Triathlon Racing

On what appears to have been a fast course in Clearwater, FL last Saturday, both Lydia and Justin followed up their impressive races in Kona with great results in this race. Cary Craig and Paige Stewart also had great races -- Cary set a PR and Paige was the youngest female competitor in the field! This was the inaugural event for the 70.3 World Championships. Of the 1361 that entered the water, 1322 crossed the finish line.

Congratulations Lydia, Justin, Cary, and Paige! For full results go to www.ironman.com

Jamima Iley was among the 2192 competitors that entered the water on Saturday at IM Florida. By the end of the day 2109 crossed the finish line. She finished her day with a strong run.

Splits: 1:10:05 / 6:12:49 / 3:50:52
Congratulations Jamima! For full results go to www.ironman.com

This year-end race featured an Olympic-distance race and a Sprint-distance race. We had at least one Mad Cow give it a go on Saturday on the Olympic-distance course. Todd Dooley was one of 650 individual competitors finishing this race.

Congratulations on the podium spot, Todd!

Once again our Kona contingent represented us well this year. We had one Kona first-timer (Justin) who led the way in impressive fashion; and three Kona veterans not far behind: Dennis had a personal best; Lydia posted a podium-spot result; and Diana who displayed the true spirit of being fortunate enough to race in this event. 1700 athletes entered the water with 1627 crossing the finish line.

Congratulations to each of you! For full results go to www.ironman.com.

Paul Griffin and Dave Maycon braved the chilly waters of the S.F. Bay on Sunday in this unique race. The format was 1.5mi Swim / 2.5mi Run / 13mi Bike / 10k Run. The 2.5mi run covered the distance between exiting the water and T1. I'm sure this was a welcomed jaunt after swimming from Alcatraz.

Last weekend a number of Mad Cows made their way into Discovery Park in West Sacramento to compete in this sprint distance triathlon. The format was .5mi Swim / 15mi Bike / 3mi Run. Awards were given to the top five finishers in each age group so we clearly had a good day of racing! 425 athletes finished including relay teams.

A super-sprint distance race consisting of a 200yd Swim / 5mi Bike / 1mi Run was also staged. Richard Park competing in his first triathlon finished 6th amongst 60 in the field with a time of 33:02. Congratulations Richard!

This past Sunday, at least two Mad Cows were in Santa Cruz competing in this Olympic distance race. Todd was in the top five percent overall! 856 triathletes finished the race including relay teams.

Jean-Marc competed in this race over the weekend and managed to capture a podium spot. This was an Olympic distance race. 301 triathletes finished the race.

On 9/17, Todd Dooley and Paul Griffin were in SoCal competing in this race. The format was .5mi Swim / 18mi Bike / 4mi Run.

Two Mad Cows - Matt Roper and Kristin Tennessen, were in Madison last weekend to compete in IM Wisconsin. This race typically treats athletes to hot and humid conditions, however this year the conditions were rainy, windy, and cold for the 2439 who entered the water. At the end of the day, 2172 athletes crossed the finish line. Matt, unfortunately, had to retire halfway during the run due to hypothermia. Kristin had a nice race finishing well within the top-half of her age group.

1:18:48 Swim / 7:05:16 Bike / 5:02:43 Run

This year's race was the collegiate championship for Ironman-distance triathlon and Kristin, along with former member, Julia Svoboda represented UC Davis competing in the women's collegiate division. They posted the fastest combined time in their division making them collegiate IM champions.

Congratulations to IM champions Kristin and Julia!

Several Mad Cows were in Granite Bay over the weekend competing in this TBF-sponsored race - with a few earning podium spots. The format was .75mi Swim / 14mi Bike / 5mi Run. There were 205 finishers.

At least three Mad Cows ventured into Pacific Grove this past weekend to compete in this popular Olympic-distance race. There were 957 finishers, including relay teams.

Todd and Curtis' finishes were in the top five percent of the field - congratulations on a great race! For full results go here.

At least two Mad Cows were in Los Angeles this past weekend to compete in this Olympic-distance race. There were 1406 finishers, including relay teams.

At least two Mad Cows made their way into Santa Cruz this past weekend to compete in this end-of-season classic Half-Ironman race.

Last Saturday, Paul Griffin represented the Mad Cows and his country in Lausanne, Switzerland competing in the ITU World Cup triathlon. This was an Olympic-distance race with some of the world's best short course athletes in the field.

At least a couple of Mad Cows labored this past weekend competing in the Lake of the Pines triathlon in Auburn. The format was .6mi Swim / 15.2mi Bike / 3.8mi Run. There were approximately 145 in the field.

