Ironman Korea 2011

Ironman Korea 2011 is set to go and is back in a big way. Race-day on July 3rd will feature not only the Ironman, but a 70.3 Ironman and 70.3 relay as well.

Visit my Ironman Korea 2011 Results page and see if my race predictions on this page written the day before the race were close or not.

Korea is back in the Ironman family of races and with the cancellation of Ironman China, Ironman Korea will be the only Ironman in Asia this year.

IRONMAN KOREA 2011 KONA SPOTS

My first thought is that a lot of age-groupers who have been trying to get a pass into Kona for years now may have missed the boat on this one.

With the cancellation of Ironman China, 25 more qualifying spots for the big show in Kona were moved over to Ironman Korea.

That is huge for one very big reason.

There are only 911 age-group athletes who will be at the start line on race morning. What an opportunity. Not only are there more available qualifying spots, but there is not a huge age-group field.

The actual odds of landing a Kona spot are so good that just over 12 percent of the age-group field will be off to Kona.

Compare that say with Ironman Canada with the expectation this year of over 3000 age-groupers and the standard amount of age-group qualifying spots and you will realize just how good the Korea Ironman 2011 odds for a ticket to Kona really are.

THE WEATHER

The weather is anybody's guess as it can fluctuate so much from day to day.

In past years the swim has been a bit of a nightmare as the winds have whipped the water up into a frenzy.

However the water might be the least of the worries as temperatures this time of year could well reach 40c once the athletes are out on the road.

THE COURSE

However the winner of those qualifying spots will still have to work very hard for the right to represent their age-group in Kona.

The Korean course is pretty much the opposite of Ironman Austria that is also set to go on July 3rd.

You can expect a time in the neighborhood of 8 hours flat in Austria, and most likely closer to 8:20-8:30 in Korea because of the elevation gains in both the bike and the run.

THE SWIM

The swim will be the standard(at least for most courses these days)two-loop affair.

I just have to share the Ironman Korea website version of the swim course that has obviously been translated from Korean to English.

and I quote........

There will be 2 swim loops (1 loop for 70.3 Ironman) designed based on straight 950 meters long swim course. Even under extreme weather condition, this new swim course will always enlighten athletes to perform their maximum ability at average ocean tides due to long breakwater already built to protect such natural obstacles.

I am not even going to try and figure this out, but instead will let you make of it what you will.

I'm not quite sure if the swimmers stand a chance of being sucked out to sea or if they will be swimming in calm protected waters.

Of course I am just having some fun at the expense of our Korean friends and I'm sure it will be a great swim come race-day.

THE BIKE

The bike is a two-loop affair as well and by all accounts will be very challenging. This could very well be where the final outcome of Ironman Korea 2011 will be decided should some of the better climbers among the pros manage to make a substantial break.

There is a 3k climb that will be encountered twice of course and also quite a lot of other elevation gains through-out the 90k loop.

If the winds happen to kick up, this could well become a bike course from Hell.

There will be a transition area for the Ironman and another for the Ironman 70.3.

THE RUN

I have a feeling that the run is what will really challenge the pros the most and also what will be responsible to making it quite an accomplishment to do this Ironman course under 8:30.

I will go as far as to say(and this is another of my guesses)that there will most likely be less than 3 pros who break the 3-hour mark on the run with the fastest perhaps being around 2:50.

If I understand correctly, that 3k climb on the bike course will be part of the run course as well.

THE ATHLETES OF IRONMAN KOREA 2011

First of all I must say again what an opportunity it is for those in this race. Some triathletes outside of Korea have certainly picked up on this as the foreign field has climbed to 50% when in past years it was about 20%

By today's Ironman standards, this is a very small field. As a matter of fact I this field is smaller by several hundred from the field that started Ironman Hawaii back in 1984 when I did my first Ironman.

As I said, there will only be 911 age-groupers in the Ironman along with 18 pros.

The remainder of the registered 1,150 entries will be in the 70.3 which will also be a small field.

As far as the pros it's hard not to like Jan Rehula for the men as he knows the course and had also been living in Korea.

However he will be challenged by local favorite Korean Ham Yeun Sik who will be after the win with the home crowd cheering him on.

For the pro women I am going with Kate Bevilaqua.

This will be Kate's first attempt at this course. I have a feeling that although Kate has not had the results she might have wanted in earlier IM races, that she is quietly rounding into form and this just might be Kate's time to shine.

Jocelyn Wong from the USA returns to Jeju and has also had the opportunity to spend time training in Korea and will provide good competition in the pro women race.

Best of luck to all those who are entered in what could be a very tough Ironman Korea 2011 and may the waters be calm and the wind silent.

A special good luck to the age-groupers entered in Ironman Korea 2011 who have a glorious opportunity to qualify for Kona 2011.

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Ironman Korea 70.3 Results 2011

Cameron Brown and Jo Lawn top the Ironman Korea 70.3 results 2011 and they both lead from start to finish.

It was a strong performance by the pre-race favorites in both the pro categories.

The swim conditions turned out to be excellent and often officials don't know until race morning what things are going to be like out there.

As the 70.3 was ending the sun started to break through and it was looking like it was going to be a hot time for the marathoners in the Ironman that still had a long ways to go.

TOP FIVE MEN IN THE SWIMCameron BROWN Guy CRAWFORD Kieran DOE Fredrik CRONEBORG Jarrod OWEN

TOP FIVE MEN OUT OF TRANSITION TWOGuy CrawfordCameron BrownKieran DoeFredrik CroneborgYoung Hwan Oh(age-grouper)

Cameron Brown left the bike/run transition with Guy Crawford and Kieran Doe but had a great run and ended up winning Ironman Korea 70.3 in 4:03:58 and won by 11 minutes over Guy Crawford.

It's not too often that you see a country sweep all three top spots but it that's exactly what happened in Ironman Korea 70.3.

TOP TEN MEN IN IRONMAN 70.3 RESULTS 2011Cameron BROWN 4:03:58 Swim 0:24:13Guy CRAWFORD 4:15:03 Swim 0:23:16Kieran DOE 4:15:56 Swim 0:22:57Fredrik CRONEBORG 4:17:00 Swim 0:24:47Jarrod OWEN 4:26:27 Swim 0:27:41MASUDA DAIKI 4:27:43 Swim 0:26:44??? 4:35:44 Swim 0:27:33Kensaku YAMADA 4:38:54 Swim 0:30:35Mark THIRLWALL 4:48:51 Swim 0:31:02DAN BROWN 4:51:12 Swim 0:28:22

TOP PRO MALE IRONMAN KOREA 70.3 RESULTS 2011-ALL SPLITSPRO Cameron BROWN 0:24:13 2:16:11 1:20:48 4:03:58PRO Guy CRAWFORD 0:23:16 2:17:28 1:31:52 4:15:03PRO Kieran DOE 0:22:57 2:17:44 1:32:44 4:15:56PRO Fredrik CRONEBORG 0:24:47 2:29:45 1:19:00 4:17:00PRO MASUDA DAIKI 0:26:44 2:31:52 1:25:24 4:27:43PRO DAN BROWN 0:28:22 2:40:21 1:38:47 4:51:12

In the woman's race, Jo Lawn had a 19 minute lead before the second woman, Yasuko Miyazki from Japan reached the bike/run transition.

THESE ARE JO'S COMPLETE SPLITS FOR IM KOREA 70.3PRO Joanna Lawn 0:25:41 2:34:56 1:33:47 4:38:54PRO Yasuko MIYAZAKI 0:28:22 2:51:03 1:43:54 5:08:06

Ironman Korea 70.3 Race Results To Ironman Triathlon Results Page

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Ironman Korea Results 2011

Balazs Csoke of Hungry tops the ironman Korea results 2011 in 8:48:18. Well I predicted in my pre-race page that they would not be under 8:20 on this course and it goes to show just how tough it was out there.

There's no telling who will win Ironman Korea 2011, but there is another even more pressing question. Will 79-year-old Hiromu Inada finish under the time limit today? It is his second Ironman and he did not reach the finish line in his first one.

