When water temperatures in Lake Michigan dove to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, organizers of the 2017 Ironman 70.3 Racine canceled the swim. Some old school, hard core triathletes called the decision soft, but safety ruled. This happened last year at Racine as well - high winds forced cancellation of the swim and a reduction of the bike leg to 31 miles. On this day, Sam Appleton and Holly Lawrence weren't fazed. They went out and won narrow victories over the 69.1 mile distance.
Women
Sarah Piampiano led the women off the line, followed by Holly Lawrence (+30s), Jackie Hering (+1:00), Jodie Robertson (+1:30), Holly Benner (+2:00), Desiree Berry (+2:30), Terry Casey (+3:00), Alissa Doehla (+3:30), and Heather Lendway (+4:00).
After 14.6 miles, Lawrence led by 2:05 on Robertson, 2:09 on Piampiano, 2:15 on Doehla, 2:29 on Benner, 3:16 on Hering, and 3:23 on Lendway.
After 30 miles, Lawrence increase her lead to 3:12 on Robertson, 3:17 on Doehla, 4:07 on Piampiano, 4:10 on Svenja Thoes, 4:29 on Benner, and 5:27 on Herring.
After a women’s-best 2:12:51 bike split, Lawrence hit T1 with a 4:04 lead on Robertson, 6:14 on Doehla, 7:02 on Thoes, and 8:42 on Piampiano.
With no pressure halfway through the half marathon, Lawrence cruised to a 3:55 lead on Robertson, 5:35 on Doehla, 6:34 on Thoes, and 10:16 on Piampiano. Calculatedly doling away her lead, at mile 11.7 Lawrence led Robertson by 1:44 but no major worries.
Lawrence finished in 3:39:31 with a 57 seconds margin of victory on Robertson and 3:28 on Doehla.
Men
Riders left the line every 30 seconds in a timed start led by last year’s winner Matt Chrabot. He was followed by Tim Reed (+30s), Andrew Starykowicz (+1:00), Joe Gambles (+1:30), Matt Hanson (+2:00), Sam Appleton (+2:30), TJ Tollakson (+3:00), and Andreas Raelert (+3:30).
At 14.6 miles, Appleton led, followed by Starykowicz (+59s), Reed (+1:07), Raelert (+1;12), Jake Montgomery (+1:17), Gambles (+1:24), Tollakson (+1:33), Hanson (+1:37), and Chrabot (+1:40).
After 30 miles, Appleton increased his lead to 1:25 over Starky, 3:22 on Tim Reed, 3:50 on Tollakson, 3:57 on Hanson, 4:29 on Gambles, 4:49 on Raelert, and 6:40 on Chrabot, who did not appear to be in his 2016 winning form.
Appleton arrived at the finish of the 56-mile bike leg in 1:58:04 with a 1:06 lead on Starykowicz, 3:24 on Reed, 4:18 on Tollakson, 4:29 on Hanson, 4:50 on Gambles, 6:20 on a fading Raelert, and 7:43 on Chrabot.
After 6.5 miles of the run, Appleton led Reed by 3:41, Starykowicz by 4:17 and Gambles by 5:56. After a race-best 1:11:41 run, Appleton finished in 3:10:35 with a 3:28 margin of victory on Tim Reed (1:11:44 run) and 6:24 on 3rd-place Joe Gambles (1:13:11 run).
to be updated when full results are available
Ironman 69.1 Racine
Racine, Wisconsin
July 16, 2017
B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Women
1. Holly Lawrence (GBR) 3:39:31
2. Jodie Robertson (USA) 3:40:28
3. Alissa Doehla (USA) 3:42:59
Men
1. Sam Appleton (AUS) 3:10:35
2. Tim Reed (AUS) 3:14:12
3. Joe Gambles (AUS) 3:16:59
