Ironman 70.3 Gurye: Korea, Round 2

The city of Gurye, Jeollanam-do hosted Korea’s second 70.3 event this season, providing an opportunity for many pro’s making their way up in the Ironman ranks. We had our eyes on Brad Williams in the men’s race, out for redemption after narrowly finishing 4^th to Mitchell Kibby – also racing Gurye – at Ironman 70.3 Incheon last month, and Katy Duffield, back to defend her 2014 title.

Four men jumped to the lead in the swim – Antony Costes, Rod De Kanel, Rudolf Naude, and Tim Green, hitting T1 within 8 seconds of each other, while the women separated quickly – Ewa Bugdol beat Sarah Crowley out of the water by nearly 3 minutes.

Costes and Bugdol maintained their leads on the bike, with Bugdol pulling farther and farther away from Crowley and Duffield, while Costes left Milosz Sowinski and Kibby in a battle for 2^nd and 3^rd. Costes was uncatchable to the very end, winning in 3:54:37. The race for 2^nd-4^th was again close in Korea, with Canadian Jordan Bryden edging Sowinski by 20 seconds and Kibby following within the minute. Bugdol looked to have it in the bag after coming off the bike with an 8+ minute lead, but Crowley had narrowed the gap to 1:30 with just 6km to go, and made the pass to take the overall win.

Overall Men

1. Antony Costes, 3:54:37
2. Jordan Bryden, 4:00:15
3. Milosz Sowinski, 4:00:35
4. Mitchell Kibby, 4:01:32
5. David Mainwaring, 4:04:12
6. Brad Williams, 4:05:31

Overall Women

1. Sarah Crowley, 4:22:59
2. Ewa Bugdol, 4:24:47
3. Katy Duffield, 4:29:29
4. Julia Grant, 4:39:35

 

Ironman 70.3 Silverman

Kona, shmona: the lights of Las Vegas beckoned a strong field of athletes looking to rack up early points for Worlds. Just minutes from the Vegas Strip, all the wattage put out on the surrounding desert landscape could probably have powered a few of Trump’s hotels this Sunday (ok, maybe the first few floors of one). Between Drew Scott returning as the defending champ, short course star Jason Pedersen taking on his first 70.3, and some women who can swim like nobody’s business (Lauren Brandon, Lauren Goss), there was plenty to get excited about at Silverman this year.

Cam Dye got the men’s race off to a fast start, exiting the swim with 3 seconds on Michael Raelert, followed closely by Jonathan Tryoen, Barrett Brandon, Antoine Deroches, and Kevin Collington all within 11 seconds. Dye led out the bike, with Raelert, Matthews, and Collington 30-60 seconds behind him at mile 10. At mile 25, Raelert and Dye had gapped the field by nearly 3 minutes, and then we saw things shake up – Raelert was DQ’d (update: DQ was for drafting 3x), leaving Dye 3 ½ minutes up on Jason Pedersen, Collington, and Cody Beals at mile 40. Beals and Pedersen were able to put a small dent in Dye’s lead before T2, with Beals coming off the bike 2^nd (+2:44) and Pedersen 3^rd another 30 seconds back. Drew Scott and Taylor Reid rounded out the top 5 going into the run, where Beals and Pedersen were already closing in on Dye. Reid wasted no time running up through the field, joining the front four by the halfway mark – all now within a minute of Dye. At mile 10, Reid took over the lead and lit it up – putting 1:25 on his nearest competitor before the finish line, Beals, who had also blasted past Dye (and all of Canada cheered). Pedersen finished less than a minute back in 4^th in his 70.3 debut, and was followed in by Christ Baird and Scott.

In the women’s race, Lauren Brandon came out of the water with a 1 ½ minute lead over Lauren Goss and Heather Lendway, and put another minute on her competition in the first 10 miles of the bike. Goss was still leading at mile 25, followed by Lendway and now Nikki Butterfield in 3^rd. Lendway came off the bike just 24 seconds behind Brandon, and 1 mile into the run, was the new leader. Lendway quickly put over a minute on Brandon, Goss, and Butterfield, who were in a tight battle for 2^nd-4^th, but by mile 8.5 Goss was back in the lead – a lead she extended all the way to the tape. Goss was followed across the line by Lendway, Butterfield, Brandon, and Jeanni Seymour rounding out the top 5.

Overall Men

1. Taylor Reid, 4:04:35
2. Cody Beals, 4:06:00
3. Cam Dye, 4:07:01
4. Jason Pedersen, 4:07:58
5. Chris Baird, 4:08:11
6. Drew Scott, 4:08:50

 

Overall Women

1. Lauren Goss, 4:31:46
2. Heather Lendway, 4:36:09
3. Nikki Butterfield, 4:37:14
4. Lauren Brandon, 4:42:18
5. Jeanni Seymour, 4:44:31