At least the weather started out perfect for an Ironman with overcast skies and very little wind. However things can change quickly in Korea later on in the day if the sun comes out and the heat can well become a factor.

THE SWIM

This two-loop swim course involves swimmers making a short beach run into the start of the second loop.

Hungarian Balazs Csoke is the first one out of the water at the halfway point and one of the first women is Jocelyn Wong of the United States, but by the end of the swim the top three women were in a different order.

Maki Nishiuchi of Japan completed the swim first for the women and was followed closely by Hillary Biscay and Kate Belivaqua is over 4 minutes back, but look for a strong bike from Kate.

The top three men out of the water at the end of the swim were Jan Rehula, Balazs Csoke and Hiroyuki Nishiuchin.

Good to see that 79-year-old Hiromu Inada is out of the water and out on the bike course.

The top three men as they left the bike/run transition were Balazs Csoke of Hungary, Jan Rehula, who was five minutes behind Balazs as he began his run, and Bevan Mckinnon of New Zealand who was 15 minutes behind the leader.

The leading female coming into transition two is my pick to win the race for the pro women, Kate Bevilaqua. Great race Kate!

Kate was followed into transition two by Maki Nishiuchi and Hillary Biscay. These were the top three women in the swim as well, so Kate who was third in the swim had a great bike leg to move into first place and take control of the race for good.

MALE PRO FINISHERS IN IRONMAN KOREA RESULTS 2011Balazs CSOKE.............8:48:21Andreas VENHORST.........8:58:46Bevan MCKINNON...........9:03:5Hiroyuki NISHIUCHI.......9:18:12Justin GRANGER...........9:30:44PRO Yeun Sik HAM.........9:36:02Yong Taek KIM...........10:07:00

An interesting observation. Only one triathlete today broke the 3 hour mark for the marathon.

Kate Bevilaqua (USA) crossed the line at 9:40 to take the IM Korea Womens title. What a race for Kate and that's a really great time as well under the conditions of the day.

This was a great result for the 45-49 age-group. All of them are Japanese and all of them are on their way to Kona.Ryuichi KAWASHIMA.............9:44:54Takeshi TANAKA................9:48:52Keisuke ISHIKURA..............9:52:17Tsutomu ISHIDA................9:52:35Minoru TAMURA.................9:55:45Naoto YOSHIMURA...............9:56:43Ryo KOMATSU...................9:59:44

Ironman Korea Results 2011 Back To Ironman Triathlon Results Page

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Ironman Lake Placid Results 2011

TJ Tollakson edges Ben Hoffman and heads the Ironman Lake Placid Results 2011. Canadian Heather Wurtele takes first for the pro women.

Sunday July 24, 2011 is the 13th running of the Lake Placid Ironman. It is the second oldest Ironman race North America.

It takes place in the backdrop of the stunning Adirondack's and when talking to many athletes who have taken part in this race, it is a very challenging course.

The swim takes place in Mirror Lake and most years the water is calm and well, "placid" but there have been years when the swim was challenging to say the least, but the long range forecast bodes well as far as inclement weather is concerned.

However there has been quite a heat wave going on in many parts of North America so possibly heat may play a role in Lake Placid on race day.

The swim is a two-lap, counter-clockwise course and includes crossing some beach before re-entering the water for lap number two.

Once leaving the water there is a short stretch of ground to cover in order to reach the swim/bike transition area.

The bike is also a two-loop course and is very challenging as the triathletes will be making their way through the Adirondack Mountains....twice.

Of course there is always the great scenery to enjoy out on the bike course.

The run course is pretty interesting in Ironman Lake Placid and it is certainly spectator friendly.

It is also a two-loop run course but the way it is set up brings the runners through town 4 times and that can be great for morale as friends and family get to cheer on their favorite triathlete.

The bike course may be hilly but the run course is flat and fast with a few rolling hills. It should offer some cooling effect as well when runners make their way along the shores of the lake.

SO WHO'S GOING TO WIN?

It really looks like Ben Hoffman is going to be very tough to beat.

He is all set to peak for this race and is coming off of wins in IRONMAN BOISE 70.3 2011 and in Muncie as well.

There is no doubt that he is in top form and ready to defend the title he won last year.

However Ben will really have to work for this win as there are a few multiple Ironman winners in this race who will be testing him.

Eduardo Sturla comes off a win in IRONMAN BRAZIL 2011 and he will also come into the race in great form.

Jason Shortis has won five Ironman titles in his career.

Luke Bell has several Ironman 70.3 victories to his credit and if he is ready to race he will could well end up somewhere on the podium.

My pick to win this race in a close duel with Ben Hoffman is TJ Tollakson. TJ already has a 3rd place finish in Ironman St.George and also had a win in the EAGLEMAN 70.3 2011

I am also happy to say that there are quite a few triathletes attempting their first Ironman In lake Placid who in one form or another have used Ironstruck as their guide and I will have them in my thoughts as I follow the action on Sunday July 24th.

There are no less than 1013 first time Ironman entrants in Lake Placid this year. Best of luck to all of them.

It's a large field that includes 696 Female and 2184 Males.

I can't believe the size of the mens 40-44 age group. There are 524 athletes in that group and it will be a well-eaned reward for those who manage to qualify for Kona out of this group.

There are 428 Canadians in the race and 265 of them are from Ontario.

This is a great story. Sam from Bradford Pennsylvania is 66 and will be doing IM Lake Placid with his son. Sam was in the Syracuse 70.3 in 2010 and was 3rd in his age-group.

Best of luck to Sam! What an accomplishment just to get to the start line of an Ironman Triathlon. Just maybe we will see Sam at the top of his age-group and he will get to go to Kona in the Fall!

THE PRO MENBen Hoffman Jason Shortis Luke Bell TJ Tollakson Torsten Abel Eduardo Sturla Logan Franks Tim Snow Raul Furtado Ryan Grant Arland Macasieb Mike Caiazzo Tyler Lord Mike Neill Chris Bagg Matthew Russell Holden Comeau John Hirsch Sergio Quezada Ruiz Raymond Botelho Dereck Treadwell Kyle Pawlaczyk Ryan Kelly Ian Mikelson Tom Eickelberg Ryan Cain Daniel Bretscher Ryan Bates

I have to admit that being Canadian, I will be cheering for Heather Wurtele on Sunday. The Lake Placid bike course should really favor Heather and I would not be surprised at all if Heather is leading coming out of the run transition.

Then it will come down to holding off the rest of the field for 26.2 miles.

Of course there is no guarantee Heather will be first coming off the bike with the likes of Tyler Stewart from the USA who had an amazing bike split at IRONMAN TEXAS 2011. Wow! Tyler went in 4:42:40.

It should really come down to Heather Wurtele and Tyler Stewart on the bike course.

However there are also several other very talented female pros who could make their mark in the Ironman Lake Placid results 2011.

Jackie Arendt also had a very good race in Ironman St. George and followed Heather Wurtele across the finish line.

THE PRO WOMENHeather Wurtele Tyler Stewart Amber Ferreira Jacqui Gordon Jackie Arendt Marie Danais Suzanne Zelazo Tine Deckers Miranda Alldritt

THE RACE

It's great to see that the really hot weather stayed away and temperatures should not be a factor in the race.

Water temperatures with be in the high 50?s to low 60?s which is about normal for Mirror Lake on Ironman day and the temperatures are forecast to stay in the high 60?s until noon before making it into the 70's.

There are few sporting moments that rival the mass swim start of an Ironman Triathlon and I sure hope all those novice Ironmen managed to stay clear of serious traffic problems.

