“You can keep going and your legs might hurt for a week, or your can quit and your mind will hurt for a lifetime” – Mark Allen
VOTE FOR YOUR SEPTEMBER ATHLETES OF THE MONTH
KONA QUALIFICATION
Congrats to out of town Jaime Ash for qualifying for the Kona Ironman World Championships!
Pier to Pier
Hurricane Jose made for some amazing surf and big barrels to swim through at the 2017 Pier to Pier Swim Kelly White won his age group and couldn’t lift his arms at the end! Awesome swim Kelly. Bridget Phillips and Jen Devers also had awesome swims! Jen won her age group and Bridget took 3rd. Kyle Phillips also swam hard and prepped his swimming for WB TRi and Swim/Run Hanging Rock. Great job team pushing through strong waters.
Liberty Invitational XC
Alice Kassens had some fun at the Liberty Invitational XC meet. She never got passed and felt strong with a 21:07 on a hilly muddy course. As we all know, XC isn’t about times its about place! Great job Alice.
Outer Banks Half and Sprint Triathlon
Jennifer Barker jumped in both the Aquabike Half and the very next day the Sprint. She was first out of the water for the Aquabike and snaged 1st OA Female! The very next day she got 2nd OA for the sprint. All your hard work is paying off! Well done.
Wrightsville Beach World Championships (aka WB YMCA Triathlon)
A beautiful day for an awesome race! Congratulations to all our Without Limits athletes who raced strong!
The Without Limits men swept the podium with top three overall! Congratulations to Coach Matthew Mistoff who took first place, followed by Harrison Brown 2nd and Coach Aaron Kolk placing 3rd. Honorable mention: Todd Midget placed 4th, so 1,2,3,4 for WOL MEN! ongratulations guys! Alecia Williams returned after breaking her Femur in 2016 getting 2nd in her AG! AMAZING!
Other podium finishes included Jake Godwin who placed 2nd AG and 24th overall, way to go! Lisa Kerr rocked the PODIUM, and Lindsey Hess had the top female bike split with a podium finish…. All after doing 70.3 WC! Way to go Lindsey. Kelly White won his age group followed by Ren Rotondo placed 3rd in AG and blasted through the pack for his tri season finale! Lawrence Landrigan took 1st in AG and Kyle Shepard took 2nd in AG. Dave Dupont taking 3rd in AG 55-59 Bridget Phillips took 1st in AG 40-44 with Lisa Kerr right behind her in 2nd. Marcy Waters took 1st in her AG 50-54 and Renee Griffen 3rd in her AG 45-49!
Congratulations to everyone who trained hard raced strong including:
Philip Davis – 6th in AG 55-59, Philip can still hold his own in the “offseason”
David McBride – 4th in AG and a huge PR and Ed McDermotte and Brian Haas right behind him in 6th and 8th.
Charlie Jackson had a nice speed workout before IM Louisville!
Patrick Renton – had a solid race, not quite a PR but with the heat it probably equaled one! Get ready for Hanging Rock!
Ray Caffee – Solid race and felt like a million bucks the whole time, IMNC 70.3 here we come.
Ty Rabon – 7th in AG 40-44 and had some tough dudes to chase. Remember the PROCESS Ty!
Ron George- A PR and feeling good! Keep that plantar healthy and who knows what can happen!
Lauren Stephenson – awesome PR while training for an IRONMAN.
Massimo Crudeli – Racing stronger on the swim!
Lisa Deputy & Christy Lanier – FIRST OW race with a triathlon – huge success!
Adam Hilton – great job and well done on putting it all together!
Jennie Mott – Crushed the swim and bike! Getting stronger all the time.
Amy Kolk – Pregnant and still doing amazing things. Awesome job girl.
Cate Piech – Had a fantastic PR of 10 mins over last year. IMNC 70.3 training is paying.
Sarah Horton – First triathlon this year and finishes with a smile and ready for round 2.
Amber Elderdice – FIRST triathlon let alone OW, and does amazing. Proud of you!
John Cockrum – Just another day in paradise, having a great time with awesome friends
Beth Brampton – PR in the bike, your hard work is paying off!!
Allan Lloyd – 7 min PR en route to B2B!
Jen Spanner – Team Spanner in the house and a learning experience to boot :-)) Splits please, splits…
Holly Cunningham – A huge PR and oh, so close. One of the hardest working athletes I know
Coach Lori Drake: Coach Drake in the house and running strong again. IMNC 70.3 doesn’t even know what awaits
Tim Gill – Improvements are key and what a huge improvement on the bike this year. It’s almost time to head to Bluegrass Country.
Mr. Bill Stinger – The top shout out of the day. Showing no limits and age is no limiter, at 70+ years, staring down his OW fears and getting it done.
Lynda Smith – Smiling the entire time
Team One Tri Son – Stephanie Walters and her son raced and how cool to see you racing Stephanie. Well deserved
Anna Maltby – Looking good and feeling gorgeous!!
