The Pumpkinman Tri (1st annual) here in Southern Maine went off today without a hitch and we were graced by the presence of former Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist Joan Benoit. It was her first tri ever. She won her age group and you should have seen her come off the bike and blow out the fastest run split for the women. Needs a little help on the swim but her bike was over 18 MPH.
Pretty awesome performance.
We gave her the mike afterwards and she said to our crowd, “after my first marathon, I told myself, NEVER AGAIN…today after my first triathlon I thought to myself, when do I do this again”
Glad to hear the first Pumpkinman went well. I’ve had a cold all week that has been tough to shake so I didn’t go up for the race. Was looking forward to the pumpkin pie afterwards! : (
http://www.coolrunning.com/results/07/me/Sep9_Pumpki_set3.shtml
The race was awesome…we had the most amazing volunteers 125!!!For 266 registered racers. Great food, great party after, and as the RD, I can say problemless (is that a word)? Not one incident in the water and no one visited the medical tent. A very tricky bike and not one crash. It was amazing to see this all come together! So many first timers and some of the most experienced triathletes!
Mike C. was so awesome to watch come down the 1/4 mile shute, as well as Trukweaz (3rd) and a number of other STer’s.
Helping Joan Benoit Samuelson LACE her racing flats with speed laces - she was asking me for advice. I helped her number her bike and helmet and set her bike up in transition. And then hearing the announcer announce her arrival in the shute (he took us back to the Lone Girl Runner story entering the stadium in LA)-major goose bumps.
Thank you!! In so many ways, you have been an inspiration to us! Good Luck in Texas! We are hoping to come to Lonestar next year with a couple of other Riptide Tri athletes.
The day was awesome…we had “your” pre-2007 weather!! LOL! So the Chowder and Chili were a hit!
Killer job to MM. If you see her, tell her the Boulder crew sends big congrats from the left coast. We’re hangin’ out in Santa Cruz after Big Kahuna. We’ll see mary when she gets back to BOCO.
I’m riding with her this afternoon (as long as this pesky cold I caught yesterday - stress)…so I will pass it on! It was so awesome to have her win P-Man…and the best part was both her mom and dad were there. And Kay (her twin) and I held the winners tape…we all cried!
Kat,
Thanks to you and your crew for a great race. KJ would have been proud! Definitely on the calendar for next year. Was Joan’s run leg possibly the fastest run leg ever by a 50+ yo woman? I think there was smoke coming out of her shoes when she sprinted down the chute. If trukweaz hadn’t gotten the outside assistance in the form of the dog chasing him she might have out-split him!
Thx again!
Kyle
PS how about a chairlift from the water to T1 for next year?
Joan’s run split was unbelievable! Fastest woman of the day and I think 5th or 6th fastest overall.
And…no chairlifts allowed…part of the fun, the hill from hell!!
