All the right breaks
LOREN BENOIT/Press Top women’s professional Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene finishers Heather Jackson, center, Mirinda Carfrae, left, and Heather Wurtele pop champaign to celebrate their professional women finishes.
LOREN BENOIT/Press Tim Reed, of Boulder, Colo., claimed his first professional Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene Victory with a time of 3 hours, 47 minutes and 53 seconds.
JIM MOWREADER/Press Professional men athletes start their swim during Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene on Sunday.
Heather Jackson of Bend, Ore., who won the full Ironman in Coeur d’Alene in 2015, then the 70.3 event in 2016, was the top female professional in this year’s Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene with a time of 4 hours, 12 minutes and 58 seconds. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
Top mens professional athletes Tim Reed, center, Sam Appleton, left, and Josh Amberger celebrate their Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene race finishes. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
COEUR d’ALENE — Coming off a bit of a layoff from training, Tim Reed wasn’t quite sure where he’d rank among the professionals at Ironman 70.3 Coeur d’Alene.
On the one hand, Reed was rested and ready to go.
On the other hand, some of his closest friends were also on the course, chasing and pushing him.
“To be honest, I thought I was going to be off the pace a little bit coming off a break,” Reed said. “Sometimes when you get a break, you come back fresh physically and mentally.”
The rested Reed — an Australian who resides in Boulder, Colo. — won for the first time in Coeur d’Alene, edging fellow Australian Sam Appleton for the title.
Reed won in 3 hours, 47 minutes and 53 seconds, with Appleton finishing shortly behind him in 3 hours, 48 minutes and 8 seconds. Reed completed the 1.2-mile swim in 25 minutes, the 56-mile bike ride in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 41 seconds and 13.1-mile run in 1 hour, 11 minutes and 18 seconds.
“It’s awesome,” said Reed, who finished second in Coeur d’Alene in 2017. “I haven’t had a win in the U.S. in a few years. I’ve been on a lot of podiums, but haven’t won. It feels great because I’m around quality guys. Sam’s one of my best friends and Josh Amberger (another fellow Australian who lives in Boulder) I’ve known for quite a while as well. They’re much better swimmers than I am, and they’re such great guys. I know it’s not great for America, but it’s great for us.”
Reed caught Appleton in the final 7 miles of the run.
“I’m pretty happy with that race,” Appleton said. “I didn’t get out to a great start, and felt pretty average in the swim. Josh (Amberger, who finished third) and I rode together and rode fair. But I was a little surprised with the chase pack because we didn’t put any time into them. When we got off the bike, I didn’t think we had that much of a lead.”
Matt Hanson of Storm Lake, Iowa, who won the men’s race last year, finished fifth.
Appleton said he didn’t quite have the start he might have liked on the run leg.
“I felt terrible in the first 5K (kilometers) of the run, but felt better toward the end of it,” Appleton said. “Tim caught me, and I kind of came back at him, but he put a gap on me. I would have liked to have won, but I was really happy with my run.”
Heather Jackson of Bend, Ore., who won the full Ironman in Coeur d’Alene in 2015, then the 70.3 event in 2016, was the top female professional in 4 hours, 12 minutes and 58 seconds.
“I had a pretty similar training program from my last win here,” Jackson said. “I tend to mimic my seasons and build toward a full Ironman next month. This is kind of as I’m coming into fitness mode and was able to put together a good race here.”
Haley Chura of Bozeman, Mont., who had won the past two 70.3 events in Coeur d’Alene, finished fifth.
Jackson was fifth after the swim, and pulled away on the run for the title. Jackson was 27:56 in the swim, 2:21:55 on the bike and 1:20:09 on the run.
“It was pretty windy on the bike and run today,” Jackson said. “But it felt pretty good today. I was able to get a little bit of time back on the bike, but was really stoked with how the run went.”
Mirinda Carfrae of Boulder, competing in her first Ironman Coeur d’Alene, was second in 4 hours, 14 minutes and 38 seconds.
“I think we had pretty good conditions,” Carfrae said. “I’ve heard the water here can be pretty cold, but it felt like good conditions today with the wetsuits. The bike course was really fair, and the crowd support was great.”
The race awarded a total purse of $30,000 and 30 age-group qualifying spots for the World Championship in Nice, France on Sept. 6.
Reed and Jackson each received $6,000 for winning on Sunday. Prize money was awarded to first through sixth place, with second-place winners receiving $5,000 and third place $4,000.
MALE
TOP 10 PROFESSIONALS — 1, Tim Reed, Boulder, Colo., 3:47:53. 2, Sam Appleton, Boulder, Colo., 3:48:08. 3, Josh Amberger, Boulder, Colo., 3:48:48. 4, Jackson Laundry, Guelph, Ontario, 3:49:30. 5, Matt Hanson, Storm Lake, Iowa, 3:52:54. 6, Robbie Deckard, Boulder, Colo., 3:54:02. 7, Nathan Killam, Vancouver, British Columbia, 3:58:15. 8, Jonathan Shearon, Tucson, Ariz., 3:58:59. 9, Justin Daerr, Boulder, Colo., 3:59:12. 10, Ernest Mantell, Tempe, Ariz., 3:59:37.
FEMALE
TOP 10 PROFESSIONALS — 1, Heather Jackson, Bend, Ore., 4:12:58. 2, Mirinda Carfrae, Boulder, Colo., 4:14:38. 3, Heather Wurtele, Vancouver, British Columbia, 4:20:30. 4, Melanie McQuaid, Penticton, British Columbia, 4:20:59. 5, Haley Chura, Bozeman, Mont., 4:22:23. 6, Jeanni Seymour, Boulder, Colo., 4:23:12. 7, Danielle Dingman, Branson, Mo., 4:32:13. 8, Kyra Wiens, Tacoma, Wash., 4:39:15. 9, Romina Palacio, Haedo, Argentina, 4:41:42. 10, Maggie Rusch, Asheville, N.C., 4:47:55.