Rolando Garcia was 7th Open Male
Jennifer Barker & Tom Clifford – Team Caroline, and Team Dustin *clapping*, amazing to race with Ansley’s Angels
Wrightsville Beach Triathlon & Ainsley’s Angels
A few amazing Without Limits athletes took on a new challenge and embraced an incredible new experience. Tom Clifford, Jennifer Barker and their supporting team partnered up with Ainsley’s Angels to help people with disabilities accomplish something they could not normally do… race a triathlon! These triathletes pulled and pushed their Ainsley’s Angels to the finish line with big smiles and big hearts! Here are there thoughts in their own words:
Jennifer Barker – “Guys… If you want to do one of the most rewarding things ever as a triathlete, become an angel. I started with this organization over three years ago after seeing them during the Raleigh rock n roll series. I teared up while running.
You see, most do not know this, but my family has adopted from foster care. She is exhibiting signs of mental illness at five years old. Both mom and grandma had bipolar disorder. I’ve kept it hidden for awhile, retreating into my sport, leaning in to God as much as I can. But my heart hurts.
Helping others has helped me heal and learn how my sport can be therapeutic. It has helped me through my fathers passing two years ago, and even during the darkest places my family has experienced as of late. Helping others through our sport helps. But it’s more than that. I was touched today by this lady’s excitement. We are competitive. We are in an individualized sport. Participating in Ainsley’s angels helps give back what has so freely been given to us. It’s a gift what we do. So volunteer and contribute to this organization. Get involved. Love your sport and community.” – Jennifer Barker
Tom Clifford – “REFLECTION ON TEAM DUSTIN. I was honored to be able to pull/push Dustin Sholer in his first triathlon on Saturday with the organization Ainsley’s Angels. It was a life changing experience to say the least. I wish there were words to describe an experience such as this, but you would just hear words like amazing, incredible, fun, inspiring however those don’t cut it.
I am sure God gave us ways of communication where words aren’t enough for a reason, so that we can take our experiences with us wherever and whenever.
Dustin is a special kid and his family is also special. All 3 sports were tough Saturday, especially pulling Dustin on the bike. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and will do it again.
Hats off to Dick and Rick Hoyt for doing this in an Ironman. I fully understand why Dick Hoyt kept doing it though, because the energy Rick gave him is indescribable. The energy Dustin gave me was just that. I gave everything I had and he gave it right back.
Cheers to the Ainsley’s Angles team Kelley Tringe and crew along with Sonya Mark Sholar for putting their trust in me with her son. Also to Team Caroline.Jennifer Laws Barker, Michelle Fogle, and Caitlin Espy. Shout out to Kristen Smith Jeno who spotted us on the swim and helped us with logistics. Thanks again for all of the support from our community, for Set Up Events for working with us and the YMCA.” – Tom Clifford
ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJOR FINISHER AND BQ!!
What a sweet day it was as Pam Keenan finished her 6th World Major Marathon and notched her 2nd BQ!! Back to Boston Baby in 2019 and it is a sweet sweet day. What a true Rockstar in both heart and soul! So excited for you.
Kerrville Half Iron Distance
The Austin Rockstars did it!!! Their first Half Iron Distance Race is in the books and what a perfect ending to a tri season. Caroline Bloom rode her new Tri Bike to a solid bike split and Logan Bonathan survived a bike crash to finish with a solid time. Michelle Bonathan made the podium with a 1st place AG in her first half iron!!! What!!! Watch for more great things from these 3 Texas Rockstars! Congrats Team.
Ironman 70.3 Augusta
Despite the heat, Eileen Gonzalaz finished with a smile. You did amazing and think nothing less!!
Congrats to all of the the Augusta 70.3 finishers with Rockstar Shawn Rhodes breaking that 5 hour barrier!!! A huge success. Congrats to Erin Jackson, Erin Green, Mark Austin and Wild Billy Loyd on some fantastic finishes. Coach Sami finished #31 and proves that each and every 70.3 is a learning tool to improve. Always go with your gut instincts! More on that later, but a fantastic Rockstar kinda day. We were walking on the sun!
Ironman Chattanooga
Michael Jones, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!! Celebrating the wins has been our motto since February and this was a huge win!! A true celebration of grit and determination, Michael could not swim 25 yards in the pool in February and he didn’t own a bike and now he just completed IMCHOO…Ride that Choo Choo train all the way to the top! That is one cool Choo Rockstar!!
Team TriWarriors is at it again! Congrats Bryan Maynor, all your hard training paid off on a tough yet amazing course. Carrington Locklear had a strong swim and bike, well done!! David Brooks and Mark Locklear are at it yet again, congrats to you all. I admire your drive and motivation as it takes a lot to prepare for this one special day. Proud of you all and glad you all had each other!
Chicago Half Marathon
Nick Monroe is back at it again, finishing yet another half marathon! Off to one of his favorite cities. Congrats Nick. You did great!
Marine Corps Half
Keith Parella took 1st masters with a 1:25:08!
