Wildflower, a lovely name in botany but for SB Tri Clubbers it's the grand daddy of triathlons, short of Ironman, it is the rite of passage described as one of the premier triathlons nationally and internationally with an incredible 8000 competing athletes. This world class course has extremely hilly bike and brutal runs. It is the reason we do this sport to be challenged and to have fun, right? That was exactly what went through my mind last year as I was being dragged from the finish line to the med tent. This year the tri club is represented in all three courses. The Long Course 1.2m Swim, 56m Bike, 13.1m Run has 20 club members, the Olympic Course 1.5K Swim, 40K Bike, 10K Run has 13 club members and the Mountain Bike Course .25m Swim, 9.7m Bike, 2m Run has 4 knobby club members.
John Herzog reported having a great first time Wildflower Olympic distance race. He said it was a perfect day for the race with ideal temperatures and partly cloudy skies. He was fighting a cold for a few weeks which caused a long taper period. John raced his plan with a good swim after a 400 yard warm up, passing about 350 people on the bike and a good run with an average heart rate of 164. He said the Gibraltar training really paid off helping him turn in an excellent 2:39:35 and 15th place in a deep 45-49 age group.
Fred Maggiore finished with a solid long course race but just short of his expectations. Fred said he had a PR on the swim and rode conservatively on the bike keeping his heart rate under 145. He noticed some cramping early on the run so he walked it off to come back strong with a 5:17:48 and a very tight 50-54 age group race placing 8th with only a 4min spread between 3rd and 8th! After resting his tired bones over night he worked very hard the next morning photo chasing and cheering on our Olympic course club members.
Disclaiming once again, the results reported here are from the early Sunday posting to get it to you on our web site by Monday. We had three first place age group winners starting with 2-time course record setter Duncan Thomas was just seconds away from setting another record with a 5:02:36, long course 60-64; Patty Bryant, 6:05:32, long course 50-54 and Dave Groom, 1:03:39, mountain bike, 60-64. Joe Howell, 6:01:45 grabbed a 6th, long course 60-64 and Fred Kass, 3:26:03 cooked a nice 10th, Olympic, 60-64. The following is the results hot of the wire for our tri club members in no particular order: Shawn Sullivan, 3:10:27 Olympic 7th 16 under; Joe Sullivan, 2:44:54 Olympic 4th 55-59; Sue Beatty, 5:56:55 long course 9th 45-49; Corey Evans, 6:40:40 long course; John Nelson, 5:46:00 long course; Sarah Claus, 6:17:24 long course; Konnor Plymire, 1:13:02 mountain bike 8th 15-16. Kristin Aller, 3:07:33 Olympic; David Ambrose, 6:04:19 long course; Jeremy Bass, 6:26:45 long course; Tamara Berndt, 3:11:04 Olympic; Troy Hinshaw, 6:39:55 Olympic; Taj Hudson, 5:13:58 long course; Jon Martin, 6:07:16 long course; Andria Martinez, 2:56:00 Olympic; Jerrett McFarland, 2:58:17 Olympic; Brian O'Connor, 6:24:53 long course; Joe O'Flaherty, 5:34:48 long course; Andrew Riley, 5:33:26 long course; Fredrik Rosvall, 2:53:57 Olympic; Elda Rudd, 6:09:07 long course; Greg Russell, 3:11:46 Olympic; Stuart Sato, 5:39:08 long course; Marie Schnyer, 6:48:53 long course; Craig Spreadbury, 4:54:41 long course; Joslynn Spreadbury, 3:07:07 Olympic; Emi Umezawa, 3:17:35 Olympic; Karl Weis, 5:44:48 long course.
Caps off to our tri club Wildflower athletes, whether they were first timers, repeat offenders or putting in a long hard training day for an Ironman, they earned world class bragging rites. Lets give big hugs to the spouses, family and friends, the unsung heroes that cowbell and cajole us up the hills and past the finish line.
Sandy