Category Archives: Athlete Photos

Mount Rainier and Gulf Coast 70.3

Leave a reply

Miranda Crandall – Mount Rainier

We want to recognize the achievements of two of our athletes from last week:

Miranda Crandall spent last week climbing Mount Rainier under some sketchy conditions. She made it up to 11,000 feet, but had to descend due to extreme avalanche conditions. There was over five feet of new snow at the 11,000-foot point. Getting to that point on America’s most glaciated volcano was quite an accomplishment!

Kemp Conrad raced Gulf Coast 70.3 last weekend. The race was changed from a triathlon to a duathlon at the last minute due to water conditions. This is not an uncommon occurrence in the world of triathlons, although it can really mess with many athletes’ minds. Being able to refocus after such a change to the race is a sign of mental toughness. Kemp did just that and finished the 56 mile bike/13.1 mile run in 4:18!

Congratulations to Miranda and Kemp!

Cactus Man Sprint and Olympic, Tupelo Sprint Tri – MS

Joan McGue – 3rd place – CactusMan

Happy Mother’s Day, everyone! The AZ triathlon season really got going this past weekend with the Cactus Man Sprint and Olympic races and our athletes enjoyed some great finishes!

Cactus Man Sprint Tri
Pat Haenel – 1:17 – 1st in AG!
Joan McGue (pictured) – 2:06 – 3rd in AG!
Amanda Farr – 2:37
Lisa Volpentest – 1:44 – 4th in AG!

Cactus Man Olympic Tri
Jake Metz – 2:47 – 1st ever Olympic!
Laura McGhghy – 3:32
Andrew Broderick – 2:50
Mike Volpentest – 2:56
Jon Byron – 2:49 – PR!

Kemp Conrad also raced the Tupelo Sprint Tri in MS and finished in 52:50, taking 1st in his age group!

Congratulations to all our athletes!

Orizaba Peak – 18,491 feet – Mexico, Big Sur Marathon, Mainly Marathon Riverboat Series, Pat’s Run

Russ Perry – Orizaba summit, Mexico

Our athletes garnered some impressive achievements over the past 10 days!

Russ Perry summited Orizaba Peak in Mexico. Orizaba stands at 18,491’ and is the highest volcanic summit in North America! His next goal is Cotopaxi in Ecuador at just under 20,000’!

Heather Hemmer completed a yearlong journey to run the Big Sur Marathon. She finished the race this weekend in a strong 4:37!

Frank Smith completed an epic week by racing seven 50K runs in 7 days during the Mainly Marathon Riverboat series in the southeast.

Bo Micek ran an impressive 34:22 in the popular Pat’s Run here in AZ. Bo is targeting IMAZ this fall.

Congratulations to all our athletes!

David Goggins 4 x 4 x 48 Challenge – Illinois, Gulf Coast Sprint

Gila monster sighting! McDowell Mountain Regional Park

We’d like to recognize Terry Crowley of Chicago and Ed Wallis of Memphis for races from last weekend.

Terry raced the 4x4x48 in Illinois. This event requires running 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours. It is quite the grueling event. Terry finished well and is looking forward to running the Leadville 50-mile run in July.

Ed raced a sprint tri on the Gulf Coast and had quite the experience. He rounded a sandy corner on the bike and took a nasty fall. Despite the road rash, shock and damaged bike, he picked himself up and raced on to finish fourth in his AG! He suffered no broken bones and is healing up well this week. It is never fun to crash in a race but it does happen. Ed showed some true grit in fighting on. This spirit will serve him well as he is looking to race his first IMAZ this fall.

Finally, it’s always a treat to watch the critters emerging from hibernation in the spring. Bill saw this gila monster on his hike this evening!

Have a great weekend!

Mesquite Canyon 50-Mile Run – AZ, Rock and Roll Half Marathon – Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach Marathon – SC, Ft. Pillow 20K Trail Run – TN, Chandler 5K – AZ, Tour de Cure 56-mile bike – AZ

Tali Toncray – Mesquite Canyon 50-mile Run – 2nd overall female

Lots of race results to cover from the last two weekends!

First, congratulations to Heather Hemmer and Kemp Conrad. Heather ran the Rock and Roll ½ Marathon in Las Vegas on Feb 27th and finished in 2 hours. She will be running the Big Sur Marathon later this Spring. Kemp ran the Ft. Pillow 20K Trail Run in TN on Feb 26th and finished in 1:38 which as good enough for 4th overall!

