R100,000 Up For Grabs For Record Breakers At Ironman South Africa.

Record breakers at the 2009 Spec-Savers Ironman South Africa will receive a R10,000 bonus for any record broken in either the swim, cycle or run. If a new course record is set R20,000 will be awarded. This bonus applies to both men and women, which means a total of R100,000 (Roughly $13,200 USD) could be awarded to athletes over and above the other prize money.

Triangle SA, organizers of Ironman South Africa, announced this new incentive as entries for the 2009 event officially opened. "The reason we introduced this monetary incentive is to both encourage and reward athletes who break records within the race itself," says race director Paul Wolff. "Often an athlete is strong at one discipline, but may not always finish on the podium or even be in the running for prize money. Take Anton Storm, who was first out of the water at this year's event and set a new swim record of 47:06. Anton, competing in his first full Ironman, struggled to the finish in 191st place but was motivated to do so as his swim record would only stand if he completed the entire race."

Continue reading "New Prize Incentives for Record Breakers at Ironman South Africa" »

A new triathlon series has been launched by the British Triathlon Federation, the British Triathlon Grand Prix. It will be combining the most prestigious and elite triathlon events in the country. The Grand Prix will consist of six triathlon races.

The new British Triathlon Grand Prix series will brings together the British Triathlon Corus Elite Series, (consisting of three events): the Mazda London Triathlon – the largest triathlon event in the world, the Mazda Blenheim Triathlon, and the seven time British Triathlon event of the year, the Nokia Windsor Triathlon.

With a significant combined prize purse across the six events, the races will attract the best of British talent as well as interest from as far as the USA, Australia and South Africa.

Inaugural British Triathlon Grand Prix Launched [ via Tri247 ]

Continue reading "British Triathlon Grand Prix Launched" »

In Richards Bay, South Africa Daniel Unger of Germany and Carolyn Murray of Canada Win their first ITU World Cup titles at the 2008 Richards Bay BG Triathlon World Cup race.

Today's win solidifies Unger World Championship title which he won last year in Hamburg before every winning a World Cup race. He crossed the finish line just ahead of Olympic bound Matt Reed. On the women's side Murray who's world cup best has been eighth place just edged out Felicity Abram of Australia for the win.
 
2008 Richards Bay BG Triathlon World Cup Results:

Continue reading "Unger and Murray Win 1st World Cup Titles in South Africa" »

The 20th running of the St. Croix triathlon which has consisted of various distances over the years and became part of the Ironman 70.3 series in 2006 was run today on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Today on the island Craig Alexander wins his third consecutive St. Croix Ironman 70.3 title and his fourth victory overall at this race. He'll share part of the $50,000 purse with Mirinda Carfrae who won the women's title today.

Alexander's 1:15:58 run helped him over the field today on the run course and take the victory. Marino Vanhoenacker sets a new bike course record with a time of 2:19; Paul Ambrose also beat the previous course record today. Richie Cunningham held on to finish in third just 13 seconds ahead of Faris Al-Sultan who took fourth. Frederik Van Lierde was in the running but crashed with 5 mile to go on the bike, he didn't start the run and DNF'd.

On the women's side 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Champion Mirinda Carfrae wins her second title in St. Croix, she won the inaugural Ironman 70.3 series race back in 2006. Carfrae used her strong run to pull ahead of the women’s field for the victory today. Nina Kraft also used her strong run to pull her into second place today. Bree Wee who made her pro debut today placed third. Julie Dibens had a flat out on the bike and also DNF'd today.
 
2008 St. Croix Ironman 70.3 Results:

Continue reading "Alexander Wins 3rd Consecutive St. Croix Ironman 70.3 Title" »

May 1, 2008 - The Blazeman Foundation for ALS is currently accepting nominations for the Blazeman Spirit Award to be presented at the 2008 Eagleman Ironman 70.3. Nomination forms may be downloaded here and are due by May 16th.

The Blazeman Spirit Award is given annually to a participant in the Eagleman Ironman 70.3 who most exemplifies the spirit of Jon “Blazeman” Blais. While many are familiar with Jon’s heroic performance in the 2005 Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, few are familiar with Jon’s professional life as a special education teacher at the Aseltine School in San Diego, CA. Here, Jon focused his energy on helping kids who were emotionally challenged and learning-disabled. This is also where he became better known as "The Blazeman." Jon did amazing work with the kids. Through summer recreation programs and outdoor activities, his students learned to overcome obstacles and become stronger through hard work and determination. The Blazeman Spirit Award keeps Jon’s memory alive by recognizing an individual who inspires others to become a better person; leads by example; and has a passion for the journey of life.

Continue reading "Nominations for the Blazeman Spirit Award" »

Ironman Hall Of Famer Bob Babbitt and some of the world’s best photographers share images and stories from what many consider the Toughest day in Sport in the new book "30 Years of the Ironman World Championship"

This new hardcover coffee table book is due out this month. It chronicles the moments from all of the Ironman World Championship triathlon races since the first one in 1978 when 15 people went out on a quest to see who the fittest athlete was. This is the second Ironman coffee table book from Babbitt. He originally produced the first book to mark the 25th anniversary. This new book just brings us up to date through the 2007 Ironman World Championship when rookie Chrissie Wellington shocked everyone with her solid win to Chris McCormack getting his first Ironman title after many failed attempts.

