49 | LONGMONT |
| 19 | KRISEN | PETERSON | 24 | F-Pro | 28:01:00 | 0:40 | 2:27:00 | 1:11 | 1:49:47 | 4:46:37 | 4:46:37 | BOULDER |
| 20 | KARA | MIDDENDORF | 31 | F30-34 | 36:31:00 | 1:22 | 2:27:19 | 0:40 | 1:41:00 | 4:46:50 | 4:46:50 | TUCSON, AZ |
Top 20 Men
| FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | AGE | DIV | SWIM | T1 | BIKE | T2 | RUN | FINISH | TIME | CITY | |
| 1 | TIMOTHY | O’DONNELL | 29 | M-Pro | 25:34:00 | 0:29 | 2:03:44 | 0:51 | 1:15:16 | 3:45:51 | 3:45:51 | BOULDER |
| 2 | TYLER | BUTTERFIELD | 26 | M-Pro | 27:54:00 | 0:23 | 2:05:53 | 1:21 | 1:16:15 | 3:51:44 | 3:51:44 | BOULDER |
| 3 | LEON | GRIFFIN | 29 | M-Pro | 27:06:00 | 0:24 | 2:06:42 | 0:55 | 1:18:10 | 3:53:15 | 3:53:15 | BOULDER |
| 4 | DAVID | THOMPSON | 31 | M-Pro | 27:47:00 | 0:29 | 2:05:21 | 0:48 | 1:19:47 | 3:54:10 | 3:54:10 | ST PAUL, MN |
| 5 | LARS | FINANGER | 29 | M-Pro | 28:48:00 | 0:25 | 2:07:06 | 1:21 | 1:24:19 | 4:01:57 | 4:01:57 | BOULDER |
| 6 | TIM | HOLA | 35 | M35-39 | 26:25:00 | 0:36 | 2:15:08 | 1:05 | 1:23:51 | 4:07:02 | 4:07:02 | HIGHLANDS RANCH |
| 7 | MICHAEL | CUPITT | 27 | M-Pro | 25:58:00 | 0:29 | 2:07:46 | 1:36 | 1:31:34 | 4:07:21 | 4:07:21 | FADDEN, AC |
| 8 | SIMON | THOMPSON | 32 | M-Pro | 25:57:00 | 0:28 | 2:19:42 | 1:04 | 1:20:18 | 4:07:27 | 4:07:27 | BOULDER |
| 9 | JIM | HALLBERG | 32 | M30-34 | 29:07:00 | 1:02 | 2:12:34 | 1:11 | 1:24:56 | 4:08:48 | 4:08:48 | LONGMONT |
| 10 | CRAIG | HOWIE | 33 | M30-34 | 29:10:00 | 0:44 | 2:12:46 | 0:42 | 1:25:46 | 4:09:07 | 4:09:07 | LONGMONT |
| 11 | KIRK | FRAMKE | 35 | M35-39 | 26:36:00 | 0:30 | 2:18:01 | 1:04 | 1:23:09 | 4:09:17 | 4:09:17 | DENVER |
| 12 | JESSE | VONDRACEK | 28 | M25-29 | 29:39:00 | 1:16 | 2:17:04 | 0:52 | 1:20:58 | 4:09:47 | 4:09:47 | DURANGO |
| 13 | CHRIS | BAGG | 30 | M-Pro | 30:44:00 | 0:28 | 2:11:56 | 1:15 | 1:25:55 | 4:10:17 | 4:10:17 | PORTLAND, OR |
| 14 | BRANDON | DEL CAMPO | 33 | M30-34 | 29:26:00 | 1:24 | 2:17:36 | 1:10 | 1:22:00 | 4:11:35 | 4:11:35 | BOULDER |
| 15 | MAX | LAWLER | 31 | M30-34 | 28:57:00 | 1:14 | 2:21:32 | 0:41 | 1:25:23 | 4:17:45 | 4:17:45 | BOULDER |
| 16 | MICAH | MOORE | 37 | M35-39 | 31:26:00 | 1:14 | 2:22:04 | 1:02 | 1:23:10 | 4:18:54 | 4:18:54 | ADEL, IA |
| 17 | SHANE | NIEMEYER | 33 | M30-34 | 29:37:00 | 1:40 | 2:16:45 | 1:20 | 1:29:45 | 4:19:06 | 4:19:06 | BOULDER |
| 18 | MATT | SMITH | 33 | M30-34 | 28:34:00 | 1:10 | 2:19:10 | 0:56 | 1:29:36 | 4:19:25 | 4:19:25 | DENVER |
| 19 | DREW | SCOTT | 19 | M01-19 | 27:51:00 | 0:44 | 2:14:41 | 0:49 | 1:35:37 | 4:19:40 | 4:19:40 | BOULDER |
| 20 | STEVE | JOHNSON | 33 | M30-34 | 33:29:00 | 1:08 | 2:18:05 | 0:59 | 1:26:43 | 4:20:23 | 4:20:23 | CHICAGO, IL |
