Feuding pros give Ironman World Championship more spice

Written by: - Gary and Christine Stamper (CMC members)

Less than 48 hours before Ironman World Championship will start, last year’s top male and female finishers fielded questions during yesterday’s press conference. Conspicuously missing was Chris McCormack.

The feud between McCormack, Norman Stadler and Faris Al-Sultan was broached. Rutger Beke, last year’s fourth-place male finisher, commented that the feud is "good for the sport," but fans should cheer for their favorites and avoid booing others.

When asked if it was true Macca was absent because he was afraid to sit between Stadler and Al-Sultan, none of the panel responded. However, Greg Welch, the only male Australian to win at Kona, ignored Beke’s former intimation to keep the race positive by offering, "That’s a pretty good assumption."

The panel unanimously said they will wear speed suits, which reduce resistance for swimmers. Al Sultan prefers to wear a Speedo but is compelled to wear a speed suit because most athletes do. Desiree Ficker, last year’s second-place female finisher, smiled and said she didn’t mind the speed suit as women "can’t just race in a Speedo."

When asked about his level of motivation, last year’s winner, Stadler, said he was always motivated. "If you come here with 90 percent motivation, you better stay home." Judging from appearances, "90 percent" isn’t in the vocabulary of this year’s field of pros.

- Gary and Christine Stamper

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Columbians Gary and Christine Stamper are in Kona, Hawaii, this week to observe the Ironman World Championship and are writing about their experiences for the Tribune.

Bold predictions on an otherwise quiet off-day

Written by: - Gary and Christine Stamper (CMC members)

While winter does not come to Kona, Hawaii, hibernation does. The flurry of cyclists and runners training along Alii Drive has quieted, as athletes opt for rest before race day. And, apparently, Chris McCormack began his hibernation a few hours earlier than expected. Perhaps, absence makes the feud grow stronger.

Earlier this week, Mark Allen suggested that today’s pro triathletes are not willing to risk it all in Kona - they do not discard their heart rate monitors and just go until they drop. Taking Allen’s cue … we’ve decided to risk it and make our race predictions.

In the men’s race, Gary believes Chris McCormack will win, breaking a course record. Faris Al Sultan will nab second, leaving Norman Stadler in third. I also believe McCormack will win but without the record. Rutger Beke will take second, leaving Tim DeBoom in third.

In the women’s race, I choose Samantha McGlone to follow in the footsteps of Luc Van Lierde and win on her first attempt at Ironman. Natascha Badmann will take second and Michellie Jones third. Gary chooses Michellie Jones to win, Desiree Ficker for second and Samantha McGlone for third.

And while we are prognosticating … we predict the four Missouri competitors to beat the two from Oklahoma.

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- Gary and Christine Stamper

Columbians Gary and Christine Stamper are in Kona, Hawaii, this week to observe the Ironman World Championship and are writing about their experiences for the Tribune.

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Grit of competition covers allure of Kona

Written by: - Gary and Christine Stamper (CMC Members)

With Men at Work’s "Down Under" blaring from the finish-line speakers, Chris McCormack captured his first Ironman World Championship on Saturday. Fellow Australian Craig Alexander finished second, 3½ minutes back. Torbjorn Sindballetook third, and American Tim DeBoom fourth. Last year’s champion, Norman Stadler, dropped out of the race during the bike leg, and Faris Al-Sultan withdrew before the race began.

Competing in only her second Ironman race and surprising many, Christine Wellington won her first Ironman World Championship. She is the first female from Great Britain to win Kona. Samantha McGlone crossed the line in second. Australian Kate Major finished third, followed by Joanna Lawn of New Zealand. Michellie Jones, a prerace favorite, dropped out of the race during the bike leg, and Natascha Badmann pulled out after a bike crash.

After finishing, McCormack said he "had never hurt like that" before. McCormack’s father and wife hugged the exhausted winner after he received the ceremonial lei and crown. Also in the finishing area to congratulate McCormack was Stadler, who graciously embraced Macca.

Wellington dedicated her win to her grandfather, who turned 101 in August. Her smile, wide and infectious, never wavered during the marathon and beamed even more at the finish.

Columbia’s own Andy Pele finished in an impressive 10 hours, 2 minutes.

