NewsKona Qualifiers from Cozumel
Gaylia Osterlund reports on the women's qualifiers from Ford Ironman Cozumel
Published Wednesday, January 27, 2010
On November 29, 2009, 2,000 athletes met up on a tropical Island off of the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula to compete at the inaugural running of Ford Ironman Cozumel. This ultimate destination location is the latest addition to the Ironman family and qualifying season.
Located in the Caribbean Sea, Cozumel has long been considered one of the best diving spots in the world. The clear waters around the island are home to the second largest barrier reef in the world. Settled about 2000 years ago by ancient Mayans, Cozumel was considered both a commercial trading spot and a sacred shrine. In looking at the results, the top two gals in the W30-34 raced with in sight of each other for most of the day. Ultimately Mindy Houser (10:22:06) took top honors in the age group and overall for the amateur women. Christine Kenney, pictured left, (10:25:18) came to Cozumel after recuperating from being hit by a car. In her recovery, she decided life was too short to put her dreams on hold. At the end of the day, Kenney finished second in the W30-34, third overall amateur woman and secured her slot to Hawaii. I am not sure a day could get much better than that! Kirsten Arensen (W35-39), pictured left, is a Naval Communicator in the Canadian Forces and was limited to training on a ship while deployed off the coast of Somalia in anti-piracy operations. Since swimming was impossible leading up to the event, she chose to survive the 2.4 miles and move on. The endless hours spent on her trainer paid off and she came into transition in reasonably good shape. In the last 15K of the marathon, Arensen moved herself from 10th place to third, securing the final Kona spot in this group. Her time of 11:31:17 was a 45-minute personal best. Katie Cassidy (11:21:49) and Toby Ann Nishikawa (11:22:52) were first and second respectively. After 22 years in triathlon, Dot Martin (W45-49) says she is still having fun. She sports a solid Ironman resume, with podium finishes in Lake Placid, New Zealand and South Africa. Her time of 11:45:19 gave her a 24-minute cushion over Mexico’s Yolanda “Yoyo” Iribarren (12:09:40) who was thrilled with her silver spot on the podium. Yoyo (main picture) barely made it in for the coveted spot to Kona, making the pass needed late in the run. With the harsh weather, she really believes she was just in the right place at the right time! Patricia Rosen (W55-59) has several marathons under her belt, but never after riding 112 miles. Her goal on race day was simple…get to the finish line. The bike really gave her grief and, as her husband tells the story, she looked pretty sorry at the start of the run. Although her marathon split was far from her four-hour norm, her overall time of 13:23:40 was good enough for the win and a trip to the Ford Ironman World Championship. Some solid advice from her husband at the end of the first loop of the run may have saved the day for Canadian Dawn Larson (16:27:28). GI distress prevented her from eating and he wisely suggested she use more ice to counter-act the humidity. By the third loop she was eating and feeling better. Turns out a finish was a guaranteed spot to the big dance because Malinka DeBadiola (15:40:54) turned the slot down. Remember to continue checking back for continued coverage on the women headed to Kona in October. You may contact Gaylia Osterlund at gaylialynn@ironman.com.
The swim is a single-loop with a deep-water start in the protected waters of the Reefs of Cozumel National Park in Chankanaab Park Beach. The three-loop scenic bike ride meanders along the coast through some of the beautiful resorts and the town of Cozumel. The multi-loop marathon is flat, fast and spectator friendly.
Shortly into the bike ride, Kathryn Boddy (11:28:59) erased the three-minute deficit from the swim and never looked back. In her first Ironman, Boddy showed the level of perseverance needed to survive the elements on the big island. I will keep an eye on her early season results to see if this 22-year-old newbie chooses to spend some time working on her bike/run combination, a necessary improvement when going up against the youngsters who make it to Kona.
Lidia Rekas (W25-29) is such a talented age group athlete, I keep waiting for the announcement she will be turning pro. Rekas says she has too many other personal and professional ambitions outside of triathlon, so she is content with her amateur status. What sets Rekas apart from some of her competitors is her perpetual glass-half-full attitude. Although her performance at the world championship the month prior was not what she had hoped for, Rekas regrouped, worked on her run and went to Cozumel. On a day with high winds, and even higher temperatures, she set a personal best time on the marathon, won her division by 36 minutes and was the second age-group woman overall. Suzy McCulloch (10:59:35) also qualified in this division.
Beth Wiggins (W40-44), left, is another athlete challenged by the swim, but for a very different reason. Wiggins (11:29:12) struggles with seasickness and even found herself very ill on the ferry from Cancun to Cozumel. Her stomach was settled on race day, so she managed to enjoy the swim. Out on the bike, however, she made the mistake of getting a bit impatient, letting go of her race plan and pushing much too hard on the last lap. She knew her race could turn if she did not play it smart, so Wiggins settled into her pace on the run and held on to fifth place. The three other women who qualified are Lisa Tolley (10:59:03), Tere Ambe (11:23:28) and Lilia Marcela Figueroa (11:25:00).