THE TOP TEN MALE PROS IN THE SWIM1 Holden Comeau...............49:452 TJ Tollakson................50:373 Luke Bell...................50:394 Ian Mikelson................53:035 Ben Hoffman.................53:056 Sergio Quezada Ruiz.........53:567 Chris Bagg..................55:168 Daniel Bretscher............55:189 Euardo Sturla...............56:5110 John Hirsch................57:31

THE TOP TEN FEMALE PROS IN THE SWIM1 Heather Wurtele.............57:142 Jackie Arendt...............57:163 Tine Deckers................57:264 Amber Ferreira..............1:00:155 Suzanne Zelazo..............1:00:17

THE TOP FIVE FEMALE AGE-GROUPERS IN THE SWIMDanni Proenza.................47:15Marie-Andree Leblanc..........54:46Allyson Hamilton..............56:16Katelyn Kane..................56:20Lindsay Texter................56:34

THE TOP FIVE LOCAL MALE AGE-GROUPERS IN THE SWIMWilliam Frazer................1:13:01James Griffin.................1:13:02Michael Parker................1:14:50Matthew Young.................1:17:55Robert Morganson..............1:17:57

OUT ON THE BIKE COURSE

For the men it's TJ Tollakson and Luke Bell riding almost together with Ben Hoffman just waiting to pounce back in third place. In my earlier prediction from a few days ago I had picked TJ and Ben Hoffman to be fighting it out for the win today.

So far so good on that score, but still a long way to go.

In an unfortunate turn of events, Luke Bell has dropped out of the race. He has dealing with an illness prior to the race and gave it his best shot but was unable to continue.

At the same point on the course for the women it's Heather Wurtele, followed by Tine Deckers and Jackie Arendt. I also picked Canadian Heather Wurtele to win with strong performances expected by the two women who are currently 2nd and 3rd.

These images of TJ and Heather Wurtelle are courtesy of Ironman triathlon official site.

By the 50-mile mark Ben Hoffman is hot on the trail of Tj who maintains a lead of around 1:30.

At about the 50-mile mark Tine Deckers passed Heather Wurtele, but Heather didn't like that much and passed her back and is soon back in the lead by just over a minute.

By the 90-mile mark TJ is forging ahead and maintains a 3:08 lead on Ben Hoffman.

At this point the top four men looked like this...

TJ followed by Ben Hoffman with Argentina's Eduardo Sturla 20:40 back in 3rd and Holden Comeau at 24:11 back holding down fourth place. So is looks like the two-man race is indeed unfolding as predicted.

So far so good on that pick as well.

For the women it is Heather and Tine with Tyler Stewart 9:30 back, Jackie Arendt 12:30 back and another Canadian Suzanne Zelazo 14:30 back.

I'll take a leap of faith here and project that two Canadians might make the podium today as Suzanne can really run.

In the final stages of the bike at mile 96, Heather Wurtele maintains a lead of just over 3 minutes on Tine Deckers and should have a bit of a head start out on the run course.

ONTO THE RUN COURSE

TJ Tollakson hangs on to his lead as he leaves the bike/run transition area.

TJ just missed the bike course record by 10 seconds. It was set by Steve Larsen in 2001

Heather Wurtele was just over 2 minutes off of the bike course record set by Kate Major in 2004.

As the run develops it does indeed seem to be turning into a two-man race between TJ Tollakson and Ben Hoffman. However TJ does hold a 3-minute advantage and looks to be on his way to a victory in Ironman Lake Placid.

Jason Shortis is running very well and passes Eduardo Sturla to take over third place.

At this point it's fairly certain TJ Tollakson or Ben Hoffan will be on top of the Ironman Lake Placid results 2011 and all that's left is to see who it is when the finish line is reached.

After four miles Heather Wurtele's lead was down to 45 seconds over Tine Deckers. but then Heather really turned it on and at mile seven had a ten minute lead over Tine Decker.

Heather continues to extend the lead and at the 11-mile mark she is almost 12:30 ahead of Tine Deckers and Tyler Stewart is about four minutes behind Decker. It was shaping up to be a race for second place with Heather Wurtele looking strong on the lead.

TJ Tollakson crosses the finish line first and tops the Ironman Lake Placid results 2011.

Ben Hoffman crosses the line in second place. Ben ran five minutes faster than he did in winning Ironman Lake Placid 2010 but was unable to keep up with TJ who was strong all day long.

Jason Shortis, a five-time Ironman Champion takes the third spot.

With 7 miles left to go, Heather Wurtele still has the lead for the women by 13:37 over Tine Deckers, and by 17:40 over Tyler Stewart who is 17:40 back.

Canadian Heather Wurtele is the official winner of Ironman Lake Placid 2011.

Male 18-24Brian Jastrebsky.......10:15:22Mike Abbene............10:34:44Michael Hofman.........10:50:13Daniel Szajta..........10:51:01Ryan Fallot............11:01:36

Male 25-29Greg Close.............9:41:28chris Meewes...........9:53:28Chris Nocera...........9:59:12Tavis Earley...........10:10:31Mathieu Plaisance......10:18:11

Male 29-34David Lamoureux........9:36:11Jeremy cornman.........9:42:29Lucas Moore............9:43:54Stephen Patterson......9:44:41Giffin McNeese.........9:46:04

Male 35-39

Vaughn Cooper..........9:37:50Bryan Krabbe...........9:42:35Eric Kenney............9:45:55Ryan Barnett...........9:46:28Patrick McCrann........9:56:38

Male 40-44Konrad Von Allmen.......9:49:44Jorgen Gam-Jorgensen....9:53:15David Burger............9:57:15Rich Burke..............9:59:03Todd Wiley..............10:00:29Jeff Walsh..............10:02:39Robert Richardson.......10:06:13Patrice Brisindi........10:06:41

Male 45-49Robert Schloegel........9:58:49Dave Sousa..............10:06:26Thomas Newton...........10:06:55John Parker.............10:19:54Gary McArdle............10:23:13

Male 50-54Yves Fortin.............10:05:38Barry Lewis.............10:09:39Kyle welch..............10:19:34Ned Daily...............10:31:35Mark Yost...............10:41:20

Male 55-59Joel Rosenstraus........10:51:18Alain Deschenes.........10:55:13Jacques Ricard..........10:59:10Michael Parker..........10:59:44Paul Bozoain............11:02:12

Male 60-64Mark Dean...............12:13:47Stephen Smith...........12:43:26

AWESOME MEN 60-65Ronald Woloshan........13:39:57Bill Saunders..........13:41:51David Wilson...........13:42:56Dave Schneider.........13:49:03CharlesCary...........13:57:16Arnold Levin...........15:00:31Lee Lovitz.............15:24:55Sam Johnson............15:58:16John Lightbody.........16:06:39Kevin Morgan...........16:09:40Male 70-74 (HOW SPECIAL IS THIS PERFORMANCE?)Great job Dean. I hope you go to Kona and kick some butt.Dean Paxson.............12:34:50

Dean had a 1:22:04 swim, 6:19:07 bike and 4:38:55 marathon.

FUTURE PRO WOMEN--18-24Julia Reichert........10:55:53CailleyWayman........11:40:44CarolynPfalzgraf.....13:09:55Jenna Bernstein.......13:41:47Lauren Doski..........13:42:49Melissa Dymond........14:02:26Kellen Sheedy.........15:37:11

Female 25-29Amanda Kourtz...........10:21:01Lindsay Wohlers.........10:37:37

Female 30-34Kim Schwabenbauer........10:11:54Suzanne Serpico..........10:25:19Lisa Mueller.............10:26:32Megan Wiseman............10:43:54Lori Sherlock............10:52:08

Female 35-39Angie Defilippi...........10:32:20Kate Bruck................10:41:26Noqa Ruttenberg...........10:41:38Marie Repec...............10:47:22Wendy Mader...............10:55:40

Female 40-44Angela Bancroft...........10:19:21Stacey Stern..............10:48:21Michelle Rosowsky.........11:19:02Sylvie-Anne Gauthier......11:22:04Mary Holt-Wilson..........11:22:36

Female 45-49Jeanne Debonis............10:32:46Helene Desrosiers.........10:50:57Judy Andrew Piel..........11:26:54Julia Fournier............11:49:22Allison Woodward..........12:04:59