Last Sunday, TBF hosted this women-only event at Rancho Seco Park. The format was .5mi Swim / 16mi Bike / 3mi Run. At least two Mad Cows were among the 295 who finished the race. Both Paige and JoAnn had solid performances within their age groups and overall.

IM Canada is one of the premier Ironman races on the planet drawing more than 2300 competitors to this year's race. Cary Craig gave a gutsy performance on Sunday in Penticton, B.C. Her performance landed her in the top 10 percent of her age group and the top 30 percent of everyone who entered the water.

Swim- 1:16:18 / Bike- 6:04:17 / Run- 4:44:59

A handful of bovines toed-the-line for this popular race in Folsom last Sunday. The format was a 1.5k Swim / 40k Bike / 10k Run. There were 224 in the men's field.

We were well represented at this race, congratulations! For full results go here.

The second annual Aquabike (swim/bike) event took place on the Vineman course in Sonoma County this past weekend (which meant a 57.5-mile bike course). Curtis Fritz and Marianne Hernandez demonstrated their swim/bike skills amongst 51 other competitors in the men's race and 46 competitors in the women's race. Both were competitive despite their mechanical problems, (Curtis - 3 flat tires, and Marianne - sheared seat-post bolt causing a wobbly saddle). Marianne walked, not ran, away with first overall female.

Sinclair Yeh continued a season of solid performances this past weekend. He competed in the Full Vineman Ironman race in Sonoma County just two weeks after having a very nice finish in the Half-Vineman race. Marlene Simon (the creative half of the Wheelworks proprietorship) competed in her first Ironman race at Vineman. There were 196 in the men's field and 58 in the women's field.

Sinclair: Swim-1:04:23 / Bike-5:30:46 / Run-3:47(~)
Marlene: Swim-1:25:30 / Bike-6:23:50 / Run-5:06:30(~)
Nice job!

At least five Mad Cows were amongst the 164 women participating in Barb's race this past weekend. This is a women's only Half-IM race on the Vineman course in Sonoma County (which meant a 57.5-mile bike course).

These were some solid performance relative to their respective age group and the field overall - congratulations! For full results go to vineman.com.

Last Sunday, at least ten Mad Cows raced in TBF's final Tri-4-Real race of the season. The race format was 1.5k Swim / 40k Bike / 10k Run. As with the Tri-4-Fun, there were plenty of podium spots occupied by Mad Cows.

Top performances were achieved by the Mad Cows competing last Saturday in TBF's final Tri-4-Fun of the season. The format of the race was .5mi Swim / 16mi Bike / 3mi Run. There were 400 finishers.

Also on Saturday, Leon Basdekas gave another fine performance in the Sprint Duathlon race. The format of the race was 3mi Run / 16mi Run / 3mi Run. There were 54 finishers.

Several Mad Cows made it to Santa Rosa on Sunday to compete in the Vineman Half-Ironman. This is a qualifying event for both the IM World Championships and the 70.3 World Championships. There was approximately 1800 participants who toed-the-line for this one. There were some fine performances in near perfect weather conditions. Thankfully, this race was not staged the weekend before where the casualty rate may have been higher due to the obnoxious heat.

Former Mad Cow, Justin Hurd, had the top age group performance in a time of 4:16:04. Congratulations to everyone who competed especially to Diana and Sinclair for their top performances. For full results, go here.

Wendy Kimmel competed in this sprint distance race last Sunday at Lake Tulloch Resort in Copperopolis. The format for this hilly bike/run course was 600yd Swim / 18m Bike / 3.1mi Run. There were 26 women competing in the individual female division.

Way to go, Wendy! For full results go here.

A few Mad Cows braved the morning heat on Sunday to compete in the West Sacramento International Triathlon. The format was .75mi Swim / 16mi Bike / 4mi Run. We managed to occupy a few podium spots by the end of the day. There were 89 individual competitors finishing the race as well as finishers in other categories.

There were also a couple of relay teams. Val Park and her daughter, Anna, came in a close second at 1:59:50. Val swam, and biked with 9-year old Anna running the four-mile course in 44:33! I don't think I ran four miles until I was in my mid-twenties.

Eighteen-year old Paige Stewart was in Washington State on Sunday to compete in this 70.3 qualifier. She won her age group and earned a spot at the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater this November. Overall results are not available at this time; however, the race was limited to 1200 entries.

She smoked her only age-group competitor by more than 30 minutes. Congratulations, Paige! For full results go to http://www.lakestevens703.com.

On Sunday, Scott Fischbein competed in the Donner Lake International-distance triathlon. Also staged, was a sprint-distance race. These races, especially the international distance, attracts some of the areas top short course triathletes and this year was no different. There were 411 finishers.

