Reapers snare 5 overall top-3s at Decatur
Grim Reaper Fitness and Bloomington-Normal had a huge day at the Rodney T. Miller Lakeside Triathlon in Decatur, IL, bringing back five trophies for overall Top 3 finishes, and eight more for Top 3 Age Group awards.
The day’s initial story was the changing of the race format to a duathlon due to high water levels and strong currents in Lake Decatur. Athletes still ran sprint and intermediate races, but the swim leg of each replaced with a 1-mile run. All racers did a 19-mile bike; intermediate racers closed with a 4.5 mile run, while sprint participants ran 3.1 mile before finishing.
Romanie Walter led the GRF charge finishing 3rd in the Women’s Intermediate Elite race. Romanie’s 1:35:20 time was fueled by a 6:46 pace on the closing run leg, the best women’s pace for all intermediate racers and all but one sprint racer.
In the men’s Intermediate Age Group, Chris Daniels placed 3rd overall at 1:26:14. Also cracking the top 10 were Bryan Heppe at 6th and Matt Cuttell at 7th. Those two placed 1st in the 35-39 and 30-34 age groups, respectively.
In women’s Intermediate, Lynn Staley placed 1st in the 45-49 AG, which was good for 10th overall.
On the Sprint side, Erik Rankin, Carey Weaver, and Wendy Smith took overall Top 3s. Erik ran a well-balanced race, finishing at 1:22:11 for 2nd place, while Carey, one of the newest Reapers, was close on his heels at 1:22:54 for 3rd. Not much further behind were Jason Sturdyvin at 4th and Joey Lehman at 6th. All four won their age groups as well. Casey Haak picked up a 2nd place finish in 20-24.
On the women’s side, Wendy also took 2nd, finishing at 1:34:13. Lisa Kiley was 5th overall and 1st in the 50-54 AG. Also taking Top 3 AG awards were Jessica Miner at 2nd and Natalie McKee at 3rd in the 35-39 AG.
It wasn’t just GRF representing Bloomington-Normal – by unofficial count, six more B-N racers took home top 3 AG finishes.
Many of the Reapers will be back in action July 26 at Tri Harder’s race day in Springfield, IL. The action-packed day includes Sprint, Olympic and Half Iron distances.
Read more about the event, see pictures and view results at www.decaturtriathlon.com
Lots of Hardware for the Little Reapers
The day before, 5 GRF Kids competed in the Rodney T. Miller Lakeside Triathlon races for kids. Duathlon races included options for kids 5-8 (.5 mile run / 1.5 mile bike / .5 mile run) and 9-14 (1 mile run / 3.4 mile bike / 1 mile run). A triathlon (250 yard swim / 3.4 mile bike / 1 mile run) was offered to children ages 10-14). Due to the weather the swim was cancelled and all children 9-14 completed the duathlon course.
In the 5-8 year old event, Maddie Rankin took home 1st in her age group and 5th overall with a time of 17:10.9, while Isaiah Matthews took home 2nd in his AG and 6th overall with a time of 18:26.4.
Among the older kids, Rachel Simmons finished 1st in her AG and 8th overall with a time of 30:56.8 and Lily Matthews finished in 32:37.1, good for 1st in her AG and 11th overall.
David Ford Wins Off Road Cycling Race
David Ford posted his first career cycling race victory at the Friends of Off Road Cycling (FORC) Thrill Ride in Davenport, IA, over the weekend.
David and Tom Keller competed in the Cat 3 30-39 Age Group. Their age group proved to be the toughest, as the top 6 overall finishers came from that group. David finished 1st overall and in AG, while Tom was 5th and 5th.
