Jackie Hering of Cottage Grove, Wisconsin and Matt Hanson of Storm Lake, Iowa took the victories at Ironman 70.3 Traverse City.
Women
Hering, coming off another Midwest win at Steelhead 70.3, started her day with a 26:32 swim that put her 1 second behind Meredith Kessler, 1 second behind Robin Pomeroy, two seconds ahead of Rebeccah Wassner and about a minute ahead of a pack of women including Laurel Wassner, Sarah Alexander, Alissa Doehla, Jessica Smith, Brittany Higgins and Linsey Corbin.
After 34 miles of the bike leg, Hering led a lead pack of five including Corbin, Kessler, Alexander, Pomeroy and Rebeccah Wassner, with Doehla trailing by 55 seconds.
After a 3rd best 25:45 swim and 4th-best 2:28:53 bike split, Pomeroy led into T2 with a 2:28:53 bike split that gave her a 3 seconds lead on Hering, 5 seconds on Corbin, 5 seconds on Alexander, 8 seconds on Kessler and 2 minutes on Doehla.
In the first 3 miles of the run, Hering crafted a 1:18 lead on Corbin, 1:20 on Pomeroy, and 1:58 on Kessler, Doehla and Alexander. Just over halfway, Hering expanded her lead to 1:55 on Corbin, 3:36 on Pomeroy, followed closely by Kessler and Alexander.
After a dominating 1:16:20 run, Hering finished in 4:15:18 with a 5:49 margin of victory over Corbin (1:21:56 run split) and 8:37 over 3rd place Alissa Doehla (1:22:54 run).
In addition to her wins at Steelhead 70.3 and Traverse City, Hering’s strong 2019 season also includes a 2nd at Campeche 70.3, 3rd at Ironman 70.3 Texas, 5th at St. George 70.3.
Men
Hunter Lussi swam 23:28 and led a four-man pack including Andrew Kelley, Patrick Smith and Evan Culbertson . Top contenders Justin Metzler (+50s), Joe Gambles (+51s), Taylor Reid (+1:01) and Hanson (+1:41) were also within range.
After 34 miles, Lussi attained a 1:30 lead on Gambles, 1:35 on Hanson.
After a 3rd-best 2:10:09 bike split, Gambles led into T2 by 17 seconds over Hanson (2nd-best 2:09:45 bike split) and 19 seconds over Stephen Kilshaw (race-best 2:09:42 bike split). Hunter Lussi trailed by 1:13 and Taylor Reid was 1:13 arrears.
Halfway through the run, Hanson maintained a 16 seconds lead on Kilshaw, 47 seconds on Gambles, 1:14 on Reid and 2:42 on Lussi.
After a second–fastest 1:12:36 half marathon, Hanson hit the tape in 3:50:33, holding off Reid and his race-best 1:11:52 run by a 12 seconds margin of victory and surpassing 3rd place Kilshaw (1:14:25 run split) by 1:49.
With this victory, Hanson adds to a consistent 2019 record which includes 5th at Coeur d’Alene 70.3, 5th at Ironman Texas, 3rd at Chattanooga 70.3, 2nd at Ironman 70.3 Texas, and 1st at Ironman Boulder.
Ironman 70.3 Traverse City
Traverse City, Michigan
August 25, 2019
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Women
1. Jackie Hering (USA) 4:15:18 S 26:44 T1 2:13 B 2:28:55 T2 1:08 R 1:16:20
2. Linsey Corbin (USA) 4:21:07 S 27:50 T1 2:09 B 2:27:54 T2 1:20 R 1:21:56
3. Alissa Doehla (USA) 4:23:55 S 27:43 T1 2:12 B 2:29:53 T2 1:15 R 1:22:54
4. Meredith Kessler (USA) 4:25:17 S 26:44 T1 2:29 B 2:28:44 T2 1:15 R 1:26:08
5. Sarah Alexander (USA) 4:32:09 S 27:40 T1 1:56 B 2:28:17 T2 1:00 R 1:33:18
Men
1. Matt Hanson (USA) 3:50:33 S 25:19 T1 1:57 B 2:09:45 T2 00:57 R 1:12:36
2. Taylor Reid (CAN) 3:50:45 S 24:29 T1 1:58 B 2:11:27 T2 1:01 R 1:11:52
3. Stephen Kilshaw (CAN) 3:52:22 S 25:20 T1 2:08 B 2:09:42 T2 00:50 R 1:14:25
4. Joe Gambles (AUS) 3:54:18 S 24:18 T1 2:11 B 2:10:09 T2 1:04 R 1:16:38
5. Hunter Lussi (USA) 3:56:28 S 23:28 T1 2:03 B 2:11:50 T2 1:18 R 1:17:50
