An Oasis For Endurance
Published 5:00 am Sunday, June 24, 2007
- Cassie Nobbs, 35, of White Salmon, Wash., emerges from the water of the Wickiup Reservoir after swimming 1.2 miles in the first leg of the half-iron triathlon during the Pacific Crest Festival on Saturday.
SUNRIVER – An endurance athletes’ oasis, the Pacific Crest Weekend Sports Festival finish area at Sunriver Resort was full of weary smiles and exhausted bodies, many faces expressing a combination of bewilderment and accomplishment.
Most finishers immediately headed for the misting tent that rinsed their sweat-soaked bodies, then they made their way into a covered pavilion where only race participants were allowed.
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Beyond the finish line and Athlete Village, an overwhelming number of people – a mix of amazed spectators and worn-out athletes – all mingled in a congested area of tents and vendors at the Sunriver Mall plaza. Between shaky-legged, stumbling athletes and the crowd of wondering observers, hardly anyone was able to walk in a straight line.
The event started at 7:30 a.m. and ended well into the afternoon, with 1,909 competitors taking part in four different races and crossing the same finish line. The events consisted of a half-marathon (13.1-mile run), a marathon (26.2-mile run), an endurance duathlon (56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run) and a half-iron triathlon (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-run).
Bend’s Matt Lieto, the men’s half-iron triathlon winner, is no stranger to the Pacific Crest Sports Festival, or to winning it. It was his aim to come out on top again Saturday, and he did with time to spare, finishing in 3 hours, 58 minutes and 59 seconds.
His closest challenger, 37-year-old Kelly Williamson, finished in 4:06:33, more than seven minutes of separation.
Lieto won the event in 2005 with a time of 4:16:46, and last year he took third at 4:28:37. The 29-year-old seemed satisfied by his performance immediately following the race, even before he knew his exact finishing time and place.
”It felt good enough,” said Lieto, sitting in a chair looking around at the finish. ”I was racing by myself in that wave. I felt OK.”
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Later, Lieto shared that Saturday’s race was his redemption, as he was disappointed with last year’s third-place performance.
”I am very, very happy with how it turned out,” he said of his 2007 effort.
The race started in 10-minute waves by age category (five-year increments), so racers like Lieto had a difficult time gauging where they were in relation to their competition, especially when they spent the majority of the race on their own.
Though Lieto started five minutes after Williamson, the two were neck and neck on the entire bike portion of the race. Williamson described each section of the race, saying that when it came to the run stage, he was ahead of Lieto for a short distance until Lieto caught up and, according to Williamson, said, ”Hey, let’s just run this out together.”
”I was excited to have someone there,” said Lieto. ”I like the camaraderie of the sport.”
Top women’s finisher for the half-iron triathlon was Robyn Wangberg of Corvallis. The 28-year-old finished in 4:40:01.
Men’s and women’s endurance duathlon winners were Ryan Rau, age 26 of Brighton, Mich., and Laura Matsen of Portland.
Rau is on an athletic tour of sorts and is set to compete in the USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals for the Olympic-distance triathlon in Portland next weekend.
His goal was to qualify for the world championships in both events – the long course duathlon and the Olympic distance triathlon, so in Rau’s mind both races are an opportunity to qualify for world competitions. He succeeded in qualifying for the 2007 ITU Long Course Duathlon World Championships to be held this fall in Virginia.
”Just listen to your body and pace yourself as you go along,” said Rau of competing in both races.
Matsen competed as a birthday celebration, having turned 25 on Friday.
”I really like it,” she said. ”It’s what I do for fun.”
The men’s marathon winner, 26-year-old Ruslan Tkebuchava, of Vancouver, Wash., finished with a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon – 2:56:32. The women’s winner, Becky Hacker of Ashland, also qualified for Boston with a time of 3:22:47.
One runner, Charlotee Crotty, ran her fifth marathon in five weeks on Saturday, in an attempt to complete 14 marathons in 14 weeks. Crotty’s effort is a fundraiser for Brain Cancer research, she hopes to raise $55,000.
But why 14?
This year is the 14th anniversary of her mother’s death. The women died of brain cancer, but fought it for 14 years after being diagnosed. Crotty’s age upon her mothers death: 14.
The half-marathon runners had some impressive finishes as well. Bend’s Cheryl Tronson won the women’s race (1:28:02).
Tronson, age 49, said, ”I felt like 20 today.”
Steve Andersen of Portland won the men’s half-marathon, running it in 1:15:37.
Sunday’s events include the 5- and 10-kilometer run, an Olympic-distance triathlon, and an Olympic-distance duathlon.
Four big races in one day and plenty of happy finishers Saturday. Some will get up and do it all over again.