On Saturday, a few Mad Cows participated in the 33rd edition of this run/bike/paddle event along Sacramento's American River Parkway. The format was a 5.82 mi Run / 12.5 mi Bike / 6.35 Kayak. There were many individual competitors and even more relay teams. A total of 830 individuals and teams posted finishing times.

Carlos Casillas' team competing in the Open Relay division took 2nd place out of 46 teams in the division, and 2nd overall. Finish time was 1:35:34.

Craig McMannis competed individually in the 40+ division and finished 4th out of 97 in the division and 24th overall. Finish time was 1:51:20.

The team including Jay Newton and Dennis Prizmich finished 4th out of 9 teams in the Fire/Police division and 78th overall. Finish time was 2:00:34.

Kim Pawlick's relay team competing in the 40+ division finished 2nd out of 15 teams in the division, 3rd out of the 44 women's teams, and 85th overall. Finish time was 2:01:21.

Bob Glynn competed individually in the 60+ division and finished 6th of 13 in the division and 477th overall. Finish time was 2:31:13.

Congratulations on some fine performances, everyone!

For full results go to www.thegreatrace.org

Last Sunday was the second of three of TBF's Tri-4-Real series of races. Following the lead of the fine performances turned in by the Mad Cows on Saturday's races, the Herd absolutely cleaned up on the podium on Sunday. It bordered on being unfair. The Tri-4-Real is a traditional Olympic-distance format (1.5k Swim / 40k Bike / 10k Run). Including relay teams, 239 finished this race.

Congratulations to everyone for representing the Herd so well; and especially to Greg for finishing first overall!

Many Herd members were roaming around Rancho Seco last weekend competing in the TBF race series. Saturday saw some strong performances in both the Sprint distance race and the duathlon. The Tri-4-Fun format was .5 mi Swim / 16 mi Bike / 3 mi Run. Including relay teams, 367 finished with some podium spots occupied by the Herd.

Congratulations, everyone on some very strong performances! In the Summer Sprint Duathlon series, at least a couple of Mad Cows were representing. The format was 3 mi Run / 16 mi Bike / 3 mi Run. Including relay teams, 50 finished this race.

Leon improved his time by three minutes from the June race in which he was the first overall finisher. Nice job, guys! For full results go here.

Last Sunday kicked off the first of three of TBF's Tri-4-Real series of races. Again, just like on Saturday for the Tri-4-Fun, a handful of Mad Cows made their way to Ranch Seco to race. The Tri-4-Real is a traditional Olympic-distance format (1.5k Swim / 40k Bike / 10k Run). Including relay teams, 337 finished with some podium spots occupied by the Herd.

Congratulations on the strong performances!

Now for something you won't see in the official results.Jean-Marc and Marianne waged their own "mano-y-womano" duel on Sunday. Since neither can run - due to preference - or it just hurts too much, they had their own Aquabike event. To make things fair, Jean-Marc started in the women's 40-44 wave - not that anyone noticed as I'm sure he fit right in. Anyway, Jean-Marc pulled ahead during the latter stages of the bike for the win. He can thank Farran for taking Marianne on a hilly 75-mile ride the day before. Stay tuned for the next Aquabike featuring these two, at a future Tri-4-Real.

Last Saturday kicked off the first of three of TBF's Tri-4-Fun, and the new Sprint Duathlon, series of races. A handful of Mad Cows made their way to Ranch Seco to race. The Tri-4-Fun format was .5 mi Swim / 16 mi Bike / 3 mi Run. Including relay teams, 434 finished with some podium spots occupied by the Herd.

Congratulations on some strong performances!

In the inaugural Summer Sprint Duathlon series, new Mad Cow - Leon Basdekas - tore it up en route to a first-place overall finish. The format was 3 mi Run / 16 mi Bike / 3 mi Run. Including relay teams, 44 finished this race.

Audrey Maher followed up her first-place finish at IM NZ in March, with another first-place on the podium last Saturday on the Big Island. She had a strong bike/run combo to win by a minute over the second-place finisher in her age group, and an 18-minute improvement from her race here last year. Edie Cameto also raced after a long layoff (~15 years!) from the sport. Edie took an impressive third-place spot on the podium within her age group. The weather was favorable for the 861 who toed-the-line. By the end of the day, 818 had crossed the finish line.

Congratulations on a super race Audrey and Edie! For full results go to www.honuhalfironman.com

At least two Mad Cows were among the ~1700 that plunged into the Bay on Sunday to compete in this classic event. The format is a 1.5-mile swim from Alcatraz Island to the Marina followed by a scenic, hilly 18-mile ride and concluding with an even more scenic, all terrain, 8-mile run. This race draws a competitive pro and amateur field and is nice to have on your race resume.

Great effort, guys! Congratulations on completing this tough test.

