July 7^th, 2003

2003 Statewide Race Calendar

Magdalena-Kelly Run On Sunday, July 13

The Magdalena-Kelly run is a local tradition, in fact, it's the longest running foot race of any kind in the area. It's held in conjuction with the Magdalena Old Timers Festival, which runs from Friday through Sunday. The race starts at City Hall (turn North at Evett's), and runs the (approximately) 7K uphill to Kelly. The climbing starts early, but the real hill is waiting for you at about 4K. Try to run the whole way!

There have been a couple of misprints in the recent papers, but registration for this race is (confirmed) from 7:00-8:00 AM on Sunday morning, and the race starts at 8:00AM. In other words, the same as last year and every other time. Registration fee is still $10, including the t-shirt, as well as the door prizes, age-group awards, and beverages at the finish. A real bargain!

Weekend Results

Over the long weekend, Alyssa Higgs and Terry Moore competed in the Tucson Firecracker Triathlon, which starts with a wave-style 825-yard pool swim, followed by a criterium-style 12-mile bike, followed by a 3-mile run around the University of Arizona campus plaza. Both Alyssa and Terry took first place in their age groups, with Terry finishing 2^nd overall and Alyssa finishing 12^th overall in a huge field of 116 women. Terry and Alyssa exited the pool together, with Terry leading out on the bike leg with about 3 seconds advantage. Terry held the female lead until about half a mile to go on the run, when she was passed by pro triathlete Teri Albertazzi. See the results (and race photos) at http://www.tritucson.com.

Also last weekend, Mike Dennis competed at the Aida Bail Bonds Stage Race in El Paso. Official results haven't been posted, but Mike says he finished about midway in his category.

Still further away, Fred Yarger made his yearly trek to Atlanta for the Peachtree Road Race. Fred reports that the weather was more humid than usual, and caused him to drop off his pace. Fred finished the 10K in approximately 59 minutes.

Triathlon Meeting Friday July 11

A triathlon committee meeting will be held on Friday, July 11^th at 6PM at the Chamber of Commerce office. This is the "one month to go" meeting, and we'll be reviewing the organizational progress. If you'd like to join in the meeting and volunteer yourself for a job at one of the state's largest and finest triathlons, you'd be more than welcome. We'll even promise that you won't end up with the top job (this year).

Hash House Harriers To Meet July 17

The next meeting of the Socorro Hash House Harriers will be at 6PM at the brew pub on July 17^th. The run will start at 6:30 with a live hare (our first!). We may also have visiting hashers from Albuquerque, so let's get out and have some fun!

Trash Cleanup July 29

Due to the difficulties we've encountered in cleaning up our adopted section of Hwy 60 (first low turnout, then rain), the members present at the July meeting voted to try again on July 29^th. We'll meet at the east end at 7PM and make our way west.

Ironman Coeur d'Alene

Cathy and Matt had their first Ironman experience recently at Ironman North America's Ironman Coeur d'Alene, at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Cathy's been building her training for the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run for the past six months. Matt judged himself not tough enough to challenge the course, and instead volunteered for the officiating crew.

Lake Coeur d'Alene is a crystal-clear body of water set amongst mountains and pine trees, adjacent to the city of Coeur d'Alene. It was a beautiful place to hold a race, and racers compared it favorably with Ironman USA in Lake Placid, New York, and Ironman Canada, in Pentincton, British Columbia. An army of four thousand volunteers (four thousand more on a waiting list) and thousands of spectators gathered downtown and around the course on Sunday morning for the race. The course was very spectator-friendly, with the transition area and changing tents all in the downtown park next to the lake. The swim course would be two laps in the lake, the bike course would be two laps, passing through downtown four times, and the run course would also be two laps, also passing through downtown four times.

The mass start of 1600 triathletes into the 65-degree water was an exciting and impressive sight. Cathy started mid-field, and managed to hold her position for a 1 hour, 16 minute swim split. The bike leg was next, but the temperature had begun to climb. Cathy went out on the first lap hard, but realized the temperatures were beginning to climb, and relaxed a bit on the second lap, finishing the bike in (about) 7 hours. By that time, the temperature had reached 97 degrees, and racers were already dropping out of the race. Cathy said that the bike-to-run change tent was a mess, with many of the racers preparing for the marathon already emotionally and physically exhausted. This was supposed to be a cool-weather Ironman (average high of 78), and many people simply were not trained for the heat.

Cathy's marathon went fine for the first 19 miles, and she ran that entire time (although Cathy can slow her running to a pace slower than many people can walk). Cathy's been battling a piriformis muscle injury for the last few months, and had quit running recently. At mile 19, her body gave out, but she kept going anyway, trying to rehydrate at the aid stations and staggering through to a late-evening, 15:39 finish. She was still ahead of many people, and this race had the highest-ever rate of DNFs in an Ironman, mostly due to heat exhaustion and related digestive difficulties.