This last weekend, Tali Toncray finished the Mesquite Canyon 50-mile Run. After DNFing this race twice before, Tali ran an impressive 11:19 and finished the second overall female! She showed great determination and perseverance to take on this race a third time and do so well!

Nancy Walker PR’d in the Chandler 5K, finishing in 27:31! Frank Smith finished 22nd in his age group in the Myrtle Beach Marathon, finishing in 5:10! And Laura McGhghy finished the Tour de Cure 56-mile bike ride in under 4 hours! Congratulations to all our athletes!

Rock and Roll Half Marathon – Las Vegas
Heather Hemmer – 2:00

Ft. Pillow 20K Trail Run – TN
Kemp Conrad – 1:38 – 4th overall male

Mesquite Canyon 50-Mile Run
Tali Toncray – 11:19 – 2nd overall female

Chandler 5K
Nanci Walker – 27:31 PR!

Myrtle Beach Marathon
Frank Smith – 5:10 and 22nd in his AG

Tour de Cure 56 mile bike ride
Laura McGhghy – 3:59

Good luck to everyone racing in Tri for the Cure this weekend!

HAPPY 2022!

Pat Haenel – White Tanks 20K Trail Run

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 
First, we need to add a couple of race results from the end of 2021. Nadine David ran the Tucson ½ Marathon and set a PR time of 1:58. This was also fast enough for her to place 2nd in her AG! And Joan McGue ran a local 5K here in Phoenix and placed 3rd in her AG with a time of 31:27!
 
For 2022, we hope your new year is off to a great start. Our athletes have some great adventures planned this year. We have people training to do multiple Ironmans, Ironman 70.3’s, 50- to 100-mile ultra-runs, mountain climbs of Rainier and Cotopaxi, multiple marathons, and even a 6-day stage running race in Iceland! Pretty cool!
 
This past weekend, Pat Haenel (pictured) ran his first trail race at the White Tanks 20K here in Phoenix. Pat finished in a solid 1:50 and kept the rubber side down!
 
Looking forward to many more results in the coming year!

Mount Kilimanjaro – Tanzania, 8-hour Dream Endurance Run Ultra – Indianapolis

Congratulations to longtime Camelback Coaching athlete, Jona Davis, who successfully summited Mt. Kilimanjaro this past week. She relied on years of endurance training as a triathlete and then sharpened her fitness for this climb with running and hiking over the past year to be ready for this high altitude challenge. Kilimanjaro is one of the “Seven Summits,” topping out at 19,341 feet!
 
Also, Frank Smith ran the 8-hour Dream Endurance Ultra in Indianapolis. The race involves running as many miles over a looped course that you can in an 8-hour period. This was an actual event and not virtual! Frank covered 50Ks in 7:39 and took 4th in his AG!
 
Great job, guys!

RAGNAR Zion, 4 x 4 x 48 Challenge, virtual Trot Peace and Love 50K

Good luck to everyone racing the Show Low tris this weekend, as well as Hawaii 70.3!
 
These past few weekends have included some nice events. Tyler Crandall ran in the RAGNAR Zion Trail relay race a couple of weeks ago. He’s racing in Show Low this weekend.
 
Frank Smith ran an unusual endurance event known as the 4x4x48 challenge. The idea is to run exactly 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours. That comes out to 48 miles on no sleep. Frank completed it and added a few more extra miles for good measure. Frank also ran the virtual Trot Peace and Love 50K race this past weekend and finished a long training day in 6:29.
 
Finally, Inger Erickson and Jona Davis are training hard for their attempt on Mount Kilimanjaro. This photo is of Inger in Ouray, CO.
 
Have a great weekend!

St. George 70.3, Cactus Man

Sand Hollow Reservoir – St. George 70.3

It’s getting warm, but race season (actual racing) is upon us!

Congratulations to Jenifer Garner who raced St. George 70.3 on Sat. Jenifer finished in 7:10 in one of the first Ironman events to be held this year! (Picture is from race morning at Sand Hollow Reservoir).
 
Locally, it was great to welcome back Cactus Man – Olympic and Sprint tris – once again.
Sprint
Joan McGue – 2:03 – 3rd in AG!
Melissa Samuelson – 1:32 – 3rd in AG and 11th overall female!
 
Olympic
Andrew Broderick – 2:44 – PR!
 
Congratulations, guys!