Hola, Hair win long course nationals
Written by: Timothy Carlson
Date: Sat Sep 19 2009
Tim Hola of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, selected as one of Outside Magazine’s 50 Fittest Real Men of 2008, finished in 3:59:25 and earn a 10-minute 35-second margin of victory over runner-up Willy Pickhardt Saturday at the USAT Long Course Nationals-Redman Triathlon in Oklahoma City.
Hola carved out his win with a race-best 2:17:08 bike split, 5 minutes faster than Pickhardt, a University of Arkansas NCAA runner, and a second-best 1:16:52 half marathon run which outpaced Pickhardt by 7 minutes 19 seconds.
"I was feeling very confident going into this race. Much of my training in late July and August was specific for Ironman Hawaii and it seemed to line up perfectly for the USAT Long Course Championships too," said Hola to slowtwitch. "I knew what I had to do on race day, and I did just that. When it started to rain before the race began, there were a lot of worried athletes wondering if the bike course was going to be eliminated. Luckily, the rain subsided enough that all athletes doing the 1/2 and full Ironman distances got to race. For me, it was a great day leading the entire race from beginning to end and feeling strong even racing through the rain."
Rochelle Hair of Mammoth Lakes, California, won the women’s title with a 4:28:37 clocking which gave her a 5 minutes 53 seconds margin of victory over runner-up Lisa Ribes of Tucson, Arizona, and also placed her 11th overall. Hair, who placed first amateur woman in the recent Lake Las Vegas and Harvest Moon triathlons, was virtually even with Ribes after the bike, but pulled away with a race-best 1:24:51 half marathon.
USAT Long Course Triathlon National Championship by Halfmax
Redman Triathlon
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
September 19, 2009
S 1.2mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi
Results
Elite men
1. Tim Hola (Highlands Ranch, CO) 3:59:25 – M30-34
2. Willy Pickhardt (Fayetteville AR) 4:11:00 - M20-24
3. Robert Vernon III (Manhattan KS) 4:18:07 - M30-34
4. Robert Schloegel (Leawood KS) 4:22:24 - M45-49
4. Matthew Brier (Maplewood MO) 4:24:08 - M30-34
6. Sean Schnur (Baton Rouge LA) 4:25:23 – M30-34
7. Don Greiner (Edmond OK) 4:26:24 – M45-49
8. AJ Baucco (Cleveland Heights, OH) 4:27:25 – M20-24
9. Steven Bland (Lake in the Hills IL) 4:27:46 – M40-44
10. Ted Zderic (Columbia MO) 4:28:20 – M35-39
Elite women
1. Rochelle Hair (Mammoth Lakes CA) 4:28:37 – F35-39
2. Lisa Ribes (Tucson AZ) 4:34:30 – F30-34
Hola carved out his win with a race-best 2:17:08 bike split, 5 minutes faster than Pickhardt, a University of Arkansas NCAA runner, and a second-best 1:16:52 half marathon run which outpaced Pickhardt by 7 minutes 19 seconds.
"I was feeling very confident going into this race. Much of my training in late July and August was specific for Ironman Hawaii and it seemed to line up perfectly for the USAT Long Course Championships too," said Hola to slowtwitch. "I knew what I had to do on race day, and I did just that. When it started to rain before the race began, there were a lot of worried athletes wondering if the bike course was going to be eliminated. Luckily, the rain subsided enough that all athletes doing the 1/2 and full Ironman distances got to race. For me, it was a great day leading the entire race from beginning to end and feeling strong even racing through the rain."
Rochelle Hair of Mammoth Lakes, California, won the women’s title with a 4:28:37 clocking which gave her a 5 minutes 53 seconds margin of victory over runner-up Lisa Ribes of Tucson, Arizona, and also placed her 11th overall. Hair, who placed first amateur woman in the recent Lake Las Vegas and Harvest Moon triathlons, was virtually even with Ribes after the bike, but pulled away with a race-best 1:24:51 half marathon.