Female 50-54Carmel Tindale-Fox.........11:30:43Barbara Cronin-Stagnari....11:34:35Pascale Butcher............11:35:56Sue Dean...................11:40:00Frances Vincent............11:47:15

Female 55-59Marianne Moore.............12:28:03Brian Delaney..............12:34:15Arlene Ayoub...............12:42:24

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES--WOMEN 60-64Mary Houbolt...........13:06:13Barbara Johns..........13:35:03Roberta Leventhal......15:48:19Claire Vendramini......15:57:46Peggy Frings...........16:14:52Mary Cole..............16:23:14Cheryl Pike............16:49:13

PRO WOMEN FINAL RESULTSHeather Wurtele.......09:19:03Tine Deckers..........09:34:41 Tyler Stewart.........09:38:09Jackie Arendt.........09:56:21Jacqui Gordon........10:07:22SuzanneZelazo.......10:21:08Amber Ferreira.......10:30:39MirindaAlldritt.....10:46:46Marie Danais.........10:48:26

PRO MEN FINAL RESULTSTj Tollakson..........08:25:15Ben Hoffman...........08:33:29Jason Shortis.........08:47:18Eduardo Sturla........09:04:16Daniel Bretscher......09:07:05Ian Mikelson..........09:12:42Mike Neill............09:13:03Tim Snow..............09:16:01Matthew Russell.......09:26:26John Hirsch...........09:45:50

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Ironman Lake Stevens 70.3 Results 2011

It's a strong field of pros who were set to fight it out for World Championship points by topping the Ironman Lake Stevens 70.3 results 2011.

Of all the 70.3 races taking place today, August 14, 2011 the sixth running of Ironman Lake Stevens 70.3 most likely has the most competitive field of pro athletes.

For those of you don't know(and I didn't until I checked it out) Lake Stevens is just over 30 miles North of Seattle.

If that's the case, it can't be all that far from the Canadian border leading into British Columbia.

THE COURSE

The swim is an out and back course and because it is narrow, it will allow for plenty of spectators to watch the swim.

The 56 mile bike course is pretty much a double-loop that's heads East of Lake Stevens that has a lot of rollers that many of the athletes will find challenging.

On the bright side, the scenery is stunning but I'm not sure if that will reduce the pain any, but it's worth having a look around just to see if it does.

The run course is also a double loop and will take the athletes through the center of town which should make for plenty of crowd support.

As with most 70.3 races this time of year, there are many pros vying for enough points to make it to the 70.3 World Championships in Henderson, Nevada.

THE PRO MENtentativePaul AmbroseLuke BellPhilippe KozubGavin AndersonShanon StallardGraham O'GradyJustin ParkLewis ElliotNicholas ThompsonTom EvansDantley YoungJosh HadwayChris BoudreauxJames DuffJeff SymondsMatt LietoBrendan HalpinJoe UmphenourStephen KilshawYnuk BosseNathan KillamGuy CrawfordChris GanterJason Shortis

THE PRO WOMENMelanie McQuaidTyler StewartMackenzie MadisonChristine FletcherJennifer LuebkeHaley Cooper-ScottRachel McBrideMandy McLaneJennifer Tetrick

THE FAVORITES

For the men, Luke Bell is certainly right up there as a pre-race favorite. In four years he has had two firsts and a third on this course. Plus it always helps when you really like a course and enjoy returning year after year.

Although Luke was force to drop out of Ironman Lake Placid because of a nasty virus he will still be competing in both the Marine Corps 70.3 World Championships and in Kona as well.

So it is really hard to go against Luke in this race.

His stiffest competition will most likely come from fellow Australian Paul Ambrose. However this is a quick turn-around for Paul as he just raced in the Boulder 70.3 so he may come up a bit short today.

Paul has raced quite a lot this year and has a first in the IRONMAN RACINE 70.3 and a second the following weekend in a very competitive IRONMAN RHODE ISLAND 70.3.

It also appears the Tom Evans from Canada has entered this race and I will be hoping he acquits himself well against some very stiff competition.

In the race for top spot for the pro women, it looks like Canadian Melanie McQuaid is in good form and is the defending champion on this course.

Melanie will be renewing acquaintances with Tyler Stewart who is always a tough compeititor to put away. It should be a great race for the pro women's title here in Lake Stevens.

THE RACE

It looked like Canadian Tom Evans was going to have one of his great races as he came out of the water with Luke Bell and Paul Ambrose and the three of them were right behind Graham O'Grady and Gavin Anderson who were about 30 seconds ahead.

Ultimately Tom had problems out on the bike course and a great race developed between Luke Bell, Paul Ambrose, and Jeff Symonds.

THE SWIM TIMES FOR THE TOP MENGraham O'Grady........23:37Gavin Anderson........23:38Paul Ambrose..........24:00Luke Bell.............24:01Tom Evans.............24:04James Duff............24:45Jeff Symonds..........24:47

On the women's side it was Jennifer Luebke leading the way in the wim with Melanie McQuaid second and somehow Tyler Stewart was the second last pro woman out of the water.

THE SWIM TIMES FOR THE TOP WOMENJennifer Luebke.......29:08Melanie McQuaid.......29:12Christine Fletcher....29:41Rachel McBride........29:42Mackenzie Madison.....29:50Tyler Stewart.........30:54Haley Cooper-Scott....31:25

Just as might be expected, Luke Bell and Paul Ambrose raced virtually side-by-side for the entire day.

Luke Bell had a bike time of 2:15:21 which was the best of the day, but Paul was right there with a 2:15:26. The next pro male was Jeff Symonds who had a 2:17:27 bike time.

This was an amazing race because going out onto the run course there were at least 6 or 7 pro males in contention for a podium spot.

For the women it was Tyler Stewart who decimated the field on the bike course and she started out on the run with a huge lead over Melanie McQuaid who simply could not keep up with Tyler.

Luke Bell is the winner of Ironman Lake Placid 2011, but you could have thrown a blanket over the top three finishers.

TOP MALE FINISHERSLuke Bell..............3:56:50Paul Ambrose...........3:57:53Jeff Symonds...........3:58:29Graham O'Grady.........4:00:33Stephen Kilshaw........4:02:29

Tyler Stewart was a machine in this race and won by ten minutes over Melanie McQuaid.

From 2nd to 5th place was very closely bunched and all in all this whole race for both men and women was pretty exciting to follow. It was an all-out effort by so many today.

TOP FEMALE FINISHERSTyler Stewart...........4:27:31Melanie McQuaid.........4:37:58Haley Cooper-Scott......4:42:42Mackenzie Madison.......4:43:24Christine Fletcher......4:44:10

Ironman Lake Stevens 70.3 Results 2011 Back To Race Results Page

Ironman Lake Stevens 70.3 Results 2011 Back To Ironstruck Home Page

Ironman Louisville Results 2011

As race day approached it looked like it would be just a handful of favorites looking to top the Ironman Louisville results 2011

There are many things about Ironman Louisville that make it a very unique member of the Ironman family that has grown to around 30 races around the world as the 2011 edition of this event takes place.

The race takes place in and around much of Louisville's most scenic areas that include the city of LaGrange, Waterfront park and Oldham and Henry Counties.

It's a point-to-point swim that has a very unique format. So unique in fact that I believe it is the only Ironman race in the world that has this method of swim start.

It's actually a time trial swim start where it's first come first served. The swim begins with age-group triathletes jumping off the dock at Tumbleweed Southwest Grill to begin the swim and making their way to Great Lawn 2.4 miles away.

The pros will start as a group before the age-groupers his the water.

The swim sees the competitors swim against the current alongside Towhead Island before heading back down to transition with the current.

Just a little different than the 3000+ plus mass swim start at Ironman Canada that takes place the day as Louisville.

The bike course is two loops and cyclists have until 6 p.m. to finish the Ironman Louisville bike course or they will not be allowed to begin the run. Triathletes will pass by the Lousiville Slugger factory, the University of Louisville, and Churchill Downs home of the Kentucky Derby.

The run is also 2-loops and the finish line is at Fourth Street Live and may be one of the most impressive finish line areas in the world of Ironman.

