Goss Wins, Butterfield Battles to Podium
Last weekend, five of our Colorado women pros took on the grueling IRONMAN 70.3 Silverman course. Besides battling the heat, our ladies went up some seriously tough climbs on the bike, followed by a hilly run course and came away with successful performances.
Not to anyone’s surprise, Lauren Goss came out of the water in a speedy time of 27:38 as she jumped on the bike looking to claim the lead. She was able to follow her swim with a solid bike time of 2:38:03 and found herself in the hunt as she laced up her shoes for the 13.1 mile run. Goss would not be outmatched on the run, turning in the fastest run split of the women’s race, 1:23:02, to help her take the win in an overall time of 4:31:46. Over four minutes back, and finishing second on the day, was Heather Lendway.
Rounding out the podium was Boulderite, and mother of two, Nikki Butterfield. Butterfield hasn’t raced much this year, but has shown she still has what it takes in the half-IRONMAN distance after competing in the 70.3 World Championships back in August. Helping Butterfield turn in a podium-worthy performance was her run time of 1:28:35, fourth fastest of the day. According to her Facebook page, she said she was “super happy with her third place finish!”
Not far behind Butterfield in fifth place was Boulderite Jeanni Seymour, who just came off an impressive second place finish last weekend at IRONMAN 70.3 Cozumel. Seymour had a solid finishing time of 4:44:31, which included the third fastest bike split of the day in the women’s race, 2:33:21.
Rounding out the Colorado pro women were 18th place Kathy Rakel and 19th place Georgia Stott. Rakel showed great improvement on the bike, turning in a solid 2:39 on the challenging terrain. On Facebook, she said that she “rode her own race” and that the three-loop run course had some tough hills.”
Stott, the Aussie who finished third last weekend at IRONMAN 70.3 Cozumel, started her day in a great place after her 29:09 swim, but couldn’t turn in the same performance that landed her on the podium the weekend before. The talented Stott will be back again and we will be watching. Great job, ladies!
Dye Outshines at Silverman
Leading any race in triathlon these days seems to be no easy task with the tough fields saturating every race. For Cam Dye, IRONMAN 70.3 Silverman gave him a run for his money as he tried to hold onto his lead from beginning to end while the pack of talent chased him most of the day.
After turning in the fastest swim time, 25:13, and the second fastest bike time, 2:14:51, the target on his back grew as the run ensued. Even with a half-marathon time of 1:24:32, he wasn’t able to hold off eventual winner Taylor Reid and second place finisher Cody Beals. However, Dye’s overall time of 4:07:01 earned him the final podium spot and a huge congrats from us.
Less than two minutes back was Drew Scott who earned his second sixth place in two weeks. Scott’s solid effort in the swim, 26:43, bike, 2:17, and run, 1:22:28, kept him in the hunt all day in a stacked men’s field. Finishing seventh was Kevin Collington, who like Scott, turned in a stellar effort and finished with an overall time of 4:11:37. Rounding out the top 10 was Boulderite Paul Matthews who finished in ninth place with an overall time of 4:13:55.
Irishman Robbie Wade finished 11th place on the day in 4:16:45 and showed his impressive running skills, turning in the third fastest run split in 1:19:53. Speedy! In 14th was Rodrigo Acevedo, 4:23:29, and Joe Umphenour in 20th with a time of 4:34:12. Great job, guys!
McDonald Takes on Spain
I would have been Chris McDonald’s sherpa if he had just asked! McDonald and family went to Spain, my favorite spot ever, so that he could race back-to-back IRONMANs, Mallorca and Barcelona, with just one week separating the events. McDonald, who is known for his power and strength, has, according to his Facebook page, “done the double five times with success, but this one backfired.”
McDonald had a solid day at IRONMAN Mallorca, finishing sixth on the day in a time of 8:35:57, thanks to his third fastest bike time of 4:37:27. However, he couldn’t match his power the next weekend in Barcelona where he dropped out around mile 100 of the bike, stating that “I couldn’t get nutrition on the bike and had zero gas in the tank!”
Although McDonald didn’t have his usual double-IRONMAN success, we’re pretty impressed with his sixth place finish and attempt to race 140.6 miles two times in one week. And I’m not bitter he didn’t offer an invitation!
De Elias Races Rio
Mario De Elias, who just left Boulder for his home in Argentina, raced IRONMAN 70.3 Rio De Janeiro, finishing sixth in the professional field. De Elias turned in a swim of 24:09, a bike of 2:25:53, and a run split of 1:21:31 for an overall time of 4:14:58. De Elias trains in Boulder with Coach Julie Dibens and will be back after he wisely ditches our winter months for home. See you next year, Mario!