For the winning pros, the celebration continued yesterday. For the others, reflection and plans for next year have already begun. Many of the age-group athletes boarded planes to travel home and headed to work with weary legs but hearty grins today. There will be no headlines announcing their accomplishments. Their coworkers, perhaps, will not even ask about their race. Yet, those closest to these athletes will know the sacrifices made during the past 10 months to reach the penultimate goal of triathlon.

As we watched the race, the glitz and glamour of the two-hour television version vanished. The grueling, workaday truth of Ironman cannot be captured by television commentators. One must compete in or witness in person an Ironman to fully appreciate the rawness of the event.

At the finish, McCormack asked for a chair while being interviewed by the race announcer. There was no chair, so McCormack found a spot on the bleachers provided for media. His effort was such that he had to sit down or he would fall. McGlone took several swallows of water before she could speak after finishing.

After the parade of professionals ceased, age-grouper after age-grouper arrived. One finisher from Japan, so overjoyed, sprinted across the finish line and did not stop until he collapsed amid volunteers. Many stood, fleetingly, under the arch of flowers, raised their hands in triumph and received their lei, medal and finisher’s towel, as the announcer pronounced them Ironmen. Later, as we walked Alii Drive in the darkness, these same Ironmen pushed or rode their bikes back to their hotels.

For us, the mystique of Kona has been demystified. However, the mystique of Ironman has not. Less than 75,000 people worldwide compete in and finish Ironman races. McCormack, after winning, put it simply: "Yes. Yes, I did it." He also said, "Sometimes you get scared to seize the moment. … Don’t be scared today." Ironman is a solitary struggle to seize the moment and relish in the beauty of affirmation. And, while not via Kona, we, too, are proud to say, "We are Ironmen."

- Gary and Christine Stamper

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Columbians Gary and Christine Stamper went to Kona, Hawaii, to observe the Ironman World Championship.

Columbia Multisport Club Repeat as National Champions

Columbia Multisport showed up in full force to defend their Club Nationals title.

With three races over two days, 283 athletes representing 12 clubs, hailing from Anchorage, Alaska to New York City, proved that teamwork does pay off.

The club championships brought newbies, veterans, sprinters and long course athletes to compete together and earn points towards an overall score. The host of this year’s championship, Columbia Multisport, won the event and welcomed every club to join them in celebrating the excitement of club racing.

Several athletes raced twice over the weekend, first taking part in the Long Course USAT National Championship on Saturday then gearing up again for either the short or intermediate distance race on Sunday.

Notable Doubles:
1st 30-34 F Halfmax and Octomax – Kristin Moore (Big Shark Racing)
1st 55-59 M Halfmax and Octomax – Jim Fuller (Greeley Tri Club)
1st 35-39 M Halfmax and Octomax – Ted Zederik (Columbia Multisport)
1st 30-34 M Halfmax and Quartermax – Adam Zucco (Multisport Madness)

With $10,000 cash on the line, each club brought their “A Game” to all races with Full Throttle Endurance (NYC) taking six first place awards, three second place awards and three third place awards, all with a total of 15 club members.

The overall club, regardless of division, won $5,000. Each first place club in division one through five took home $1,000 cash to help support their club programs and membership.

The announcement of the 2008 Club National Championship will be made later this fall.

2007 Club Champions

Division I
1 Columbia Multisport Club (Columbia, MO) 520
2 Tri Fury (Andover, MA) 10

Division II
1 St. Louis Tri Club (St. Louis, MO) 151
2 Alaska Tri Club (Anchorage, AK) 14
3 Lonestar Multisport Club (The Woodlands, TX) 9

Division III
1 Multisport Madness (St. Charles, IN) 61

Division IV
1 Full Throttle Endurance (New York City, NY) 73
2 Greeley Triathlon Club (Greeley, CO) 64
3 Big Shark Racing (St. Louis, MO) 41
4 Ozarks Multisport Club (Springfield, MO) 30

Division V
1 Defined Fitness Training (Denver, CO) 22
2 Los Locos Tri Club (Memphis, TN) 19

Article take from: USA Triathlon News Wire Post

Columbia Triathletes Win Another National Title

The Columbia Multisport Club defended its title at USA Triathlon club
championships over the weekend in Innsbrook. This marks the fourth time
in five years that CMC has won the national title.

