NEWS FLASH: It was a great weekend for racing. We had three Team JFT2 members doing the Ocean Shores event, seven competing at Lake Stevens, and Elizabeth Green had a PR in the SeaFair half marathon (read her race report here). At Ocean Shores, Blake and Shawn took third and fifth in their AG, and Heli was racing well until the guy at the turnaround forgot to tell her to turn around! Check out the Lake Stevens story below.
Lake Stevens 70.3
Seven Team JFT2 athletes stepped up to take on the challenging course of the Lake Stevens half Ironman race on Sunday, July 8. Tina, Jess, Shannon, Jill, Jo Ann, Bruce and Mark all had success in this World qualifying event.
Tina,Shannon and Jess represented very well in the tough ladies 35-39 division, placing 10th, 11th and 13th, respectively. Tina finished under 5:30, taking 15 minutes off of her time from last year. Shannon was not far behind with a 5:32, for her first effort at this distance. Jess was also doing her first half iron distance race, and finished strong with a 5:35. Jo Ann came off an injury for most of the season and was able to capture 5th in her AG, which was good enough for a roll down slot to the World Championships in Clearwater, FL, had she chosen to accept it.
Bruce and Mark both competed strong throughout they day. Bruce accomplished all of his goals and finished in 5:40. Mark was right on with the swim and bike, but some nutrition issues made it a suffer-fest for the 13.2 mile run. Mark toughed it out and finished in 6:39.
Jill put together a good effort and finished 3rd in her AG, which was a World Qualifying finish. Her 5:09 included a run PR for this distance.
| Athlete |
Time |
AG Finish |
Swim |
T1 |
Bike |
T2 |
Run |
| Jill Fry |
5:09:32 |
3 |
0:36:35 |
0:01:29 |
2:45:45 |
0:01:12 |
1:44:33 |
| Tina Hall |
5:29:40 |
10 |
0:38:12 |
0:02:12 |
2:57:53 |
0:01:26 |
1:49:59 |
| Shannon Callies |
5:32:35 |
11 |
0:38:04 |
0:02:23 |
2:54:37 |
0:03:02 |
1:54:31 |
| Jess Pollak |
5:35:46 |
13 |
0:34:42 |
0:01:54 |
3:03:29 |
0:02:52 |
1:52:51 |
| Bruce Morgan |
5:40:06 |
59 |
0:40:49 |
0:02:32 |
2:56:38 |
0:02:31 |
1:57:38 |
| Mark Moody |
6:39:53 |
53 |
0:37:16 |
0:02:10 |
3:03:31 |
0:02:03 |
2:54:55 |
| Jo Ann Sittig |
6:42:19 |
5 |
0:48:28 |
0:03:05 |
3:35:21 |
0:02:15 |
2:13:11 |
It was an early start for the day, with most local racers setting their alarms for around 4am. The morning weather was cool with a sky that was mostly overcast until late morning. This race drew athletes from all over the country, and it is evident that the Ironman 70.3 series is rapidly gaining in popularity.
The venue is absolutely beautiful, and ideal for spectators. It was exciting to see the pros show up, including Heather Gollnick, Heather Fuhr, Matt Lieto and Chris Legh. It was nice to bump into our own local pro, Chris Tremonte, before the race. The pros started the race at 6:30, to the athletes had to be out of transition pretty early. There was an evident shortage of honeybuckets before the race.
The 70.3 series is put on by the World Triathlon Corporation (the WTC) which owns and operates the Ironman events. The WTC and USAT made up last year, and these events are also now USAT sanctioned. The race was a lot like an Ironman event, with the exception of the wave starts. There were five minute breaks after the male and female elite starts, and then the ten age groups went off in four minute increments.
The swim was a pretty much an out and back with a short turn at the end. The smaller wave starts groups led to minimal contact during the swim. The start was from deep water, and the exit was up a concrete boat ramp.
The bike course was two loops, which made it nice for spectators. It was pretty easy to get around the transition area to find great views of all events. The roads were not closed, so the cars could cause some slowdowns. There were several near misses and at least one accident at the intersection where the two loops converged.
The run was also two loops, and it went through town and then an out-and-back along the lake. Stephen was fishing in a creek on the run course, and a steady stream of racers would ask him if he was having any luck.
Team JFT2 was well supported, with the Morgan family, Michael and Savanna, Jessie and Tom, Jessica and Heli all showing up to support their athletes and team. Michael captured some great race photos for the team.
The weather was extremely cooperative, saving the real heat for the late morning to early afternoon. This race will continue to grow in size and popularity as the reports start to show up all across the country.
Jess, 8th out of the water in her AG, heading out for the bike
Shannon, cranking out the 9th fastest bike time in her age group.
Tina, right behind Shannon on the bike.
Tina and boys, running down the chute!
The amazing flying Pollaks!
Job well done!
Jess, Mark, Bruce and Shannon
Emma Pollak drew this for Jill and gave it to her at the finish. Better than any medal or trophy!
