Tri Boulder Long Course Tri, Mainly Marathon Series

Congratulations to Josh Parks who raced the Tri Boulder Long Course Triathlon last weekend. The race consisted of a 1.2 mile swim, 50-mile ride and a 9.3-mile run. Josh finished in 5:11. This time was good enough for 7th in his AG and 39th overall! Nice job Josh!

We also want to give a shout out to Frank Smith. Many of you have been reading about Frank’s marathon streak over the years, but he really put together a remarkable 8-day period in mid July. He raced the Mainly Marathon series over the course of a week. This included five 50Ks and two marathons. After finishing that week, he immediately competed in an 8-hour ultra run. The running club known as Marathon Maniacs has Frank ranked second nationally this year with 22 ultras or marathons completed this calendar year!

Great job, guys!

Mountain Lakes Sprint – AL, Timberman Sprint – MN, Leadville Silver Rush 50 – CO, Buffalo Bill Sprint – TN, 4th of July 4-Miler – Phx

Susan Geib – TImberman Tri – MN

Lots of summer racing to report!

Joan McGue braved the AZ heat and raced a 4 miler on July 4th. She finished in 45:49 and took 3rd in her AG.

Ed Wallis raced the Mountain Lakes Sprint Tri in Alabama last weekend and finished in 1:24, taking 7th in his AG. This was an 8-minute improvement over his time from one year earlier! This race is one of the oldest in the country at 35 years old. It is fun to think that Anne raced there in 1990 while in US Navy flight school!

Susan Geib (picured) had a great race at the Timberman Sprint Tri in MN. She finished in 1:27 and took 1st in her AG!

Terry Crowley completed a massive goal by finishing his first 50 mile running race this past weekend in Leadville, CO. Terry finished in 14:22 on a sunny, hot CO day. The entire race is run above 10,000′ and reaches some high points as high as 12,000′!

Also, at the end of June, we had two athletes race the Buffalo Bill Sprint Tri in TN. Ed Wallis finished in 1:40 and took 3rd in his AG! Kemp Conrad raced the bike leg as a part of a relay team and took 1st in his division.

Nice job, everyone!

Cotopaxi – Ecuador

Russ Perry – Cotopaxi – Ecuador

Russ Perry came oh so close to achieving his goal of climbing Cotopaxi (19,347 feet) in Ecuador. But as they say, it wouldn’t be an adventure if the outcome was known beforehand. 🙂 Thanks for the stunning photo, Russ!

Bighorn Trail Run – WY; 36K Trail Run – Goodyear

This past weekend, Todd Silva raced the Bighorn 100 mile run in Wyoming. This is a well known race in the ultra world and is on many racers’ tick lists. Todd started this race in 2014 but had a DNF at about the halfway point. This past weekend, he made a triumphant return and finished the race in 28:34 under hot and dry conditions. The time was good enough for 35th overall and 2nd in his age group!

Sorin Tohatan began his own ultra marathon journey by finishing his first 36K trail race in Goodyear. Sorin finished in 5:12 and took 2nd in his AG! He will be racing his first 100 miler at the Javelina 100 in Oct.

Congratulations, Todd and Sorin!

Victoria 70.3 – Canada, Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim, Chattanooga 70.3

Congratulations to Liz Flint, Joan McGue, Ed Wallis, and Kemp Conrad on the completion of their events and adventures over the past two weeks!

Liz raced the Victoria 70.3 in Canada this past weekend. This race is one of the best races on the 70.3 calendar. If you ever get a chance to race in Canada, go for it. it! Liz finished the race in 7:46. Nice job Liz!

Longtime Camelback Coaching athlete, Joan McGue (pictured), hiked the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim. She traversed the canyon South to North and completed it in 13:17. Joan is an Ironman finisher and she felt like this hike was every bit as hard as finishing an IM! Well done Joan!

Finally, Ed Wallis and Kemp Conrad raced at Chattanooga 70.3. Conditions were hot and humid which makes any race tough, especially a long course race. Both did quite well though. Kemp finished in 5:23 while Ed set a new PR with a time of 6:06. Ed will be racing IMAZ later this fall. Good job guys!

Congratulations to all our athletes. We hope you have a great weekend!

Mount Rainier and Gulf Coast 70.3

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!