USAT Long Course Triathlon National Championship by Halfmax
Redman Triathlon
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
September 19, 2009
S 1.2mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi
Results
Elite men
1. Tim Hola (Highlands Ranch, CO) 3:59:25 – M30-34
2. Willy Pickhardt (Fayetteville AR) 4:11:00 - M20-24
3. Robert Vernon III (Manhattan KS) 4:18:07 - M30-34
4. Robert Schloegel (Leawood KS) 4:22:24 - M45-49
4. Matthew Brier (Maplewood MO) 4:24:08 - M30-34
6. Sean Schnur (Baton Rouge LA) 4:25:23 – M30-34
7. Don Greiner (Edmond OK) 4:26:24 – M45-49
8. AJ Baucco (Cleveland Heights, OH) 4:27:25 – M20-24
9. Steven Bland (Lake in the Hills IL) 4:27:46 – M40-44
10. Ted Zderic (Columbia MO) 4:28:20 – M35-39
Elite women
1. Rochelle Hair (Mammoth Lakes CA) 4:28:37 – F35-39
2. Lisa Ribes (Tucson AZ) 4:34:30 – F30-34
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33 year old Tim Hola has finished in the top 50 at the Ironman World Championships in Kona and in the top 20 at Ironman Florida among many other great results. He sat down for an interview with us. 1.13.08
33 year old Tim Hola has finished in the top 50 at the Ironman World Championships in Kona and in the top 20 at Ironman Florida among many other great results. He sat down for an interview with us. 1.13.08
Comments
The winner isn't responsible for poor quality of field
Reviewed by: Rochelle Hair, Oct 17 2009 3:57PM
When a competitor signs up for a race with "national" in it, you really shouldn't call them a sandbagger for winning. They stepped up to the plate, no one else did.
I had a great chat with him after the race. Going pro is a personal choice and may not be for him. Going pro is more than just a card, there are a lot of other responsiblitlies, cost and hassels a pro athlete has to deal with when they upgrade. He has his priority set, try and respect that even though they may not be the same as yours.
I had a great chat with him after the race. Going pro is a personal choice and may not be for him. Going pro is more than just a card, there are a lot of other responsiblitlies, cost and hassels a pro athlete has to deal with when they upgrade. He has his priority set, try and respect that even though they may not be the same as yours.
Anybody who can break 4hr for half IM should be racing as the pro athlete.
Reviewed by: Bartikelo, Oct 4 2009 9:51PM
I totally agree with Jeff Smith, c. Actually I even do not admire people who are looking for easy victories.
tim hola
Reviewed by: joey aka sugar, Sep 23 2009 12:24PM
nice one dave. not much competition for a championship, is right. tim wins by 10+ mins.... mmmmm.
don't know if he would make as a pro. i think he knows his boundries. cuz i know some other 'wanna' pros are truly pathetic, can't swim under hour for an IM. how do they get a pro card with such slow times? lame IMO. :)
don't know if he would make as a pro. i think he knows his boundries. cuz i know some other 'wanna' pros are truly pathetic, can't swim under hour for an IM. how do they get a pro card with such slow times? lame IMO. :)
And you guys didn't ride the bike course
Reviewed by: Bob, Sep 23 2009 10:24AM
What you guys don't know is that the bike course was partially flooded in at least one location. There was one place where athletes had to dismount and push our bikes for 30 yards or so through 6 or 8 inches of water. The rest of the course was quite flat but rough. On the run course, there were also several spots where athletes had to run through ankle deep water after a morning rain storm. Don't tell me Tim couldn't have shaved even more time off of his performance if that had not been the case.
Tim Hola
RDM
Reviewed by: RDM, Sep 22 2009 10:51AM
Jeff Smith - are you going to pay for the well baby visits for Tim while he goes pro for you? I think Tim is a great example to all age group athletes - if you love it and work for it you can be great. Good for Tim. Great to see a great guy keep winning.