The temperatures are predicted to be a little less hot than previous years.

PRO MENPaul AmbroseChris McDonaldRomain GuillaumeJustin DaerrPatrick EvoeDaniel BretscherDave HarjuRichard WygandLogan FranksIvan AlbanoBojan Maric

Paul Ambrose has been having a great season and is the returning to Lousiville to defend his title and is the favorite going into the race.

PRO WOMEN

Nina KraftJacqui GordonCindy LewisTerra CastroMarie DanaisMarilyn McDonaldAmanda McKenzieDonna PhelanStephanie JonesHillary Biscay

The women's race may come down to Hillary Biscay and Nina Kraft who appear to be the favorites in the field.

On the men's side it is hard to go against Paul Ambrose who is having a great year. It really appears to be a three-man race with Chris McDonald and Romain Guillaume the other two most serious podium threats as the race begins.

THE RACE

As the athletes reach the swim/bike transition, the race is already unfolding the way you would think it would with all the pre-race favorites in both pro categories at of near the front.

TOP TEN MEN IN THE SWIM1 47:10 3 Romain Guillaum Montmorot FRA2 47:13 0:03 1 Paul Ambrose Boulder CO AUS3 51:47 4:37 2 Chris McDonald Tucson AZ AUS4 53:39 6:29 4 Justin Daerr Boulder CO USA5 54:16 7:07 6 Patrick Evoe Austin TX USA6 55:25 8:15 9 Dave Harju Quebec QC CAN7 55:42 8:32 12 Ivan Albano J Mogi Mirim BRA8 57:37 10:27 13 Bojan Maric Clermont FL9 1:02:27 15:17 11 Logan Franks Plattsburgh NY USA10 1:03:38 16:28 10 Richard Wygand Wellington FL BRA

TOP TEN WOMEN IN THE SWIM1 50:14 21 Nina Kraft Clermont FL2 50:15 0:01 35 Hillary Biscay Tucson AZ USA3 54:07 3:54 24 Jackie Arendt Madison WI4 54:52 4:39 30 Donna Phelan Encinitas CA CAN5 55:40 5:26 27 Marie Danais Quebec City QC CAN6 57:41 7:28 26 Terra Castro Austin TX USA7 1:01:24 11:10 32 Stephanie Jones Dulles VA USA8 1:02:16 12:02 28 Marilyn McDonald Tucson CO CAN9 1:02:18 12:04 25 Cindy Lewis Toronto ON CAN10 1:02:21 12:08 29 Amanda McKenzie Bend OR AUS

As expected, the bike saw the two top male pro favorites begin to put a gap between themselves and thrid place as they reach they leave the run/bike transition.

TOP FIVE MEN AT THE END OF THE BIKE1 5:29:47 2 Chris McDonald Tucson AZ AUS2 5:29:49 0:03 1 Paul Ambrose Boulder CO AUS3 5:35:53 6:07 6 Patrick Evoe Austin TX USA4 5:39:16 9:30 4 Justin Daerr Boulder CO USA5 5:39:48 10:01 3 Romain Guillaum Montmorot FRA

TOP SEVEN WOMEN AT THE END OF THE BIKE 1 6:18:57 21 Nina Kraft Clermont FL2 6:21:38 2:41 24 Jackie Arendt Madison WI3 6:22:16 3:19 30 Donna Phelan Encinitas CA CAN4 6:22:59 4:02 28 Marilyn McDonald Tucson CO CAN5 6:25:01 6:04 26 Terra Castro Austin TX USA6 6:26:11 7:15 32 Stephanie Jones Dulles VA USA7 6:27:08 8:11 35 Hillary Biscay Tucson AZ USA

It's a bit of a surprise to see Hillary fall so far off the pace and perhaps this will not be her day, as Nina Kraft heads out onto the run with over a 3-minute lead. However when it comes to an Ironman Marathon three minutes can disappear very quickly and there are three women pros within striking distance of Nina.

As the men's race winds down, Chris MacDonald holds off Patrick Evoe who has always done well at this race and has his best finish here.

However Chris MacDonald is the winner of Ironman Lousisville 2009.1 8:27:36 2 Chris McDonald Tucson AZ AUS2 8:30:35 2:59 6 Patrick Evoe Austin TX USA3 8:34:35 6:59 4 Justin Daerr Boulder CO USA4 9:20:01 52:25 9 Dave Harju Quebec QC CAN5 9:21:39 54:03 12 Ivan Albano J Mogi Mirim BRA

Nina Kraft stays strong through-out the run and eventually it was only Jackie Arendt who challenged her, but it is not enough and Nina tops the Ironman Louisville results 2011 for the pro women.

I'm not sure what happened to Hillary Biscay. Her swim was good, but she fell off the pace out on the bike course.

THE TOP 7 PRO WOMEN FINISHERS1 9:38:14 21 Nina Kraft Clermont FL2 9:40:28 2:14 24 Jackie Arendt Madison WI3 9:52:40 14:27 32 Stephanie Jones Dulles VA USA4 10:01:34 23:21 30 Donna Phelan Encinitas CA CAN5 10:02:40 24:26 26 Terra Castro Austin TX USA6 10:04:14 26:00 25 Cindy Lewis Toronto ON CAN7 10:06:47 28:33 28 Marilyn McDonald Tucson CO CAN

TOP TEN MALE AGE-GROUPERS IN THE SWIM1 48:58 Mark Hurst 2 49:31 Bradley Gionet 3 49:40 Glen Flint 4 49:59 Pierre-Marc 5 50:04 Brian Kaminski6 50:05 John Kolstoe 7 50:09 Juan Valencia8 50:12 Travis Deckert 9 50:24 Jay Calvert 1051:51John Hauserman

TOP TEN FEMALE AGE-GROUPERS IN THE SWIM1 49:03 Haley Chura 2 51:18 Ellie Lindauer 3 51:29 Kathryn Thomas 4 51:50 Betty Janelle 5 51:57 Meghan Thiel 6 53:46 Ashley Clifford 7 54:03 Dale Colman 8 54:12 Harmony Zeller9 54:21 5:18 319 Jordan McCammond10 55:21 6:18 570 Linda Robb

TOP TEN AGE-GROUP FEMALES1 10:20:45 249 K. Grogan Minneola Estate FL USA2 10:26:50 6:05 128 Kathryn Thomas Stephens City VA USA3 10:31:36 10:51 86 Ashley Clifford Carmel IN USA4 10:32:36 11:52 485 Ashley Naelon Davidson NC USA5 10:36:59 16:14 102 Haley Chura Atlanta GA USA6 10:41:59 21:14 219 Andrea Dragone Plymouth Meetin PA USA7 10:42:02 21:18 379 Kristin Schwiege Winter Park FL USA8 10:43:12 22:27 227 Lidia Fluhme New York NY USA9 10:48:08 27:23 444 Olwen Huxley Washington DC USA10 10:48:43 27:58 284 Emily Kelly Louisville KY USA

TOP TEN AGE-GROUP MALES1 9:07:25 924 Brian Scheall Bradenton FL USA2 9:10:30 3:05 1637 Jason McMillia Cedar Park TX USA3 9:21:43 14:18 1389 Andrew Imrie Toronto ON CAN4 9:23:22 15:57 1085 Charley Massey N Topsail Beach NC USA5 9:24:39 17:14 733 Frederic Boivin Sherbrooke QC CAN6 9:26:47 19:22 754 Kristopher Spoth Polk City IA USA7 9:29:05 21:40 2180 Keish Doi Cupertino CA USA8 9:29:50 22:25 1472 Brady Dehoust Oak Hill VA USA9 9:30:59 23:34 1979 Brian Kaminski Bowling Green OH USA10 9:31:00 23:35 815 Tom Goth Poughkeepsie NY USA

Ironman Mallorca 70.3 Results 2011

Andreas Raelert and Emma-kate Lidbury top Ironman Mallorca 70.3 Results 2011 in the inaugural race for this newest member of the Ironman 70.3 family.

