Our report on the first weekend in 2014 features an account of the four hardy souls who braved 10.7 inches of snow and 15 degree temperatures at a very special mile run showdown for beer drinkers in Colorado, a report on a landmark victory by New Zealand’s great long course triathlete and notice of next week’s U.S. Cyclocross championship.

Josh Shadle earned his record 6th Boulder Beer Mile title on a very snowy day

What do hardy Boulder multisport aficionados do when they wake up to 10.7 inches of snow and 15-degree temperatures? Well, most of them go back to bed or crank up their indoor trainers. But the four toughest put on their foul weather gear and tackled the rigors of a race that demands high capability foot speed and a high capacity for imbibing refreshing beverages.

There was no suspense over the winner as five-time defending champion Josh Shadle took his 6th title a lap ahead of his nearest pursuer. The question was: Could he break his own 6:20 record in abysmal conditions? Shadle took off like a rocket, staying on 6:00/mile pace for the first two laps. However, the icy needles of the sub-freezing air throttled down his pace for the final half and he hit the line in a still-respectable 6:45 – equal to his 2011 winning time.

Shadle was just over a lap ahead of his two closest pursuers – 2:01 better than runner-up Nick Przbysz and 2:15 better than 3rd-place finisher Aaron Kutzer. Women’s winner Ellen Howard dueled with Przbysz and Kutzer until she succumbed to a chundering episode on Lap 3. After a penalty lap for her upchucking, she finished in 13:15 — well off Joanna Zeiger’s November 2007 women’s course record of 8:41 but good enough for the win.

2014 Boulder Beer Mile
Boulder, Colorado
January 4, 2014
1 mile run

Men

1. Josh Shadle (USA) 6:45
2. Nick Przbysz (USA) 8:46
3. Aaron Kutzer (USA) 9:00

Women

1. Ellen Howard (USA) 13:15

Cameron Brown wins his 10th Port of Tauranga Half and Cat Morrison her first

Cameron Brown has won Ironman New Zealand 10 times and now has matched that record at the Port of Tauranga Half. In the women’s contest, Catriona Morrison of Scotland came within 34 seconds of Samantha Warriner’s 2009 race record with a strong 4:11:21 performance.

Defending champion Graham O’Grady arrived at the start line just a day after the birth of his first child to lead out of the water, closely followed by fellow Kiwis Mark Bowstead, Hamish Hammond and Callum Millward with Brown 41 seconds in arrears. Halfway through the bike, Bowstead led with Millward and Bowstead close behind and Brown 2 minutes back. By the end of the bike leg, Bowstead was 2:20 ahead of Brown, who passed Millward and O’Grady. Brown, feeling good as ever at age 41, was 1 minute down at 10.5 kilometers and charged past Bowstead at the 14 kilometer mark. Brown ran a race-best 1:16:20 half marathon and cruised to a 3:54:10 finish, 2:05 ahead of runner-up Bowstead and 6:42 ahead of 3rd place finisher Braden Currie, who closed rapidly with a 2nd-fastest 1:16:37 run.

“After my shocking [off form] season last year I took an early season break having 7 weeks off in August,” Brown said after the race. “It was probably the best thing I could have done for my body and mind as I've come back with no niggling injuries, more motivated and ready to train the house down. My first win here was way back in 1998 and was special but to win number 10 in the 25th anniversary of the race at 41 years old was just fantastic.”

In the women’s race, 4-time champion Jo Lawn, Amelia Rose Watkinson and Morrison were among the swim leaders. On the bike, Lawn had an off day while Morrison and Watkinson took control with 2:17:13 and 2:17:20 bike splits respectively, well ahead of Lawn and Candice Hammond (2:22:25).

On the run, Morrison took control with a 2nd-fastest 1:21:08 split that put 5:52 on Watkinson and surrendered 19 seconds to Hammond’s speedy half marathon. Morrison finished with a 5:24 margin on runner-up Watkinson and 9:20 on 3rd-place finisher Hammond.

Morrison may have surrendered her shot at the course record by taking her time to put on socks in the second transition. “My feet are very comfortable – I definitely don’t have blisters!” she said after the race. “I just wanted to take the run as comfortable as possible and build on it. The second lap I tried to push quite hard, I knew I was close to the course record because someone yelled it at me but I had no idea as to how close so I just pushed to the line.”

Port of Tauranga Half
Port of Tauranga, New Zealand
January 4, 2014
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.

Results

Men

1. Cameron Brown (NZL) 3:54:10
2. Mark Bowstead (NZL) 3:56:15
3. Braden Currie (NZL) 4:00:52
4. Callum Millward (NZL) 4:01:38
5. Rob Creasy (NZL) 4:05:20

Women

1. Catriona Morrison (GBR) 4:11:21
2. Amelia Rose Watkinson (NZL) 4:16:45
3. Candice Hammond (NZL) 4:20:41
4. Joanna Lawn (NZL) 4:24:30
5. Michelle Bremer (NZL) 4:28:03

Boulder to host U.S. Cyclocross National Championship this coming week

After being awarded this event in February 2012, Boulder, Colorado’s Valmont Bike Park will host the 2014 Cyclocross National Championship from Wednesday January 8 to Sunday January 12. The elite races will take place on Sunday and will include the junior 17-18 category at 11 AM, female elites at 1:30 pm and male elite at 2:45 PM. Organizers expect 1,600 racers from age 8 to 80. Micah Rice, vice president of national events for USA Cycling, told the Boulder Daily Camera that the 2 and ½ year old Valmont Bike Park was chosen over two other candidates because “Boulder is such a great cycling town and is known nationally and internationally by people who ride bikes… We also look at the quality of the course and picked a venue we think is going to work for the National Championships.”

Last year’s National Championship was held in Madison, Wisconsin.