Photo by Jayme Moye Otto

Yesterday I raced a race at the Cherry Creek Reservoir (CCR), appropriately titled ‘That Dam Run’. I guess I use the term ‘raced’ very loosely here. For the past 4 months or so I have been focused on my goal of racing the Rome Marathon on March 20th. The 1/2 marathon at the CCR was, therefore, my last hard training/tempo run effort in a pair of weeks that had been rocking my world.

I wanted to try out the legs at the half distance to assure that I could run strong even on very tired legs and I wanted to get used to being in a race atmosphere again after an almost 5-month off-season.

I arrived at the start of what I knew was going to be a very challenging 80-minute effort with the idea of not-racing and just running a solid effort. The week prior had held multiple solid training sessions, including a hard 65-mile ride the day before, and my legs were feeling wobbly while toeing the line.

As expected, I ran the entire race on my own. The first and last 2.5 miles of the race were utterly flat, along the Dam Road. The remaining 4-miles on the ‘out’ section of the out & back course were primarily downhill and with the wind before making the turn-around and heading into 4 miles of grueling uphills and headwind on the way back. In the first mile or so, the eventual men’s winner, Japeth Ng’ojoy pulled away from everyone, going on to cruise to a 1:13:46 win. I was passed by a second runner at about 5 miles, but otherweise ran uncontested into a 3rd place finish in a time of 1:21:40.

The result was a bit off of where I had hoped (was shooting for sub-1:20), but considering the previous couple weeks, being at altitude, etc. I am very pleased with where my training has taken me. Now I am very anxious to see what my first effort in almost 6 years at the full marathon distance will bring.

Cyrus hangs out with his new fans post-race.

Severance, racing in the 30-34 age group, started the race in the second wave of athletes.  Despite the 2 minute lead the first wave had, Severance caught and passed all but 1 in the 750m swim.  After a quick transition he was the first athlete out on the bike.  Riptide U-23 athlete Chris Athey followed shortly after, his increased yardage in swim practice already paying off.

Once out on the bike it was just Severance and the lead police car for the 13 mile leg throughout Cherry Creek State Park.  He entered T2 with over a minute lead, which only grew over the course of the 5k run.  He crossed the line first in a time of 1:06, 3 minutes ahead of 2nd place.

Athey crashed 2 miles into the bike, luckily only suffering relatively minor scrapes on his legs and feet.  He was able to continue racing and finished an impressive 4th overall, the best result the 19 year old has experienced in his short career.

Full results will be posted here when available.

Update (5:00pm 6/5/10): Athey did end up with 4 stitches in his foot from his crash.  Hopefully this won’t keep him out for long!

Severance swam solo through the 1500m swim, weaving around those who had started ahead of him, and kept a careful eye for anyone passing him.  Exiting the 77.7′ water — 3 tenths of a degree away from being a non-wetsuit swim — Severance checked his watch to see slightly under 19 minutes for the swim and felt confident that no elite amateurs had passed him.

Out on the bike Severance was solo again, not seeing any other elite amateurs the entire ride, happy that no one caught him, but knowing all the while that the real competition was ahead of him.

Hitting the run course on a mission, Severance clicked off 5:50 mile after 5:50 mile despite temperatures in the 80s and extreme humidity.  All was good until he hit the turn-around point at 5k, and the heat and humidity finally caught up with him.  His brisk pace slowed and a few guys passed him on the hilly and shadeless course.

Severance finished in 13th place out of the elite amateur field, but 17th overall including a relay team and those who raced in a separate collegiate wave.  His time of 1:58:49 was within 8% of the winning pro’s time, thus counting as one of three of his pro license qualifications.

Full results here.

Fresh off his win at the Littlefoot Triathlon last weekend, Jordan Jones is seeking to better his ITU ranking at the ITU Ixtapa Pan Am Cup in Ixtapa Mexico on May 22nd.

Dan Mackenzie will return to his home state of Maryland to toe the line in the highly competitive Columbia Triathlon.

Cyrus Severance heads to Memphis for the Memphis in May Triathlon, one of the most competitive races in the country.

Check-in on Monday for results and race reports!

Jordan Jones led the Riptide Elite Team to an impressive showing at the Littlefoot Triathlon today.  Presented by Riptide Multisports and held within Bear Creek Lake Park, the race is the first triathlon of the year with an open water swim in Colorado.