There is nothing like an inaugural Ironman or Ironman 70.3 and it's a special time for race organisers, volunteers, and the athletes who have chosen to take part in the event.

what a great setting as well for Ironman Mallorca 70.3. This stunning island in the Mediterranean Sea has long been a great training destination for some of the world's best triathletes, and not some of then get to race there.

Thomas Hellriegel and Andreas Raelert, both from Germany, are two of the favorites as the race gets set to take place.

Faris Al-Sultan appears to be the other threat to make the top of the podium.

For the pro women, it seems to be more of a wide open race. Some of the favorites going into the race are Erica Csomor from Hungary, Heleen Bij de Vaate from the Netherlands, and Britain's Yvette Grice.

Unlike some of the Ironman 70.3 races this season it's quite a big pro women's field and there are several others including Meike Kebs from Germany who can end up on top of the Ironman Mallorca 70.3 results 2011.

This will no doubt be one of those Ironman races that will become a favorite in years to come. This year alone there are over 1800 athletes entered from over 45 countries.

There is little doubt it will a very enjoyable swim, but the bike course is a tough one and really favors the climbers.

THE RACE IS ON

It was no surprise at all to see the favorite Andreas Raelert be first out of the water in this race. His time of 22:35 was a good one and the only one that seemed able to stay with him was Bertrand Billard.

What was surprising however was to see that Billard was able to stay with him on a tough bike course as they hit the run together.

Basically it looked like it would come down to the one who could sustain what was sure to be a very brisk pace out on the run course.

It looked to be a two-man race at this point as the nearest one to them holding down third place was almost 5 minutes behind at the bike/run transition.

TOP FIVE MEN AFTER THE SWIM AND RUN

1 Andreas Raelert 00:22:35 03:08:01 2 Bertrand Billard 00:22:42 03:08:02 3 Michael Gohner 00:24:55 03:12:35 4 Jonas Djurback 00:22:39 03:16:07 5 Horst Reichel 00:22:31 03:16:17

For the pro women Emma-Kate Lidbury had an excellent swim and had a good lead leaving transition.

A great bike ride by Silvia Felt pulled her virtually even with Lidbury and Erika Csomor as they headed out onto the run course and the Ironman Mallorca 70.3 results 2011 for the pro women were pretty much up in the air at this point.

TOP FIVE WOMEN AFTER THE SWIM AND RUN1 Emma-Kate Lidbury 00:24:54 03:40:50 2 Erika Csomor 00:26:41 03:39:35 3 Silvia Felt 00:29:14 03:37:50 4 Johanna Daumas 00:23:38 03:43:40 5 Sophie De Groote 00:26:39 03:42:11

Andreas Raelert prove to be too strong in this race and won by four minutes over Bertrand Billard.

Andreas Raelert................3:49:49Bertrand Billard...............3:53:03 Sylvain Sudrie.................3:56:33 Michael G?hner.................3:59:00 Horst Reichel..................3:59:34

For the women it could not have been much closer. What a great race!

Right up until the final kilometer it could have been anyone's race, but Emma-Kate proved to be the strongest and tops the Ironman Mallorca 70.3 results 2011 for the pro women.

It was a great result for Emma as this was a strong field and the close finishing times bear that out.

Emma-Kate Lidbury............4:33:18 Erica Csomor.................4:33:50 Silvia Felt..................4:34:04Johanna Daumas...............4:35:03 Sophie De Goote..............4:37:07

Ironman Mallorca 70.3 Results 2011 Back To Race Results Page

Ironman Mallorca 70.3 Results 2011 Back To Ironstruck Home Page

Ironman Mont-Tremblant 2012

Ironman Mont-Tremblant promises to be a stunning new venue and a welcome member of the Ironman family.

It sure has been a long time coming, but with the announcement of Ironman Mont-Tremblant finally there is a second sanctioned Ironman Triathlon in Canada.

It's hard to believe that in a country this big that it took over 27 years to figure out that there plenty of demand for a second Ironman.

This is especially true when one considers that there are now 9 Ironman races in the Continental United States and one more in Hawaii with probably a few more U.S.-based races on the horizon over the next few years.

IRONMAN U.S. RACESIronman Coeur d'AleneIronman ArizonaIronman TexasIronman St. GeorgeIronman Lake PlacidIronman LouisvilleIronman New YorkIronman WisconsinIronman FloridaIronman Hawaii-World Championships

Although it was just under 2,900 who started Ironman Canada 2011, there were actually about 3,200 who entered.

It remains to be seen how this will effect the growth of Ironman Penticton. It has basically grown unabated now for a few decades to the point where the swim and even early kilometers of the bike course are getting very crowded.

You simply have to draw the line somewhere or go to wave swim starts in Penticton and you just know that will never happen.

While taking part in the Ironman Expo in Penticton and doing signings for my Ironstruck books I talked with several athletes who had planned to take part in the Penticton Ironman in 2012, but instead signed up for Ironman Mont-Tremblant when it was announced. They were from Montreal so it was probably an easy decision.

Also, there were many Eastern Canadian triathletes who would take part in Ironman Lake Placid because it's just simply too expensive or logistically difficult for many to make the trip from Ontario, Quebec, or the Maritime Provinces all the way to Penticton.

It was far easier to enter Lake Placid and drive across the U.S. border. Actually there will now be three Ironman races within relatively easy driving distance for Eastern Canadians. Ironman Lake Placid, Ironman New York, and now Ironman Mont-Tremblant.

Something else I find very interesting is the timing of the two events. They will take place exactly one week apart in August 2012. If that's so, i

It's a very smart plan because it just may take some of the pressure off of Ironman Canada.

The fact that Ironman Mont-Tremblant sold out 2700 spots in just 10-days(and to athletes from 51 countries no less)proves that many triathletes have been waiting for a second race in Canada for a long time.

I would love to take Ironstruck to Ironman Mont-Tremlant and be part of the expo in 2012 but it is a 8,028 km. round-trip from Calgary to Quebec City and then most likely another 60 kms to Mont-Tremblant.

I have never taken Ironstruck East of Calgary and it`s about time.

But as I am dealing with 5 different books it means flying with hundreds of pounds of books and all the other necessary expo gear so the only real option is to drive. I estimate that it would mean 4 days of driving one way.

My God. We live in such a big country.

THE IRONMAN MONT-TREMBLANT COURSE

There are two things that I wondered right away as soon as I heard about this race. Where is the swim? Most likely the water will be Mountain run-off and does that mean a cold-water swim?

Also, being a ski resort one would expect that the area would be hilly and this may end up being a very challenging bike course.

There's not a thing wrong with a challenging bike course but as it's a resort the roads are likely well used and what sort of condition are they in for the 8 million dollars(or more) worth of fragile triathlon bikes that will descend on Mont-Tremblant next Summer?

You might fool triathletes once, but you will not fool them twice. Take Ironman Calgary for instance. I live in Calgary and was very excited when we had the inaugural Ironman Calgary 70.3 a few years back.

I thought at the time that this would be a showcase race....a destination race because we are so close to Banff, Canmore, Lake Louise and the stunning Rocky Mountains.

That's exactly how it started out in the inaugural event. People were anxious to be a part of this new Ironman 70.3.

The problem is, the water in Ghost Lake is mountain run-off and usually pretty cold and the race starts before 7 a.m. in the morning and has two different transition areas 90 kms apart.

This may account for the entry numbers dropping off substantially and who knows if there will even be an Ironman Calgary after the current contract runs out?

Personally I believe it can still be a great race. If only they could move the swim to a warmer body of water(Glenmore Reservoir perhaps)start the race at 7 a.m. and have just one transition area.

The success and longevity of any Ironman race seems to depend on two main things. You need triathletes to love the race so much they return year after year and you need those same triathletes to tell other triathletes just how great the race is.

If a triathlete has a negative experience he will not return and is not likely to suggest to others that they enter the race. On the contrary he could actually tell them to avoid it all together.

