Athletes battle wild weather at triathlon
With a sold-out field of athletes making the trip to the St. George Triathlon at Sand Hollow State Park, the last thing anyone wanted was for Mother Nature to show up in a bad mood.
Strong winds created brutal conditions on the reservoir and along the road. With waves as high as three feet cresting over the heads of swimmers, the Olympic distance athletes were the only ones allowed into the water. A few hundred participants were pulled from the water by course officials in boats when conditions became too difficult. The sprint distance triathlon became a biathlon with only the bike and run portions of the event being held.
Thurston, one of the top triathletes in the region, completed the course in 2:13:03, just 29 seconds faster than North Salt Lake's BJ Christenson. St. George's Randall Olsen took third, finishing the challenging day of racing at 2:21:06.
Popelar's time of 2:40:19 was a little more than a minute better than that turned in by Jannalyn Luttrell of Salt Lake City, at 2:41:27. Amber Mounday of St. Louis, Mo., was third with a 2:42:44.
Michael Nordberg, from Salt Lake City, beat Chris Fetter to the line by 13 seconds with a time of 55:37, and Neal McLaughlin was third at 56:57.
Ogden's Debbie Perry (1:02:12) won the women's race, followed by Park City's Bri King (1:03:38) and Nevada's Heather Fisher at 1:06:19.
WOMEN OF STEEL: Wild winds creating monster waves won't be an issue this weekend when a few hundred women gather at the American Fork Fitness Center for the annual Women of Steel Triathlon.
The 300-meter indoor swim will be followed by an 11.5 mile bicycle ride and a 5K run around the streets of American Fork.
The sold-out women's-only event will feature prizes and awards for the winners and inspirational participants.
The next big triathlons in the state are the Shark Attack Triathlon on May 31 at Crystal Springs near Tremonton and the Salem Spring Triathlon on June 7.
ENDURANCE RUNNING SEASON ROLLS ON: The eighth-annual Ogden Marathon will be held Saturday, starting west of Pineview Reservoir and finishing in downtown Ogden. The course descends nearly 1,100 feet following the Ogden River.
If you are not one of those in the sold-out field and still want to participate in a long race, the Homestead Golden 5K and half marathon will be held May 24 in Midway.
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