Jones was positioned in 6th place coming out of the 53′ water, but moved up to 1st by the second lap of the 2-loop bike course.  A  former NCAA Division I Regional qualifier in the 5,000m, Jordan headed out onto the run knowing  his best miles were ahead of him.

Following Jones was Josh Merrick in 3rd, registering the fastest run split of the day.  Elite developmental athlete Ryan Borger followed in 5th, an excellent result for the newest member of the Riptide Elite team.  Dan Mackenzie followed just 5 seconds behind in 6th.  Matt Balzer rounded out the top-10, and Tate Behning finished 11th, Cyrus Severance 15th.

The Riptide Junior Development Team had a great day of racing as well.  Tyler Volz, just 20 years old finished 18th overall, including pros.  19-year-old Chris Athey finished in 23rd, registering the fastest bike split among age-group competitors.

Full results here.

After sweeping the Mile High Duathlon Series in 2008, Josh Merrick showed that he is still the class of Colorado duathlon with a dominating course record setting performance.  Taking it hard from the gun, Merrick gained more than a 20 second lead on the first run.  Next behind him were fellow Riptide athletes Jordan Jones at 22 seconds back and Tate Behning at 25 seconds pack.

On the bike Merrick continued his push, putting in the 2nd fastest bike of the day to enter the final run with over a minute lead on the field.  Jones was gapped midway through the bike by Justin Hurd but battled back over the final miles of the 30k bike to enter the final run in 2nd place.

From there Merrick ran the fastest 2nd run of the day to finish in a new course record of 1:11:54, obliterating the previous course record of 1:13:59.  Jones held on to 2nd place, finishing in 1:14:38.  Behning meanwhile was running to the 2nd fastest final run to put himself into 5th place.  From there Riptide had strong performances from Dan MacKenzie in 9th, Matt Balzer in 11th, and Cyrus Severance in 14th.

On the women’s side Jocelyn Petrella showed her fitness with a 2nd place finish.  Petrella started quickly with the 2nd fastest women’s first run of the day.  Onto the bike she held strong, only being passed by eventual winner Uli Bromme.  With a strong 2nd run Petrella earned her podium finishing in 2nd.  Amy Dannwolf also competed with a 12th place finish.  Petrella is primed to race at the ITU Oklahoma City Pan American Championship next weekend along with Riptide athlete Pete Mallett.

With over 400 finishers, the Barkin’ Dog Duathlon is the largest duathlon in Colorado and is consistently the largest duathlon in the Western United States.

Merrick and Jones go 1-2.

Petrella finishes 2nd.

The race was marked by the cancellation of the swim for age group competitors due to dangerous water conditions in Tampa Bay. Winds caused significant chop and waves that professionals were tasked with battling before setting off on the bike.

Jocelyn Petrella had the highest team finish of the day in 16th place. Petrella exited the water in 19th, lost a few spots with the 20th fastest bike of the day, but rallied to a 38:45 run.

On the mens side, Matt Balzer and Dan MacKenzie were the first Riptide athletes out of the water with Jordan Jones following one minute behind after a tough swim. On the bike, Jones pulled through the field and got off the bike seconds behind Balzer. Jones hit the pavement running and recorded the 7th fastest run of the day, covering the 10k run in 32:53 at 5:18 pace. This placed him in 19th at 1:55:02. Mackenzie was next to finish after a solid 33:42 placing him in 28th. Balzer finished in 33rd place.

On the elite amateur side, Bethany Handley, Amy Dannwolf, and Cyrus Severance raced. After dedicating her off season to improving her run, former University of Tennessee swimmer Handley rode solidly and posted the 3rd fastest amateur women’s run. Handley finished in 16th and looks forward to getting in the water for her next race, where she will be a formidable opponent to any amateur woman in the country.

Less than 2 minutes back was Dannwolf in 24th place, a solid placing in the competitive elite amateur women’s field of 62. Riptide’s emerging women’s program is off to a strong start to the season and hopes to finish much better when the race includes a swim.

Severance finished 33rd out of 69 elite amateur males. The lack of a swim was a slight disappointment to Severance who worked extensively on his stroke throughout the winter. Watch for him to place well in his next race at CapTexTri.

Full Plate River Half Marathon Results Here

In other weekend racing action, Cyrus Severance raced the New Orleans 70.3 but had a difficult day as he was fell victim to Louisiana’s heat. Severance started well as the 13th male age grouper out of the water but started experiencing difficulty at the end of the bike which only worsened on the run. Severance can now look forward to a shorter race at St. Anthony’s Triathlon on April 25th in St. Petersburg, Florida.