Under partly cloudy skies, nearly 900 participants hit the water at Boulder Reservoir (A.K.A. “The Rez”) on Sunday, August 12th for the 5430 Long Course (Half Iron) triathlon. Following the first wave that included 20+ Pro athletes, including Chris Legh, Joanna Zeiger and Samantha McGlone the age groupers swam a single-loop 1.2 mile course in water that hovered around 75 degrees. The athletes exited the water and headed out on the 2 loop, 56-mile bike course around the foothills and farmland of Boulder. The cloud cover stayed in tact for the majority of the bike portion of the race and athletes were treated to well-staffed aid stations around the course. As promised, during the first loop of the bike ride, age groupers were treated to sightings (some quicker than others) of the Pros zooming past while completing their second loop. At the start of the run, most athletes were faced with blazing temperatures that hit the mid-90’s. Aid stations dotted the 2 loop 13.1 mile run course around The Rez at every mile with enthusiastic volunteers providing all the necessities to the participants as they tried to beat the heat. Finishers were treated to “all you can eat” pizza and a great awards ceremony. Minnesota’s David Thompson posted an amazing 27.33 MPH bike split which contributed to a course record time of 3:49, smashing Craig Alexander’s previous record by more than five minutes. Samantha McGlone from Canada won it for the women in 4:17 in the midst of a heavy 20+ hour training week for the Ironman World Championships in Kona in October.

As for the first Utah athletes to finish, congratulations to Bruno Araujo from Park City who finished in under five hours at 4:58. And congratulations to Marlene Hatch of Park City who represented the women well with a 5:21 finish.