The weather was great, the course was a challenge, and the scene was festive on Saturday. Thanks to all of the Mad Cows who volunteered and offered support to those of us who raced. It is always nice to see someone you know at the aid stations, or out on the course cheering.

Congratulations to Paul for completing his first half-Ironman race. The svelte-looking Kiwi dove right in to long course racing with this one! Talk about tough, Cary rode half the bike course with a broken saddle. No doubt, she will be making a trip to Wheelworks this week. Special congratulations to the handful of bovines making it to the podium including Sinclair, Diana, Amy, and Cary. Lastly, there were several UCD Teams racing in the Male, Female, and Mixed Relay divisions. They brought plenty of enthusiasm to the race and did well amongst the other collegians.

312 started the race and 282 finished.

Congratulations again, everyone, and thanks to Brad - one of our sponsors, for putting on a great race! This race is very much worth considering for next year.

Four bovines stormed into the Oroville metropolis on Saturday to cleanup on the podium. The format for this race was .5mi Swim / 12mi. Bike / 3.1mi Run. There were 204 finishers.

Great job guys! For full results go to http://www.changeofpace.com.

Last Saturday, at least three Mad Cows competed in the second annual Napa Valley Half-Ironman race. (136 in men's field)

Congratulations on stellar performances!

The long course (half-ironman) race was held on Saturday and was followed by the Olympic-distance race on Sunday.

Congratulations everyone! This race always proves to be a tough test. In addition, competing in his first triathlon was new member Aaron Wright.

This course is also tough one.

TBF held its ICE Breaker Triathlon last Sunday. We had at least a half-dozen of the Herd suit-up for this one. (Please let me know if I have missed anyone!). The format was a .5 mi Swim / 14 mi Bike / 4 mi Run. 430 participants finished this race.

On Sunday, Kristen Nichols completed IM Arizona with perfect weather conditions in Tempe. She finished 1149 of 1723 overall, and 36 of 72 within her age group. 219 athletes did not finish this race.

1:40:06 Swim / 6:33:29 Bike / 5:32:21 Run
Congratulations on your finish, Kristen!

There were a few bovines racing in a couple TBF events this past weekend. The Granite Bay Duathlon took place on Saturday and the REAL Mountain Bike Triathlon took place on Sunday. The duathlon format was a 4-mi Run/14-mi Bike/4-mi Run. The format for the MTB Triathlon was .5-mi Swim/16-mi Bike/3.5-mi Run.

Congratulations guys! Please let me know if I have missed anyone. For full results: http://www.tbfracing.com/results/index.html

A few of the Herd ventured into Oceanside on Saturday to compete in this early season race. Wet conditions started the day for the 2032 athletes who toed-the-line. It got a bit warmer by the end of the day with 1945 athletes crossing the line.

Amy Snodgrass DNF this race due to injury having only completed the first lap of the run (walking). That said she did post a nice swim/bike combo of 31:23 / 2:56:19. Niki was also less than 100% due to a bike crash prior to the race that hampered the bike and run. Even more credit to her for giving it a go.

Congratulations on the podium finish Julia. Credit goes to all of these Mad Cows for braving the chilly Pacific this time of year.

Audrey Maher was in Taupo on Saturday to compete in IM New Zealand. However, due to extremely high winds that made the water too rough and unsafe, the race organizers decided to turn the race into a 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run. The winds also made the bike leg very tough. There were 1243 that finished the race with 43 in her age group. She had the 3rd fastest bike split and 2nd fastest run split within the age group, and finished two minutes ahead of the competition.

Congratulations Audrey on being the first Mad Cow headed to Kona this year! Who will be next?

Last Sunday, a few of our members along with a host of UCD Tri Team members competed in the Stanford Treeathlon. Some of our members also race for UCD. The format was a 500m pool swim / 20k bike / 5k run. The crew from UCD placed 5th out of 11 teams. There were 185 competitors in the mixed male and female collegiate race. Below are the results of our members and the non-members who race exclusively for UCD.

Congratulations to everyone who completed this race! Please extend your personal congratulations to these athletes as well as encouraging the UCD athletes to consider membership into the Mad Cows.

Last Sunday, a few of our members along with a host of UCD Tri Team members competed in the Cal Bearathlon. Some of our members also race for UCD. The format was a 500yd. pool swim / 13mi. bike / 3mi. run. The crew from UCD placed 3rd out of 11 teams. There were 81 in the men's collegiate division and 46 in the women's collegiate division.

Along with the Collegians, this race was open to other individual entrants, and relay teams. Scott Fischbein, a fellow Mad Cow, also competed in this race as an open entrant. Overall, about 152 toed the line for this race. Scott came in 35th place with a time of 1:22:52.