This time, the club brought nearly 200 competitors to the event.

"Honestly, we knew we were going to win just because of the close
proximity of the championships to Columbia," CMC President Mark Livesay
said. "But the location allowed so many members of our club to
participate, and that was really sweet."

Columbia won the title with 520 points, followed by the St. Louis
Tri-Club with 151 points. There were 14 clubs and 800 athletes
participating.

CMC competitors swept first, second and third places in eight different
age group categories during the two-day event. Columbian Ted Zderic
won the overall title."

Welcome to the NEW CMC Blog!

Welcome to our new CMC Blog. This is our attempt to keep the content of the CMC website more dynamic and up-to-date. Board Members and Committee Chairpersons will have the ability to post current news, member profiles and all kinds of CMC related information. I (Mark) will be posting the State of CMC to the Blog from this point forward.

Be sure to leave comments on the articles. This will help us to adjust what we are posting to the site.

We have added sections for Triathlon related videos on You Tube and we also have a news feed for stories related to multi-sport pursuits.

ANOTHER NEW FEATURE: We now have a way to post photos to the CMC gallery. You can check that out on main page under the gallery tab. There are a couple options. There is a link provided on that tab where you can download instructions on how to get photos in the gallery. Overtime we may make more adjustments here.

Hope you all enjoy the new updates to the CMC site.

Bicyclist May Fight Back - Motorist Contact Letter

Picture the perfect ride on a gorgeous Missouri morning spoiled by a frighteningly close encounter with a motorist who is angry just to see a bicyclist on the road. In the past, many of us were frustrated by our inability to take self-protective action or to incite others to protect us unless we were severely damaged by the encounter.

In an effort to make our state a safer place to ride a bicycle, the Missouri Bicycle Federation (MoBikeFed) has established a program in which the details of the incident are reported to us and a letter will be sent to the offending motorist.

Details of the incident should include: motorist license tag number and description of the incident (time, place, description of vehicle & driver, what happened).

This program is open to all MoBikeFed members, including members of affiliated clubs.

Bicyclists may send the details of the incident to MBF Motorist Contact Program, director@mobikefed.org, PO Box 104871, Jefferson City, MO 65110-4871.

Family Gives Youth Triathlon High Marks

SALLY MORROW/Missourian

Mariah Lucero cheers the day’s successes with fellow competitors.

By ALICIA HATCHER

July 1, 2007 | 12:46 a.m. CST

Standing atop the 10-foot water slide at Wilson’s Beach Club, 13-year-old Mariah Lucero had butterflies in her stomach — not because she’s afraid of heights or because she had never gone down the slippery track to the pool below. Lucero was nervous because she was about to begin her first triathlon.

“I kind of felt like I was going to throw up,” she said. “But after I got into the water, I wasn’t nervous anymore.”


Kate Lucero encourages her daughter, Mariah before the Columbia Youth Triathlon begins on Saturday morning. ...

Saturday, Lucero, who goes to Smithton Middle School, and her 10-year-old brother Caleb, who attends Fairview Elementary, participated in the Youth Lions Triathlon held at Wilson’s Beach Club in Columbia. Lucero completed a 100-meter freestyle swim, a 3-mile bike ride and a one-mile run in her 13-14 age group. The event was sponsored by UltraMax Events, with the proceeds benefiting the Missouri Lions Eye Research Foundation.

The 91 finishers endured a rainy morning, running across the finish line with wet hair and soaked clothes. However, race director Mark Livesay said the rain had little effect on competitors.

“I think it impacted the parents more than the racers,” he said. “The kids didn’t seem to mind at all. They really weren’t bothered too much.”

Because there was no lightning or thunder and the course had few turns where racers could fall easily, the event went right on schedule. Kate Lucero participated, along with her daughter, in the biking and running portions of the race. She did this not only to ease her daughter’s worries, but also for her own personal fitness.

“Mariah wasn’t sure if she could do it,” she said. “But it was a low-key event, so it took away some mystery and hype of a competition. And it got us up and moving. Would I normally go out and run a mile? Probably not. But with this event, it makes it a little easier to get moving.”