This in a nutshell explains why Ironman Canada is so successful. Triathletes return year after year and tell other triathletes they just have to enter Ironman Canada. I was entered in Ironman Canada ten times myself over the years.

IRONMAN CANADA SWIM START 2011

It is an amazing event that has showcased triathletes from all over the world for almost 3 decades.

It really looks like the Ironman Mont-Tremblant organizers have this figured out. As Race Director Dominique Piche`said in his own word about the venue....

"Everything is close by, and you?ll be able to look around 360 degrees and see the finish, the Ironman village, the transition zone, the bike in-bike out ... all the elements so central to the Ironman racing experience."

The swim will take place in Lake Tremblant but I have not yet found a chart on the average water temperatures for August and I will add them in as soon as I find out. There is pretty much little doubt that it will be a wetsuit swim.

It appears that it will be a one-loop swim.

As expected the bike course will take the triathletes through forest and mountain terrain.

It will be a two-loop bike course.

At the recent Ironman Canada I talked with triathletes from Montreal who know the Mont-Tremblant area well and confirm that it will be a challenging bike course and that the roads need work.

Race organizers are already on top of that and the Quebec government is going to re-pave the majority of the bike course in time for the inaugural event in 2012.

As Dominique states........

?That?s going to give us wider roads and bike paths on each side so when the athletes come to train and acclimate they are going to have that bike path to secure them.?

Better yet, the bike course will also be completely closed to 95 percent of traffic and they are closing highway 117 northbound, which will give participants 40 km of complete highway access.

The Canadian government is also paving other highway portions at the far end of where the course stops. ?The beauty is, there are so many possibilities,? said Pich?. ?So we will wait to hear what our participants say and will make it the best course for what they want for Tremblant afterwards.?

The two-loop 26.2 run course goes through the old village of Mont-Tremblant, adding a European feel to the course. Athletes are also scheduled to run on the Le P?tit Train Du Nord, a former railway bed that is now the longest linear park in Canada.

I did my first Ironman way back in Kona in 1984 and have been involved with this amazing event in way or another for over 27 years and often I get a feel for all things Ironman.

I'm happy to say that I finally got my tattoo while in Penticton for Ironman Canada 2011.

The vibes I get from Ironman Mont-Tremblant is that this might well become one of the finest Ironman venues in the world if they are true to their word and prepare the course as promised.

The organizers obviously have the passion which is the main ingredient for success in just about any endeavor in this world.

So now I just have to find a way to get to Mont-Tremblant and make Ironstruck part of their inaugural expo. The cost and the effort just to get there will be prohibitive and then there is the cost of an expo booth and a place to stay when I get there on top of that.

A lot can happen in a year and there is always a way to make things happen.

Best of luck to all those who are involved with the creation of the inaugural Ironman Mont-Tremblant. It will be an exciting time when August 19, 2012 roles around and this stunningly beautiful corner of Quebec will be front and center in the world of Ironman.

Ironman Muncie 70.3 Results 2011

Several top triathletes will be on hand to take on the newest Ironman 70.3 edition with hopes of topping Ironman Muncie 70.3 race results 2011.

This in the inaugural Ironman Muncie 70.3 and brings the number of Ironman 70.3 races in the world to 43.

This also includes the Ironman 70.3 World Championship race held in Clearwater, Florida.

It should be no surprise that this race has attracted many great triathletes, but the Ironman Muncie 70.3 results 2011 are certainly up in the air. This is especially true on the women's side.

Muncie might be new to the Ironman 70.3 family, but it is by no means the first time Muncie has entertained a triathlon.

As a matter of fact the 31-year run of the Muncie triathlon makes it the longest running triathlon in the United States.

As the race gets set to begin, here is a look at the course and some of the athletes who are favored to win.

THE COURSE

One thing that appears certain is that the winning times will be very fast.

The swim that takes place in the Prairie Creek Reservoir is a single loop course and the temperatures are expected to be in the very comfortable 77-79F range.

However the biggest reason to expect a fast winning time is the flat and fast out and back bike course.

It certainly is not a course for those pros who excel at climbing as there is barely 200 feet of elevation gain.

The run course that follows the South side of the reservoir has rolling hills and may not be as flat as the bike, but will most likely do little to slow down the top pros.

Ben Hoffman is the favorite going into the race on the strength of his recent win in Ironman Boise 70.3.

Challenges for top spot will most likely come from Luke McKenzie, Bryan Rhodes and Rich Allen. Actually Luke is my pick to win as he needs the pro points if he hopes to be in Hawaii 2011. It all depends if he is on form yet.

Ben Hoffman is really using this race more as a spring-board to Ironman Lake Placid, a race that he won in 2010. He is in top form.

On the women's side, great things will be expected from Leanda Cave from Great Britain after the great race she had coming in second behind Chrisse Wellington at Ironman Kansas 70.3.

However Kelly Williamson is also in great form. Kelly won in San Juan and Buffalo Springs. Better yet Kelly had a spectacular time of 9:07:54 at Ironman Texas.

Melanie McQuaid is capable of a big race here, but has not been in the best of form this year and may come up a bit short.

Jesse Jacobs and Jessica Myers are also serious contenders for a podium spot in the women's pro field.

It's a great field of both pro men and women and soon we will know the official Ironman Muncie 70.3 Results 2011.

PRO MEN IRONMAN MUNCIE 70.3 RESULTS 2011

The outcome on the men's side is really not a big surprise as Ben Hoffman has been in great form and this race bodes well for his attempt to win Ironman Lake Placid 2011.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment is Luke McKenzie who seems to be off form but will most likely improve as the season progresses.Ben Hoffman.......00:26:08 02:01:11 01:18:31 03:48:14Mike Caiazzo......00:28:26 02:05:56 01:16:07 03:53:12Rich Allen........00:26:11 02:05:34 01:20:13 03:54:18Joe Umphenour.....00:25:49 02:08:51 01:18:13 03:55:12Daniel Bretscher..00:27:17 02:08:22 01:17:36 03:55:36Torsten Abel......00:26:13 02:08:11 01:19:28 03:56:40Joe McDaniel......00:27:13 02:08:19 01:19:06 03:57:08Luke McKenzie.....00:26:15 02:08:22 01:20:49 03:57:47Brent Poulsen.....00:27:15 02:11:02 01:18:29 03:59:17Stanislav Krylov..00:25:48 02:05:59 01:25:33 03:59:55

PRO WOMEN IRONMAN MUNCIE 70.3 RESULTS 2011

This would have to rank as a surpise and what a great performance by Mellissa Rollinson to beat pro women the calibre of Kelly williamson and Leanda Cave.Melissa Rollison..00:30:10 02:16:47 01:19:19 04:08:48Kelly Williamson..00:27:23 02:22:06 01:20:21 04:12:19Leanda Cave.......00:27:19 02:14:34 01:28:11 04:12:35Margaret Shapiro..00:28:32 02:18:43 01:28:45 04:18:20Dede Griesbauer...00:27:24 02:18:46 01:31:52 04:20:55Jessica Meyers....00:30:14 02:21:31 01:28:25 04:22:35

This was an exceptionally strong performance by Melissa because as you can see by the splits, she was almost 3 minutes behind the leaders out of the water.

Only Leanda Cave had a faster bike time than Melissa and the bike was basically where Kelly Williamson lost this race.

She was 8 minutes slower than Leanda Cave in the bike and 6 minutes slower than Melissa.

Leanda Cave simply did not have it in the run today and it was a solid race all-around by Melissa Rollison that earned her the victory and the top of Ironman Muncie 70.3 results 2011.

Ironman Muncie 70.3 Results 2011 Back To Ironman Triathlon Race Results Page

Ironman Muncie 70.3 Results 2011 Back To Ironstruck Home Page

Ironman Philippines 70.3 Results 2011

The field of pros is small, but the top spot in the Ironman Philippines 70.3 Results 2011 for both the men and women pros was hotly contested by some of the best.

Like many Ironman events these days, Ironman Philippines 70.3 is sold out and actually has a waiting list of over 100 people waiting for a spot in the race.

