Chicago-area Athletes Shine at IM 70.3 World Championships
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 1:28pm
November 8, 2008, Clearwater, FL -- Chicago-area triathletes put an exclamation point on a break-through season with spectacular performances at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida. In September, Illinois finished fifth among all states, and first among states located east of Colorado, at the USAT Age Group Nationals in Portland, Oregon, and that success continued at the World Championships last week. A note to the unititiated: when reading the times and finishes below, keep in mind that this was the Ironman 70.3 World Championships, i.e., the best of the best at every level. The course is fast, but the competition is second-to-none.
Well-Fit Elite team member Mandy McCarthy posted a personal best 4:57:18, good enough for 25th out of 60 in F30-34. Coming into the race, Mandy's goal was to break five hours, which she accomplished with a 1:41:45 half-marathon. This personal best capped a season of personal bests, justifying Eilte team Head Coach Sharone Aharon's decision to award Mandy a Cervelo CP3 (courtesy of team sponsor Get a Grip Cycles), which Mandy rode to success throughout the season.
Simon Trude, also a member of the Well-Fit Elite team raced to an impressive 4:24:10 in just his third Ironman 70.3 event, which was good enough for 39th out of 126 in M30-34, and also was a personal best. Simon's goal for the day was to break 4:25, which he also accomplished, predominantly on the heels of a 1:30:11 run and the wheels of a 2:21:29 bike split. The race was Simon's last as a Chicago-based member of the Well-Fit Elite team, but Simon hopes to continue with the team after he moves to New York City in 2009.
First year pro Elizabeth Fedofsky Waterstraat competed in her first Ironman 70.3 World Championship as a professional, and didn't finish last. To better appreciate what that means, take a few minutes to read Liz's thoughtful and inspiring race report at http://elizabethfedofsky.blogspot.com/2008/11/willing-to-wait.html. Liz will continue to train, or at least taper, in prepartion for her final race of the season at Ironman Arizona.
Erin Kersten also enjoyed a bit of a coming out party as she crushed the bike course en route to a blistering 4:39:46. That time was good enough for 15th in F25-29, and 39th female overall, and her bike split unofficially was the eighth fastest among all female age group athletes. Erin had a great bike leg at Steelhead to qualify for the World Championships, but she took it to another level in Clearwater.
Other Chicagoans strutting their stuff in Clearwater included dominant area Age Grouper Natalie Schaefer, who finsihed 9th F35-39 in a time of 4:44:15, 26-year-old Christine Anderson who finished 13th F25-29 in a time of 4:38:31, Keith Norsym who posted an impressive 4:55:52 in the M30-34 age group, and Michael Hoffart who rode an impressive 2:18:57 bike split to a final time of 4:33:33 in the M35-39 age group.
Mandy and Simon's performances capped off an impressive inaugural season for the Well-Fit Elite team. Five members of the Elite team have qualified (so far) for USTA's Team USA, including Brian Fort, John Wiberg, Simon Trude and Kevin McCarthy for the ITU short course world championships in Sidney in 2009, and Patrick Jones who recently received an inviation from USAT to compete in the long course world championships in Perth. Fellow Elite team members Geoff Micklelsons and Kenny Murayama still stand a chance to qualify for Team USA via the roll down. Further, Well-Fit athlete Elizabeth Brackett upstaged even the Well-Fit "Elitists" by taking home a National Championship at the USAT Age Group Nationals in Portland, Oregon earlier this year.
The success of the Well-Fit coached athletes in 2008 has already led to significant sponsorship commitments between Well-Fit and Degree Anti-perspirent, Rudy Project, and Novacare Rehabilitation, among others. Increased sponsorship means more swag, club discounts discounts and greater resources for not just the Well-Fit Elite team members, but ALL members of the Well-Fit Training Center and all triathletes located in the Midwest. The success of Chicago-based athletes can only be expected to continue to increase in 2009.