The momentum continues to grow in the Chilly Cheeks Winter Duathlon Series, as nearly 70 racers accepted the unusual run-bike-run-bike challenge, an increase of nearly 50 percent from the first race in this winter series. And the weather - it cooperated as well, hitting the low 40's with sunshine before the race's end. A final bit of good weather before 8 inches of snow dumped on the park later in the day!
The race featured separate transition areas on the east and west sides of Cherry Creek State Park, and the twist was that no gear could be stashed ahead of time at T-2.
This meant that racers who chose to switch between running and cycling shoes had to devise some method of carrying their running shoes with them on the bike.
All sorts of systems appeared on race day, from the simple stashing of running shoes in the back pocket of a cycling jersey, to small packs, or shoes stuffed into rear-mounted bottle cages. One woman even stuffed her running shoes into her cycling tights.
With a short 1.6 mile opening run, racers were assigned to one of 5 randomly seeded waves which went off at 2-minute intervals. This succeeded in separating the field prior to the first cycling leg. Elite runner Laurie Edwards, of Boulder, took the lead just past the mile mark, as the runners followed the path along the shore of Cherry Creek Reservoir. Leading into the first transition, Edwards was shadowed closely by several of the top men in Wave-1.
Meanwhile, series leader John Phillips, of Colorado Springs, was being challenged in Wave-3 by Andrew Holton. The challenge lasted until the start of the 4 mile cycle to T-2, when Phillips launched his attack on the field. With just a third of the race distance completed, Phillips entered transition just a minute down on the Wave-1 leaders, having already made up 3 minutes on the lead group.
Likewise, women's series leader Jennifer Lee, of Ft. Collins, was also working her way through the field in pursuit of Edwards.
Phillips moved into the overall lead just past the mile mark of the second run, a rolling 2.75 mile mix of paved and dirt trails that wound through the west side of the park. From here, he never looked back. Just the same, he hammered out the final ride, a 6 mile push to the finish where he took the win in 50:38.
Holton also managed to pass all those who started in front of him, surviving a sprint to the finish that moved him ahead of all the starters in the previous 2 waves.
Jennifer Lee, starting in wave-5, didn't make up the 8 minute head start given to Edwards, but she did manage to chew away 3 minutes of it, giving her the win in 1:00:45. Edwards grabbed second in 1:03:41, moving her a minute closer to Lee than she had been in the first race in the series.
In Fat-Tire competition, Edward and Michelle Oliver, of Littleton, proved to be the day's fastest with times of 58:41 and 1:15:10.
The final race in the Chilly Cheeks Winter Series will take place on February 29th at Cherry Creek State Park in Denver. The race will consist of a 10 mile paved bike ride followed by a 4 mile road and trail run. Enter by February 14 and it'll cost ya just 20 bucks!
*FT=Fat Tire Division
**For series standings, ages are calculated based on 01/01/04
PLACE NAME CITY ST AGE S SP Time
===== =================== ================== == === = == =======
1 John Phillips ColoSprs CO 26 M 50:38
2 Andrew Holton Pine CO 36 M 55:32
3 John Gutierrez Greeley CO 29 M 56:53
4 Woody Noleen ColoSprs CO 48 M 58:20
5 Edward Oliver Littleton CO 34 M FT 58:41
6 Mark Dillard Englewood CO 37 M 59:34
7 David Zybowski Brighton CO 32 M FT 59:43
8 John Clarke Colorado Springs CO 38 M 59:59
9 Greg Opper FtCollins CO 39 M FT 1:00:00
10 Jennifer Lee Ft. Collins CO 31 F 1:00:45
11 David Summitt Parker CO 34 M 1:00:48
12 Ryan Greenstreet Colo Sprs CO 30 M 1:00:58
13 Dave Skinkle Denver CO 45 M 1:01:43
14 Greg Damian Centennial CO 41 M 1:02:08
15 Andy Blaika Aurora CO 26 M 1:02:16
16 Jeff Lee Greeley CO 37 M 1:03:17
17 Al Marvin Denver CO 55 M FT 1:03:25
18 Laurie Edwards Boulder CO 34 F 1:03:41
19 Darren Dondero Littleton CO 33 M 1:04:35
20 Naoki Takagi Boulder CO 50 M 1:04:45
21 David Kelble Denver CO 46 M FT 1:04:46
22 Nathan Cupps Parker CO 15 M 1:04:56
23 Kerry Mowlam Parker CO 34 M 1:05:04
24 Paul Cleverdon Highlands Ranch CO 39 M 1:05:15
25 Doug Smith Denver CO 37 M 1:07:00
26 Nicholas Legan Boulder CO 24 M 1:07:08
27 Diane Ridgeway Arvada CO 55 F 1:07:10
28 David Cotton Denver CO 35 M FT 1:07:16
29 Leah Vandevelde Boulder CO 27 F 1:07:21
30 Bill Richmond Littleton CO 35 M 1:08:17
31 Marlon Crespin Crestmota CO 25 M 1:08:30
32 Matt Fry Denver CO 29 M FT 1:09:04
33 John Anderson Ft. Collins CO 30 M 1:09:07
34 Shawn Hallinan LoneTree CO 18 M FT 1:09:20
35 John Hoopmaker Littleton CO 39 M 1:10:15
36 Seung Kyu Kang Centennial CO 46 M FT 1:10:39
37 Lockett Wood Longmont CO 64 M 1:11:38
38 Lauren Greenfield Longmont CO 38 F 1:11:58
39 Cathy Lee Greeley CO 36 F 1:11:59
40 Mark Grafitti Castle Rock CO 36 M 1:12:10
41 Mark Elder Boulder CO 57 M 1:12:43
42 Brad Ingles Denver CO 33 M FT 1:13:05
43 Kevin Latin Englewood CO 42 M FT 1:13:23
44 Sue Lloyd Littleton CO 47 F 1:14:09
45 Joe Giglio Denver CO 32 M FT 1:14:17
46 Michelle Oliver Littleton CO 32 F FT 1:15:10
47 Natastia Nielsen Denver CO 34 F 1:15:14
48 Michael Groaning Boulder CO 32 M 1:15:56
49 Peter Strebe Ft. Collins CO 46 M 1:16:28
50 Jim Oberriter Dillon CO 45 M 1:17:44
51 Joseph Bearss Castle Rock CO 33 M FT 1:18:42
52 Chris Tuey Littleton CO 47 M 1:19:14
53 L Scott Farmer Lakewood CO 47 M 1:19:30
54 Laura Makarewicz Denver CO 47 F 1:20:30
55 Bruce McGinnis Denver CO 50 M FT 1:20:31
56 Shaun Thompson Ft. Morgan CO 34 M 1:22:21
57 Guy Brazell Parker CO 41 M 1:23:10
58 Sue Brazell Parker CO 40 F 1:23:33
59 Elizabeth Neufeld Lakewood CO 27 F 1:24:58
60 Angela Hardin Englewood CO 37 F 1:26:12
61 Vicki Gricius Colo Sprs CO 45 F 1:27:26
62 Leslie Holton Pine CO 35 F 1:31:13
63 Kristin Schledorn Denver CO 32 F 1:31:41
64 JJ McKay Parker CO 40 M FT 1:35:19
65 Writer Mott Denver CO 29 M 1:35:29
66 Debbie McGinnis Denver CO 50 F FT 1:40:03
67 Terry Petrie Centennial CO 49 M FT 1:50:57