Even though it is only in it's third season. Although it is a very small field of pros it should prove to be a very competitive race between some of the very best.

There are actually 5 Ironman 70.3 races taking place on August 14, 2011 and there are pros spread all over the globe as many of them are trying to earn some last minute points in order to make it to the World Championships that are fast approaching.

MALE PROS DAN BROWNCAMERON BROWNERIC FELBABELLUKE GILLMERJUSTIN GRANGERPETE JACOBSJESSE THOMAS

FEMALE PROSBELINDA GRANGERKATYA MARIE MEYERSAMANDA STEVENSBREE WEE

So who is going to win today?

Last year's winner Peter Jacobs is here to defend his title and can expect a stiff challenge from the likes of Cameron Brown and Justin Granger.

My pick will be Cameron Brown to win as he certainly has the credentials and also because he lives in the Philippines and will be used to the environment.

For the women, my pick is going to be Bree Wee to win today, but of course Belinda Granger could very easily take the win as well.

If Belinda is allowed to get away on the bike she may never be caught in a 70.3 race, so Bree will have to try and stay close.

THE RACE

It didn't take Peter Jacobs long to assert himself. He already had a sizable two-minute lead after one lap of the two-loop swim course and maintained that lead even more by the time he left the swim/bike transition at the end of the swim.

Even from the beginning it became obvious that Peter Jacobs had his sights set on having back-to-back victories in Ironman Philippines 70.3.

Cameron Brown was 2 minutes behind Jacobs as he headed out on the bike course.

Amanda Stevens had a great swim and was second out of the water over-all.

SWIM TIMES PRO MENPeter Jacobs..............24:17Jesse Thomas..............27:26Justin Granger............27:25Cameron Brown.............27:38Luke Gilmer...............27:42Erich Felababel...........30:38Dan Brown.................33:43

SWIM TIMES-PRO WOMENAmanda Stevens............24:56Belinda Granger...........27:40Bree Wee..................27:40Katya Marie Myers.........36:14

Peter Jacobs stretched his lead out by over four minutes over Jesse Jacobs by the end of the bike leg.

All the other pro men were far back and at this point it was just a matter of how much Peter Jacobs was going to win by.

Belinda Granger made up some time on Amanda Stevens on the bike course and at the headed out onto the run course it turning into a duel between the two as the others were far back.

BIKE TIMES-PRO MEN

Peter Jacobs...........2:05:55Jesse Thomas...........2:09:34Erich Felbabel.........2:15:29Cameron Brown..........2:19:26Justin Granger.........2:23:25Luke Gilmer............2:56:03

BIKE TIMES-PRO WOMENBelinda Granger........2:22:54Amanda Stevens.........2:23:19Katya Marie Meyers.....2:27:06Bree Wee...............2:30:09

Peter Jacobs is the winner of the Ironman philippines 70.3.

Cameron Brown had an amazing run and made up 10 minutes on Jesse Thomas and just missed second place my 24 seconds.

Belinda Granger pulled away from Amanda Stevens on the run course and went on to win by over 2 minutes.

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Ironman Philippines 70.3 Results Back To Ironstruck Home Page

Ironman Racine 70.3 Results 2011

Paul Ambrose and Christie Sym top the Ironman Racine 70.3 Results 2011.

Considering recent performances by both Craig Alexander and fellow Australian Paul Ambrose as they head into Ironman Racine 70.3 it was really shaping up to be a two-man race.

I have to admit that I really did not think that Craig Alexander had rounded into form in time to be a threat to win and Ironman Coeur d'Alene 2011 but he did that and more.

Despite dealing with some health issues early on in the season, Craig set three records in Ironman CDA. He had a record bike, run, and winning time in a dominating performance.

So obviously he is in great form as the second running of Ironman Racine 70.3 gets set to go.

However I would not discount his fellow Australian Paul Ambrose who has also had an exceptional year and is all set to win a race. Paul comes off strong second place finishes in Ironman Mooseman 70.3 and Ironman Rhode Island 70.3

He was second in the Mooseman by a mere 7 seconds and was 32 seconds behind David Kahn in Rhode Island.

Paul is my pick to top the Ironman Racine 70.3 results 2011 for the men and one way or another will most likely be sharing the podium with Craig Alexander.

PRO MEN REGISTERED FOR THE RACE tentative

Paul AmbroseTim BerkelBryan RhodesStephen HackettRyan RauZach RubleNick WaningerDaniel BretscherJeff PaulChris WichertPatrick EvoeJeff TarkowskiCesar ValeraBrandon JessopRyan BatesBilly EdwardsRobert WadeFraser CartmellJames HadleyCraig Alexander

In the women's race it was pretty much a given that Jessica Jacobs would be the favorite going in.

If she is on form, Jessica should have the lead coming off the bike as it seems to be her strongest event and she is a strong, capable runner as well.

However it has been a tumultuous year for the 2010 Ironman Florida champion. She has had to move a few times this year. The first time was to El paso, Texas and the second time to Green Bay.

It seems that there is always an Australian woman in an Ironman race just about anywhere who is capable of providing an upset. This race is no different.

Christie Sym has been on or near the podium in her last few races. As strong as Jessica is, my pick to come out on top of the Ironman Racine 70.3 results 2011 is Christie.

PRO WOMEN REGISTERED FOR THE RACEtentative

Jessica JacobsMorgan ChaffinKelzie BeebeChristie SymJessica ChongKristin AndrewsTerra CastroNatasha YaremczukMichelle WuDonna Phelan

THE COURSE

The swim is a bit of a change from most Ironman races these days. It is a point-to-point swim and takes place on North Beach.

The water temperatures are historically on the colder side and it's pretty certain it will be a wetsuit swim.

The 56-mile bike course has something for everyone with it's flat stages, rolling hills, and a few more difficult climbs thrown into the mix.

The course is a double loop and is fast and flat. Not only will it take the triathletes along the shores of Lake Michigan, but they get to run through the Racine Zoo as well.

IT'S RACE DAY

Paul Ambrose, Fraser Carmell, Byan Rhodes, and Craig Alexander all came out of the water close together.

The bike would probably tell the story of this race for the pro men.

THE TOP FIVE MEN IN THE SWIMBryan Rhodes............24:20Paul Ambrose............24:26Stephen Hackett.........24:28Fraser Cartmell.........24:32Craig Alexander.........24:46

THE BIKE

It was all Paul Ambrose on the bike and by the time he left the bike/run transition he had almost a five minute lead on Bryan Rhodes.

Craig Alexander was far back and it was sort of expected as he comes off an Ironman win in Ironman Coeur d'Alene and there did not seem to be much recovery time.

That's the main reason I could not pick his to win this race and went with Paul Ambrose instead who is in great form.

THE RUN

Paul Ambrose was never really challenged in this race and won by around six minutes ove Tim Berkel who had a great race to finish in second place.

Craig Alexander was well back, but will most likely have a good rest now and come back strong in his next race.

Patrick Evoe also raced well and won a close battle over Fraser Carmell for the final podium spot.

FINAL RESULTS-TOP TEN PRO MEN

Paul Ambrose............3:51:50Tim Berkel..............3:57:32Patrick Evoe............4:03:14Fraser Cartmell.........4:04:58Bryan Rhodes............4:06:28Jeff Paul...............4:07:45Tom Francis.............4:08:05Craig alexander.........4:09:52Robert Wade.............4:13:40Zach Ruble..............4:14:22

For the pro women, Donna Phelan had the lead by just 8 seconds over Michell Wu coming out of the water.

Christie Sym was third coming out of the water and stayed close to the leaders with a 2:26:33 bike.

It was a great run that made the difference as Christie Sym end up on top of the Ironam Racince 70.3 results 2011 for the pro women.

Surprisingly Jessica Jacobs was still out on the course and was holding down fourth place at last report.

It was a great race for second place that came down to the last few hundred meters of the run.

THE TOP THREE PRO WOMENChristie Sym...........4:28:54Kristin Andrews........4:33:26Michelle Wu............4:33:48

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