Grand Columbian Results

Despite the threat of cold temperatures team members Mike, Kate S, Sue, and Tim all finished their season on a high note in what turned out to be excellent, albeit windy, conditions.

This year the Grand Columbian Triathlon was host to three events, a half Ironman, a full Ironman, and new this year, an ITU distance (aka Nice Triathlon Distance). The half-iron distance was part of the USA Triathlon Grand Prix Series and served as a qualifier for triathlon nationals in 2007 (here in Portland) and as a qualifier for the World Long Course Triathlon Championships, July 14-15, 2007 in L’Orient, France.

Kate finished just ahead of Sue in 5:58 (2nd in her AG) as she continues her preparations for her keystone event this November. Sue capped off a successful season finishing 7th in her AG at 6:01. Mike finished his race in 5:37 (a 5 min PR) and 9th in his AG. Both had excellent races on what was probably a harder course than the ITU distance event.

The ITU event which also served as a qualifier for World Long Course Triathlon Championship - but for this fall in Canberra, Australia, was a fantastic challenge for the weekend. Coach Mark, who was completing the event in preparation for IM Arizona '07 completed the course in 7:30 and finished 2nd overall. Not too far behind and charging hard was Tim who finished in 7:41 and 5th overall. A great finish for both, hinting at a sub 10:30 IM potential.
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We also saw another team member qualify for Nationals as Joe competed at the Battleground Triathlon and finished 3rd overall. Nice job Joe!

DC's Ironman Finish!

Here's a few highlights from DC's finish at Ironman Wisconsin. Congrats DC!

September 10th in Madison turned out to be a great day besides the fact that it was freezing cold (top temp for the day was 60) & rained the ENTIRE day. It was amazing to see all 2,700 athletes from the oldest at 77 to the youngest at 18 compete in Ironman. From the moment the gun went off watching everyone battle each other out in the swim (literally swimming over people, people loosing their goggles, black eyes) the best part was watching the two FIRST people out of the water be women – that was very exciting.

A couple phrases from Mr. Christian on the bike course.

Mile 45 – a high five and “whew hoo”
Mile 90 (after a rather large climb) - a high five and “it’s hurting”.

We missed the transition since he was faster than I expected and headed to the run course to find him.

Mile 13 – he gave the girls kisses and then told us he threw up at mile 6.5 in front of a very large crowd and now was feeling great! Only a half marathon to go – he was quite the jokester which if you’ve ever been around David at a race is not his usual frame of mind so I think he must of told himself it’s Ironman ENJOY IT!

David finished at 12:54 with Olivia by his side. He looked great – no limping just blue lips and chattering teeth. Olivia wanted to thank all the people that cheered for her when she crossed the line. It was by far one of the most amazing events to witness and it’s hard to believe it’s over. I now see why most people don’t do just one Ironman – it’s an addictive sport. He’ll be getting his tattoo this week!

THANK YOU to all who called on Sunday to check how he was doing. I know David especially appreciated all the support!

Team Christian

P.S. Ironman USA (July ’07 – Lake Placid, NY) here we come!

Weekend Results and an Ironman Among Us.

Congrats again to everyone that competed this weekend as it was again a highly successful weekend for the team!

Where do we start?
On Saturday, it was Nicole (4th in her AG) and Dabney testing out the Aluminum Man course in the Dalles under what I understood was a hilly bike course and windy conditions.

On Sunday, the team of Joshua, Jen, Heather, and Mark (yes you read that correctly - Coach Mark) competed at the Escape from the Gorge which had slots for both the Escape from Alcatraz and Triathlon Nationals in 2007. Josh took home hardware (10th Overall, and 1st AG, qualified for Alcatraz), as well as Jen (2nd in AG, and Alcatraz qualifier), and yes, Coach Mark (3rd Overall, 1st AG and slots to both Alcatraz and Nationals). Antra jumped to the 10k distance at the Pints to Pasta and smoked all expectations. Our resident junior, Jeffry has started racing X-Country and ran (I believe) just over 18 in his first meet of the season.

Finally, our own David Christian completed his first Ironman in the raining and cool conditions of Madison, Wisconsin From reports, the water was quite choppy with winds / waves blowing offshore. Temps were close to or under 60 and caught a lot of competitors off guard. After talking with David post-race he was quite happy with his results and the experience and ready to enjoy his recovery time before he sets his sites on Ironman Lake Placid in 2007. Actually, his words were "I don't want to see any emails or phone calls from your regarding training at least for a month." No problem David. Go enjoy a cold one and congratulations!

David's times were
Swim: 1:20:17
Bike: 6:16:10
Run: 4:58:51
Overall: 12:54:17 (898th Overall)

Scoggins Valley & Umpqua Half Iron Results

Congratulations to all who participated at Scoggins Valley and the Umpqua Half Ironman this weekend. This weekend was a strong season end for many team members. For complete results on both races, check out Racecenter.com

At the Umpqua Half-Ironman, Ryan Oilar had a huge PR despite heat well into the 90's and a very hilly course. Final finish time, 5:59:58. Congrats Ryan!

As well, Scoggins Valley went very well for the SpeedSHOT Team with multiple members walking away with hardware and top AG finishes.

Olympic Duathlon
Kim Grasberger (2nd Place Overall / 1st Age Group)

Olympic Triathlon
Women
Susan Moote (4th Place Overall / 2nd Female Masters / 1st Age Group)

Men
Jeff Krause (4th Overall, 1st Age Group)
Jeffry Walker (1st Age Group)
Shawn Patrick
Don Moote (10th Male Masters / 2nd Age Group)
Jeff Koh

Sprint Triathlon
Men
Joe Pointer (7th Place Overall / 1st Age Group)
Women
Marguerite Koh (9th Place Masters / 6th Age Group)