Dantley Young and Jeanette Schellenberg won the second annual Utah Half triathlon, held on August 8, 2008 in Provo, Utah.

Young scorched the bike course in the men’s race, riding the 56 mile bike course in two hours nine minutes and 33 seconds (nearly 26 mph). He held on to his lead with a solid run to win the overall title in 4:19:08. Two minutes faster then runner up, Randall Olsen.

In the women’s event, Schellenberg’s three disciplines were balanced relative to the rest of the women’s field.  However, her fast transitions helped pave a path to victory. Her winning time of 5:02:40 was a mere 32 seconds faster than runner-up, Melanie Loomis. Loomis out-swam Schellenberg by over two minutes, but lost over one minute in T1, then lost another two minutes on the bike. Schellenberg created a slight cushion in her lead by exiting T2 nearly 20 seconds faster then Loomis. Loomis closed the gap but gained only 47 seconds on the run.

See below for top finishers. Click HERE for complete results.

1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run

Top Men

Dantley Young, 4:19:08
Randall Olsen, 4:21:00
Brett Wilking, 4:24:03

Top Women

1 - Jeanette Schellenberg, 5:02:40
2 - Melanie Loomis, 5:03:12
3 - Aimee Larkin, 5:04:22

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Click HERE to view the Utah Half Pre Race Documents.  Click HERE to register for the Utah Half triathlon, to be held in Provo, Utah on August 9, 2008 (this Saturday).

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I need to give props to Aaron, Shaun and Travis for making this happen. They did a great job and I’m sure that the race will grow if they stick with it. The schwag itself is worth mentioning. Athletes were given a Race Tri gym bag and t-shirt. Finishers were given a very slick medal and finishers t-shirt. The aid stations were frequent and well stocked. The bike water bottles didn’t work well in my bike bottle cages. I’m sure they will remedy this next year.

Utah Half is a course that most people would call “fast.” However, going 70.3 miles is never easy for me. I’m sure the top guys can feel the speediness of this course more then a middle or back of the packer.

Below are my thoughts about the course:

Swim – The swim was a pretty standard. If the big waves of Utah Lake were a concern for you, you shouldn’t worry about it. Swimmers never leave the boat harbor, so, you are never exposed to the uncertain conditions of Utah Lake. The boat ramp swimmers exited on was mossy. From what I hear, the first few guys/gals out of the water struggle to get out, but by the time I was out volunteers had athletes walking on netting.

Bike – Those having participated in the defunct Utah Half Ironman know the bike course well. It was almost identical. It is a flat, fast ride with some winds to deal with. There are a few rollers and maybe a false flat or two. Nothing to freak people out about though.

Apparently there were a few people who took a wrong turn on the bike. I have to admit that there was a time or two where I wondered if I was going the right way or not. But, just as soon as the thought occurred I would run into a course marker telling me I was headed the right direction. So, following the course was never a problem for me.

Run – Flat run. Utah Half’s run was a series of three out-and-backs. The first portion took runners on a dirt road along the Utah Lake shore. It briefly begins shady but you are quickly exposed to the sun. The other two out-and-backs were along the Provo river trail, which has plenty of shade. It was a nice run that allowed you to gauge your progress throughout the event.

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My last two Half Iron events were done in 5 hours and 45 minutes. It was nice to finally break free of the time. I improved by finishing in 5 hours and 20 minutes (25 minute difference). The improvement was a result of several things— the biggest being consistency. I also added a healthy dose of intensity into my running program and nutrition was the icing on the cake. I thought of nutrition as “taking care of myself.” I knew that if I took care of myself and kept my body in balance, I’d be strong throughout the race. It worked!

I have to admit that as I entered race week, my motivation to suffer through a half was low. The pain of Vikingman was still fresh on my mind. It seemed to soon to revisit the brutality. Race week progressed and I started to come around.

Race Morning

I ate one yogurt and two pieces of toast before we left the house. Everything went smooth at packet pickup. My bike was racked and gear was laid out. I gulped two bottles of Ensure Plus (700 Calories) about 15 minutes before the gun went off.

