It was a weekend of firsts for a few Grim Reaper Fitness athletes.
Bryan Heppe completed his first Half Ironman distance race, and Curtis Preston and Lisa Kiley each completed their first Olympic distance race at the Great Illini Triathlon at Lake Mattoon in Neoga, IL. Each finished 2nd in their respective age groups.
Bryan took the 35-39AG lead into the run leg of the 70.3, and put up a solid 1:45:06 on the run leg for a time of 5:04:13. The winner finished in 5:02:12.
In the Olympic, Curtis also took the 35-39AG lead into the run on the way to a 2:34:12. The winner, however, posted a strong run and finished less than 2 minutes in front of Curtis.
Lisa put a time of 3:05:41 for 2nd in the women’s 50-54AG in her first Oly.
Inadvertently left off last week’s results was new Reaper Jared Bierbaum, who completed his first Ironman distance race at Louisville. Jared’s 12:34:08 finishing time was highlighted by a strong 59:48 in the swim. He was 78th in the 30-34AG out of 232 finishers, but the swim was good for 35th.
