On the final weekend in July, the triathletic action includes a finish line sprint won by 2 seconds in Canada, an XTERRA dominated by the favorites in Italy, an age group dominated Ironman Lake Placid, and the finish of a self-imposed quest to finish 50 Ironman-distance tests in 50 states in 50 consecutive days.
Ben Hoffman and Alicia Kaye win Ironman 70.3 Calgary
Ben Hoffman edged out Andy Potts by 2 seconds after a hammer-and-tong battle from the start, while Alicia Kaye won as first-across-the-line Magali Tisseyre of Canada was disqualified for going off course on the swim at Ironman 70.3 Calgary.
Women
As usual in 70.3 races, Lauren Brandon led the swim, this time in a 25:51 split which gave her a 32 seconds lead on home country favorite Magali Tisseyre, 1:32 on Emma-Kate Lidbury of Great Britain, 1:37 on Robin Pomeroy of the U.S., and 2:09 on Canadian-born U.S. citizen Alicia Kaye.
But Tisseyre, who led the field on the bike and run, was disqualified after the race for going off course on the swim.
Eliminating Tisseyre from the race recap, Brandon’s 3rd-best 2:18:23 bike split led Kaye (2:16:46) by 25 seconds, 6:12 on Lidbury (2:23:17), and 17:17 on strong Canadian runner Malindi Elmore.
Kaye closed out her win with a 1:25:13 run split that gave her a 14:03 margin on Elmore, who closed with a women's best 1:21:35 marathon.
Tisseyre was distraught after the race, not so much for losing the win but for any suspicion she might have cut the course on purpose, and made this statement:
“During the swim leg of today’s race, there was a lot of confusion. Unfortunately, it had not been possible to preview the course after the tragic drowning of a child occurred two days earlier. To add to this was the fact that there were buoys out there that were not on the map. At just under ¾ of the swim course, all the swimmers ahead of me started swimming in a different direction of the buoy I thought I should be aiming for - which seemed very far right to be the correct one. I stopped a few times to check and I could see no one going towards the right… I asked the volunteers on the course what was going on and was steered toward a different blue buoy that most swimmers seemed to be swimming to and from. I asked again after that and was guided to the trajectory I took around the last two buoys and into shore. I had a feeling I had definitely not done the course correctly and let people know when I was in T1… When I crossed the line, I told the race directors about my mistake and later found out that that almost every pro had in one way or another been confused and either added or took away from the initial course.”
Men
Andy Potts led the swim in 25:21, which gave him a 40 seconds lead on Damon Barnett of the U.S., 42 seconds on Jordan Bryden of Canada, 43 seconds on Matt Lieto of the U.S., 45 seconds on Ben Hoffman of the U.S., and 52 seconds on Justin Metzler of the U.S.
After a second-fastest 2:05:55 bike split, Potts took a 2 seconds margin on Hoffman (race-best 2:05:01 bike split), 1:55 on Lieto (2:06:48), 3:42 on Daniel Bretscher of the U.S. (2:08:45), and 3:44 on Metzler (2:08:52).
On the run, Potts and Hoffman continued to mark one another closely all the way to the line. At the finish, Hoffman’s 1:16:21 run brought him to the line in 3:50:43, two seconds ahead of Potts and 6:18 ahead of 3rd-place finisher Metzler. Lieto took 4th, 56 seconds behind Metzler and Chris Leiferman 5th, 23 seconds later.
After 5th place finishes at St. George and New Orleans 70.3s, and falling out of contention due to overheating after a temporary lead on the bike at Ironman Texas, last year’s Ironman World Championship runner-up Hoffman seems to be back on track for another run at Kona.
Ironman 70.3 Calgary
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
July 26, 2015
S 1.2 mi / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Women
1. Magali Tisseyre (CAN) 4:07:29
2. Alicia Kaye (USA) 4:12:09
3. Malindi Elmore (CAN) 4:26:12
4. Lauren Brandon (USA) 4:27:06
5. Emma-Kate Lidbury (GBR) 4:29:50
Men
1. Ben Hoffman (USA) 3:50:43
2. Andy Potts (USA) 3:50:45
3. Justin Metzler (USA) 3:57:01
4. Matt Lieto (USA) 3:57:57
5. Chris Leiferman (USA) 3:58:20
Ruben Ruzafa and Helena Erbenova win XTERRA Italy
Reigning and three-time XTERRA World Champion Ruben Ruzafa of Spain and Helena Erbenova of the Czech Republic won the XTERRA Italy Championship this afternoon.
The win was Ruzafa’s 14th XTERRA major in a row and his 4th in a row on this year’s XTERRA European Tour. Erbenova’s Italian victory - her third at this event - marked her 5th win in eight straight weeks of competition, following triumphs at XTERRA championships events in Spain, Greece, and Sweden. “So many races and I knew I couldn’t be in top form at all of them but I just tried to do my best,” said Erbenova, a two-time XTERRA European Tour champion. “Now I would like to have a good rest and spend some time with my daughter!”