And the triathlon did just that. Earlier in the week, the two learned the course the event would follow, but the running section of the race still gave them quite a workout.

“We walked a little and ran a little,” Kate Lucero said. “It takes more time, but in the end, it’s something we did together. We held hands and ran together through the hard parts.”

The running was more of a challenge for Mariah Lucero than the swimming. This summer she is competing in the Missouri Athletic Center’s club swimming league through Wilson’s Fitness. Her mother said she enjoys seeing her daughter, who has a learning disability, active in sports.

“You know, not everyone has a body that works. It’s a blessing,” she said. “I’m just glad she can enjoy it.”

However, Lucero did have to do a bit of convincing to get her children to participate.

“It’s interesting how their minds changed,” Lucero said. “Before, they would say, ‘Mom, why’d you sign us up for this?’ but now they are so happy they did it.”

CMC Breaks Record Tue/Thur Run Attendance

Fitness is all well and good when it comes to running, but one Columbia group finds greater pleasure in going the distance.

It's five o'clock in the morning and Mike Tripp is the first to arrive at the forum trail head.

Once a year, tripp sees to it that every one of his guests is accounted for. How many guests? Try 169.

"That's phenomenal on a Tuesday at 5:30 in the morning to get that many people out on running," Joe Bechtold said.

Tripp and fellow Columbia Multisport Club member Bechtold host an annual high attendance day, where the goal is to bring in everyone. Every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30, Tripp, Bechtold and others routinely go for a 5 to 7 mile run down the Katy Trail.

"It's the last free activity left in this world," Bechtold said.

What began as a simple four man team six years ago, grew to over 80 people per day.

"The first year, 15 was a good number, and we thought that was pretty exciting," Tripp said. "It's really a lot of fun."

While the Katy Trail might bring a few bumps, nicks, scratches, and even the occasional bug bite, there's no question that these runners have fierce dedication.

"My usual running time is 4:15 in the morning with my running partner," Columbia Track Club president Linda LaFontaine said. "This is almost like a biathalon for me, it'll be like a run, a rest, and then a run again."

"It is fun to have the high attendance day," Tripp said. "But what i think what keeps people coming back isn't 5:30 in the morning, it's getting to know people and having someone to be accountable to and also have a friendship with."

Edited by: Field Sutton
Reported by: Michael Brannen - KOMU

Exercise, not Breaking The Record, was the Goal

Columbia Missourian

MKT trail event’s second year draws 167 people, running different distances
By NICK SNOW

For some people 5:30 a.m. is time to call it a night and head home. But for the 167 participants in Tuesday’s Breaking the Record Run, 5:30 a.m. was the perfect time to go for a jog.

The event, sponsored by the Columbia Multisport Club, took place along the MKT trail, beginning at the Forum Boulevard trail entrance. In its second year, the run/walk is an annual event that is open to the public, and includes participants running distances ranging from five miles to 6.6 miles. Last year the event attracted 136 people.

Joe Bechtold, one of the organizers of the run/walk, said the goal of this event is to get people out of the house and exercising.

“We try to get as many people as we can,” participant Phil Schaefer said.
Along with sponsoring Tuesday’s run/walk, the CMC also runs the same course at 5:30 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday year-round. Schaefer said despite the fact he doesn’t consider himself a morning person, having a very supportive group around him makes it easier to get up in the mornings.
Carolyn Roof, who also participated in Tuesday’s event, echoed Schaefer’s sentiments. She admitted that sometimes it’s hard to get up but she’s afraid she’ll catch grief from her fellow CMC members if she doesn’t show up. She says she enjoys having a routine of working out early in the morning with friends and that it’s a great way to start the day.

Plenty of newcomers joined the CMC for the annual run. Among them were Glenn Good and Laurie Mintz.

“I like exercising, so I thought I’d give it a try,” Good said.
Mintz, who walked the trail, said that the scenery was beautiful and that it motivated her to wake up and join in the festivities.

Along with getting the chance to get out and exercise, some participants received plastic beads as a reward for either perfect attendance throughout the month or participating in their first event.

“The beads are just for fun, but people look forward to the beads,” Schaefer said. It gets people to come out.”