Jordan Jones 5150 Hy-Vee Championship 16th Place

The 5150 Hy-Vee Championship race was my goal this season and the effort to qualify was worth the effort. A purse of $1,000,000, 60 of the best non-drafting athletes in the world, and a huge crowd made this the best race I’ve ever competed in. As soon as Amy and I landed in Des Moines, we were impressed with the professionalism of the race. There were signs in the airport for the athletes, shuttles to take us to downtown Des Moines, and when we got there the race was practically already set up two days before race-time.

It rained on Saturday then Sunday was beautiful weather and almost cool. All the rain Saturday was in the river by Sunday making for a very strong current. If I swam easy then I’d simply be getting pushed backward by the water.

After getting called out individually to the pontoon, the race was underway. I’ve had progressively better swims this season but that streak didn’t carry through here. I exited the water in 29th place and 3 minutes down from the lead. The upside was that 10 guys lay within a minute up the road.

The bike course was finely planned and consisted of four laps with a nice mixture of city riding, hills, and straight power sections. I hit it hard on the bike and rode to 23rd place by the time I started running. I wasn’t sure how my legs would feel once they hit the pavement after my effort on the bike but they got rolling well. I fought hard on the run, passing guys to move to 16th place. After dealing with an achilles injury all spring and summer, it felt fantastic to finally have a stride and open up the legs. I loved the lap format of the run, 1.5 miles per lap with one big hill and a deep crowd most of the way. Plus I had Amy, Tate, and Paula cheering me on every loop keeping my spirits high.
With the huge backing of Hy-Vee and other race sponsors, 16th place was worth $7,000 which I’m very appreciative of. Greg Bennett was the men’s champion on the day which was nice to see. Amy and I were impressed with his friendliness and positive outlook on racing when we saw him and his wife Laura throughout the weekend.

It would help the sport dramatically if other companies could see the benefit of backing a race of this caliber. Imagine a series of races at this level. This was a bit of an experiment for high stakes non-drafting Olympic distance race and from my perspective it was a success. The athletes were an intriguing mix of Ironman World Champions, Olympians, ITU athletes, and 70.3 stars. The city of Des Moines is a perfect size for this race because it’s large enough to host a race this size yet small enough that the race is THE event in town. The race drew a large crowd locally and the live online coverage seemed to draw high ratings (at least every who I’ve talked to watched it). This is the model that the IAAF T&F World Championships is based upon.

Now it’s time for a short down period before getting back into my fall race season which will consist of five races. Next up is the Jarden Westchester Triathlon on September 25th in Rye, NY.