Revised Steelhead Still a Great Show

With a canceled swim, Whirlpool Steelhead 70.3 let the runners shine. Story by Betsy Redfern, photos courtesy of Peter McIntosh

The Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon succumbed to the forces of Mother Nature, requiring a format change that eliminated the swim, turning the triathlon into a duathlon. Race organizers were quick to assess Lake Michigan's choppy and ultimately unsafe conditions, and instead of a 1.2-mile swim, racers opened with a 2.1-mile run, with waves sent off every four minutes. Although not a typical format for most of the age-groupers there, participants handled the changes well and the crowd still enjoyed a great show from pros Chris Legh and Gina Kehr. Several talented age-groupers got their day in the sun as well.

Legh easily dominated the men’s field, posting an 11:04 for the 2.1-mile run, a 2:03:48 split for the 56-mile bike, then a 1:15:34 for the 13.1-mile run. Legh finished in 3:32:13. The fastest male age groupers weren’t far behind, however, with Justin Henkel finishing in 3:37:04. Henkel’s run splits were impressively close to Legh’s, but he lost almost three minutes to the bike to Legh, making it impossible to catch Legh on the last leg. Rounding out the top five men were Tony White, Nick Waninger and Ryan Rau.

For the women, Kehr’s first run and bike set her up for a sizable lead, and kept her in first place by eight minutes at the finish line. Kehr finished in 4:04:09, thanks to a 12:51 2.1-mile run and a 2:20:42 56-mile bike. Her 1:28:35 half marathon only solidified her dominance at Steelhead. Kimberly Von During finished in 4:12:40 for second place, and Renee Damstra, Alaina Neary and Krissandra Berens rounded out the top five.

For more information on the Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon, please go to www.ironman.com or www.steelheadtriathlon.com.