After two days of hard rain and cold temperatures, thankfully the weather was temperate and rewarded the two favorites.
Men
While Ruzafa’s win was expected, Francois Carloni’s second-place finish was a surprise. “I came this morning thinking I cannot finish because I cannot run,” said Carloni. “Yesterday my back was terrible and my knee terrible because of a fall last week. But today I am the most surprised person here because everything went perfect. I ran better than I have all year.”
Ruzafa laughed at Carloni’s persistence on the bike leg. “I tried to go ahead of Francois and pull him, a little bit, but every time I passed him he comes and passes me back. Finally at the top of the big hill I got ahead and stayed ahead.”
By the end of the run, Ruzafa finished in 2:52:49 with a 5:34 margin of victory on Carloni and 10:37 on 3rd-place finisher Roger Serrano. As usual Serrano led the swim but surrendered to the superior bike and run skills of Ruzafa and Carloni.
Women
Erbenova had her usual slow swim, and spent the first 14 kilometers of the challenging mountain bike course chasing Carina Wasle of Austria and Elisabetta Curridori of Italy. By the time the women came back into town to start the shorter second loop, Erbenova was in charge and 2 minutes ahead.
“I had a really good bike, but it was so hard,” said Erbenova, who cruised to the finish in 3:24:02 with a 4:55 margin on Wasle and 7:46 on 3rd-place finisher Myriam Guillot of France.
XTERRA Italy
Lago di Scanno, Abruzzo, Italy
July 26, 2015
S 1.5k / MTB 24k / TR 10k
Results
Men
1. Ruben Ruzafa (ESP) 2:52:49
2. Francois Carloni (FRA) 2:58:23
3. Roger Serrano (ESP) 3:03:26
4. Jim Thijs (BEL) 3:05:27
5. Markus Benesch (AUT) 3:06:30
Women
1. Helena Erbenova (CZE) 3:24:02
2. Carina Wasle (AUT) 3:28:57
3. Myriam Guillot (FRA) 3:31:48
4. Elisabetta Curridori (ITA) 3:37:16
5. Renata Bucher (SUI) 3:41:23
James Lawrence completes 50 Ironman-equivalent courses in 50 states in 50 days
James Lawrence, the Utah native known as the Iron Cowboy, completed a remarkable self-imposed triathletic challenge this weekend, finishing on his own terms 50 Ironman-distance courses in 50 U.S. states in 50 consecutive days.
If measured correctly, his odyssey totaled 120 miles of swimming, 5,600 miles of cycling or equivalent, and 1,310 miles of running or equivalent (including some miles on an elliptical gym trainer).
Lawrence’s quest was followed around the world and attracted tremendous interest on social media. While triathlete purists were disappointed with Lawrence for resorting to gym machinery on occasion, the sheer volume of his daily efforts earned considerable respect.
Beginning June 6 in Hawaii and concluding Saturday July 25 at Thanksgiving Point’s Electric Park in Lehi, Utah, Lawrence partnered with the Jamie Oliver Foundation and dedicated his feat to raising money and awareness for childhood obesity.
Lawrence told the Deseret News of Salt Lake City, “This generation is in trouble. We need to realize that movement is necessary, real food is necessary, and we need to focus more on prevention and less on treatment.”
Lawrence enlisted several sponsors to fund his quest, including AirBNB. The challenge was not only physical but also a logistical nightmare which would put the CBS hit show The Amazing Race and its scores of producers to shame. The feat that most strains credulity was finishing his first day Ironman-distance course in Hawaii, catching a 5-hour flight to the mainland and starting again the next morning, after losing 3 hours to time zone differences.
In order to fulfill the particulars of his quest, Lawrence generally started every day at 7 am and had to finish a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike leg and run a marathon. Sometimes he could not make the usual 17-hour official Ironman finish deadline, and finished as late as 3:30am. But he says he managed to trudge to start line in the next state the next morning, as close as possible to 7am.
Whatever questions are raised about the particulars, Lawrence’s crusade inspired many to run or bike with him at each stop along the way. Thanks to his sponsors, Lawrence brought along his wife and five children, and two men who served as his support crew. His daughter Lucy ran the final 3 miles of every day’s marathon with him.
Corey Deveaux and Amy Farrell in Lake Placid
The 2015 Ironman Lake Placid did not feature a pro purse and that allowed fast age group athletes to swim, bike and run into the limelight. When it was all said and done, Canadian Corey Deveaux and American Amy Farrell captured the overall titles.
Ironman Lake Placid
Lake Placid, NY / July 26, 2015
Top men
1. Corey Deveaux (CAN) 9:31:09
2. Daniel Moore (USA) 9:34:12
3. David Burger (USA) 9:37:14
4. Kevin Wright (USA) 9:42:12
5. Joe Hatfield (USA) 9:42:30
Top women
1. Amy Farrell (USA) 10:13:19
2. Lori Sherlock (USA) 10:31:31
3. Nicole Valentine (USA) 10:36:25
4. Kayla Kielar (USA) 10:41:49
5. Jennifer Mahoney (USA) 10:42:42