Swim

I initially seeded myself off to one of the sides and in the middle of the pack. This would keep away from the aggressive swimmers. However, I found my friend Matt Marriott front and center and I thought it would be fun to join him. There were only 150 or swimmers. “I won’t be that bad,” is what I thought. It turned into the craziest swim start I’ve ever experienced. It was violent until we turned at the first buoy. Things started to spread out and I forced myself to take it easy and get in a rhythm.

It turned out to be one of my best open water swims to date. My swim fitness is improving and it was definitely a strong point today.

Swim Time = 36 min 39 secs

T1

I felt rushed but forced myself to remember that an extra minute in transition will not likely change my place in the standings. A Half is a long day. So, I took my time and took care of business.

T1 Time = 1 min 44 secs

Bike

I went out feeling great and flying. On the bike, I had one bottle of Ensure Plus (1050 calories), a bottle of Gatorade and a bottle of water. It seems like a lot, but I feel it’s better to be safe then sorry.
The first half of the bike was pretty smooth. I hit the turnaround in 1 hour 15 minutes. “Perfect,” I thought. A PR was on the horizon and I knew that if I could maintain my pace I’d ride a 2 hr 30 min bike. It wasn’t to be. I faded incredibly badly early on the second half. This lasted throughout the second half. In training my bike was the most neglected discipline. This was revealed during the race. I was able to ride, but I wasn’t able to get the volume in that I would have liked and it showed. So I conceded my 2 hr 30 min bike split and took it easy as I headed back to the transition area. There was a solid female rider playing “cat and mouse” with me. I needed her help to LEGALLY pace back to T2.

As I finished my ride, my Ensure bottle was nearly empty. I couldn’t finish the whole thing. My stomach was pretty full. I drank approximately 2.5 bottles of fluid (excluding the Ensure).

My split was not nearly as bad as I thought, considering the suffering I went through on the second half. I managed to get off the bike with PR bike split for the distance.

Bike Time = 2 hours 38 Min 34 Secs (21.2 mph)

T2

Pretty standard T2. I decided to bring my Amphipod hydration belt with me during this race. I am planning on using it during Ironman Florida in November, so this would be good practice. The belt had 4 bottles of Gatorade (32 ounces total). I also packed four gels with me for the run too. It is also important to mention that I had a lot of Thermolyte salt tabs with me. The heat is tough on me and I thought I focus on keeping my sodium levels in balance.

T2 Time = 1 min 9 secs

Run

For me, nutrition is everything on a Half Iron run. I took four Thermolyte tablets chased by an eight oz. bottle of Gatorade every three miles (just under 30 minutes). At the aid stations I would take two water cups—one to drink and one thrown over my head. I never worried about dehydration. It was great and I’ve never felt so good during a Half Iron run. I managed to keep this up throughout the whole run. My nutrition on the bike kept me fueled for the whole run. I never came close to bonking. I did take some soda from the last two aid stations.

My pace on heading out on the first section was solid. I felt fine but looked forward to the turnaround. Heading back from this section was tough, because it was getting hot. I was working hard to get back towards the shade. The suffering was starting to set in as I passed the transition area to get to the second stretch of the run. But eventually everything clicked. I was pushing my pace, but could sense when I was crossing into the “red zone.” It was nice because I would do interval work to catch the person ahead of me.

Getting to the back end of the final out-and-back was tough. It took forever, but once I made it I tried to push it back hard (5k). Things didn’t quite workout like I had hoped. I could only keep the pace I had been running. I thought that I had easily broken the 2 hour run mark. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to pull it off. But, it’s a PR run split for the Half distance so I can’t complain.

Run Time = 2hr 2 min 31 secs

Finishing Time = 5 hours 20 minutes 19 seconds

Huge PR for me. I secretly wished that I could get to the five hour mark. That will come with time but a 25 minute PR will do. I figure that ten minutes off of the bike, ten minutes off of the run and a few minutes off of the swim will put me there. I think that is a conservative goal and achievable considering I’m still pretty slow compared to the top guys and gals. They run soooo fast!

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