This book is bound to be inspirational to all triathletes, from those who dream of possibly attempting an Ironman race someday to those of us that have a completed one. Expect plenty of good stuff from author and Ironman Hall of Fame inductee Babbitt in the book to motivate you inform you and inspire you.

Click here to order your copy today from Amazon.com: 30 Years of the Ironman Triathlon World Championship (Ironman Edition) (MSRP: $34.95)

Continue reading "30 Years of the Ironman World Championship Book Due Out Soon" »

A new triathlon event has been announced in Eastern Iowa. The first annual Peregrine Charities Triathlon will originate from the popular George Wyth State Park, located just off Highway 218 between Waterloo and Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Triathlon: Peregrine Charities Triathlon
When: Sunday, September 28, 2008 @ 7:30 AM
Where: George Wyth State Park, Waterloo, IA, USA
Divisions: Elite, Age Group, Relays
Website: www.peregrinecharities.org/tri

The triathlon event will feature a 1 mile Swim in George Wyth Lake, a 22 mile Bike ride on scenic rural roads and a 6 mile Run on paved trails through scenic George Wyth State Park and Hartman Reserve Nature Center. The triathlon event is open to Individuals and Relay Teams. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three overall female and male elite finishers and to the first place finishers in each of the female and male age groups, Clydesdale, Athena and Relay Team divisions.

Proceeds from registrations to the first-annual Peregrine Charities Triathlon will directly benefit Peregrine Charities.

Continue reading "New Family Oriented Triathlon Event in Eastern Iowa" »

Pre-season triathlon base training includes running outside in the winter and if you live in an area with cold winters like I do you want to have the right type of clothing to stay warm. One of the essential components to staying warm while running outdoors is a good pair of winter running tights. Running in Minneapolis this winter was frigid, the temperatures were low and the brisk winds were always there. This review will focus on 3 pair of winter running tights from 3 different manufactures (Craft, Pearl Izumi, Under Amour ) I tried out this winter to stay warm.

The testing occurred in various degrees of cold, from a low of around 4 to a high of around 27. Each product was tested the same way but on separate occasions. The lengths of the runs varied between 6 to 9 miles. I always tested these products out with a pair of Craft Gore Wind Stop Gunde Boxer underwear.

Each product had similar characteristics like front panel wind barrier fabric, water-resistant protection, lower leg zippers for easy on-off access and a tight fit around your ankles. They all have breathable / moisture management rear panels, which works but the downside is if you have a brisk tailwind while running your behind and legs are going to get cold. The Craft and the Pearl Izumi products had a thin fleece lining while the Under Amour product did not.

Winter Running Tights Review

Craft Storm Tight (MSRP: $109.99)
- I liked the nice fit of these tights, they were comfortable, perfect length and warm
- The articulated knees give the tights the proper flexibility when you are running
- Reflective piping on the front and back for early morning and early evening runs
- The one thing this pair of tights was missing was a key / credit card pouch
- These Craft tights are a bit pricey but now I know why, they are well worth it when trying to stay warm while running outside in the winter.
 
 
Pearl Izumi AmFIB Tight (MSRP: $99.99)
- This pair of tights unlike the other two has a patch of the windproof and water-resistant material on the rear for additional warmth which is really nice when you have a brisk tail wind while running.
- These tights had a tighter fit; they were still comfortable and kept me nice and warm.
- These tights did have a key / credit card pouch on the inside.
- The cut on the front of the tights made them feel like low riders or like they were coming down while running, every so often I would pull them up because I thought they were falling down.
- The tighter fit seemed to cause the tights to come up a bit. These tights did not have any special fabrication around the knees like the other two pair of tights.

Continue reading "Post Winter Running Tights Review" »

Tim Don of Great Britain and Samantha Warriner of New Zealand were victorious at Tongyeong BG Triathlon World Cup in Tongyeong, South Korea.

It was a good showing for Don in Tongyeong in his continued quest to qualify for Great Britain's Olympic Team as he claimed his fifth world cup win of his career. Beijing bound Bevan Docherty of New Zealand took 2nd place with a photo finish result over Germany’s Jan Frodeno.

Docherty's teammate Warriner claimed her sixth world cup title with the win today.
 
2008 Tongyeong BG Triathlon World Cup Results:

Continue reading "Don & Warriner Victorious at Tongyeong BG Triathlon World Cup" »

UPDATES
Shark Kills Triathlete at California Beach [via Inside Triathlon]

CNN's Larry King interviews a spokesman for the victim's family about the fatal shark attack off the California coast. [via CNN Video]

Tragedy has been reported out West in the triathlon community. A triathlete doing some training in the ocean has been attacked and killed off the coast of San Diego, CA.

Breaking News

Attack happened near Solana Beach in San Diego County, authorities say

A shark attacked and killed a swimmer Friday morning who was training in the ocean off San Diego County with a group of local triathletes, authorities said.

A man between 55 and 60 years old was swimming with others at Tide Beach around 7 a.m. when he was attacked, according to a statement on the Solana Beach city Web site.

Shark kills triathlete training at Calif. beach [via MSNBC]

SOLANA BEACH SHARK ATTACK [via City of Solana Beach]