Finish Strong Coaching

Ironstar Half Ironman

November 9, 2008

Conroe, TX

Race morning temperatures greet the nearly 400 competitors but the sun was out the the temperatures quickly climbed into the 70's by the time most were on the run course.

Finish Strong coached athletes had some great performances. Michelle LeBlanc was the 1st women and 3rd finisher overall in a stellar time of 4:32:43. Michelle capped off her race with a 1:29:50 run over a hilly course. Lisa Tilton won her age group in a time of 5:37:35 and was the 9th women to cross the line despite stopping to help a fellow triathlete who had a flat out on the course.

On the men's side, Walt Yarrow set a PR finishing in 5:08:15 which was good for a 5th place AG finish and 21st male across the line. Walt has been working on his run and it showed! He had a 1:43:15 which was 3rd fastest in his AG. Casey Clark and Phillip DePrang were competing in their first half ironman race. Casey finished with a 5:24:09 while Phillip with a 6:35:57.

Ironman Florida

November 1, 2008

Je'Anna Abbott and Scott Williamson participated in the Florida Ironman on November 1st. JeAnna's completed the Ironman event in 11 hours and 24 minutes! She had strong splits in all three disciplines (despite still recovering from a run injury) and finished 12th overall in her age group. Scott Williamson completed his first-ever Ironman in a speedy 11 hours and 17 minutes. Scott also had fairly even splits and was able to finish his Ironman with about a 4 hour marathon. Great job Je'Anna and Scott!

Cinco Ranch Sprint Tri

October 26, 2008

The Cinco Ranch Triathlon was rescheduled this year due to Hurricane Ike. On October 26th, the 400 meter swim, 12 mile bike, and 3 mile run event was finally held. Five Finish Strong athletes competed in the cold, but fun event. Michelle LeBlanc and Richard Mac Namee finished second and third overall, respectively. Lisa Tilton-McCarthy was the second overall elite female, and Walt Yarrow finished 9th overall and 4th (with the second fastest run split) in his age group. Dave Molthen finished 13th overall and 5th in his age group with strong performances in all three disciplines. Rodrigo Abascal placed 2nd in the 15 - 19 age group and 18th overall. Great job to all Finish Strong athletes!

Nike Women's Marathon

San Fransico, CA

October 19, 2008

Kristin Collins went to San Fransico looking for a good training run and to enjoy a well run race. She knew early on that she was feeling good and ended up with a PR finishing in 3:54:28! She is so excited to break 4 hours for the first time.

2008 World Ironman Championships

October 26, 2008

Kona, Hawaii

Wow! What an awesome experience! I hope that everyone gets a chance to experience Kona one time in their life whether it's as a participant or a spectator. I'll never forget sitting on the edge of pier (where the transition is) 20 minutes before the start of race. From that vantage point I was able to watch the pro's start their race, take in the crowd along the sea wall and watch the sun rise over the mountains.

The swim was as you would expect when you have so many talented athletes all trying to get around the 2.4 mile course as quickly as possible. I don't think that I had 60 seconds of uninterrupted swimming during the entire swim. I was more than pleased to exit the water 3 minutes ahead of my goal.

The winds really kicked up on the bike about half way to the trunaround in Hawi. Several times I thought that I was going to be blown over or off the road and failed to get in all the nutrition that I had planned for during that stretch. It would come back to haunt me.

I felt great getting off the bike and started the out and back run along Alii Drive at a nice clip but on the way out to the Energy Lab I hit the wall and my pace slowed considerably. I was driven forward by the thought of my family and friends waiting for me back at the finish line. I refused to walk (except for the 2 times I walked through an aid station) as I didn't want them to become worried about how I was doing. Once I turned back onto Alii Drive for the finishing stretch I somehow found some speed and finished with a huge smile on my face and the knowledge that I had accomplished something big!

Thanks to my family for being there for me both while training and at the race. I couldn't have done it without their support and encouragement.

2008 Ironman Wisconsin

September 7, 2008
Madison, WI

Nearly ideal conditions greeted IM Wisconsin participants including coached athletes Tim Monk and Jim Harrington.

Tim achieved a life time goal by qualifying for Kona (2009) with a blistering time of 9:53 on a tough course. His splits for the day were 57 minutes for the swim, a 5:22 bike and a 3:25 run. Would you believe that this fast time was good for 8th place in his age group!

Jim also had a good race clocking a 11:40 time.

IronFish Kids Triathlon
August 2, 2008
Shreveport, LA

The Barron's and their 3 young triathletes made the trip up to Shreveport to particpate in this fast growing kid's tri.

Hannah placed 1st amongst the 11 year old girls despite getting 2 blisters. Her time was 42:19 (200yd swim/10k bike/2k run). She had a very strong run.

Katherine felt like I she had a very good race. Her time was 39:59 (200yd swim/10k bike/2k run). She placed 2nd in the 13-14 age group and would have placed 4th if the boys were included. She felt that her swim was the strongest of the three disciplines.

Lane finished 2nd among 9-year old boys with a time of 20:42 (100yd swim/5k bike/1k run)
and finished third overall among 7-10 year olds boys and girls. He had a good swim 2:02, fast bike 11:15 and a good run 5:15.

2008 Ironman Coeur d'Alene

June 20, 2008
Coeur d'Alene

The "hot" subject the week leading up to the race was the cool water temperature in Coeur d'Alene Lake. It had been reported that it was in the high 40's to low 50's but come race day it was 59.3 degrees thanks to some warm days. It was still tough for those in the water longer than most but for the majority the swim was doable.

The hills on the bike course proved to be very demanding for those coming from less hilly parts of the country (like The Woodlands or Naples, FL). However, Finish Strong coached athletes had a great day!

Congratulations to Don Cole who turned in a great time of 12:01:02 for his first IM. Don used a strong run (3:49:43) to leap from 1133rd off the bike to 602nd at the finish. Likewise, Christi Chandler ran a 4:46:06 marathon on the way to a 13:41:19 first IM effort. Christi's strong run proved to be faster than her best open marathon time! Christi's brother Jay Richardson (now living in Naples, FL) completed his IM in 14:35:46. Considering that his training was hit and miss over the past couple of months (recent move to Naples to take over ministry at a church) he did a great job.

Tejas Sprint Sprint
June 8, 2008
Sugar Land, TX

This sprint tri was made even shorter this year as the bike was shortened to 9 miles due to road construction. However, Greg always puts on a great race and Tejas was no exception.

Congratulation to Rodrigo Abascal (2nd in the 15 - 19 AG), Mike Bard (2nd Clydesdale), and Deb Crawford who had a grear run to finish in 1:19:47.

TriAmerica Triathlon

Short Course

June 15, 2008
Clear Lake, TX

This first year race featured a 2K swim, 60K bike, and a 15K run long course race and a 1k swim, 31k bike and 7.5k run short course race. As expected the day was a hot and humid one but that did not slow down Amy and Kevin Barr who both won their age group in the short course race!

Amy (1st in AG and 9th women overall) ran a very balanced race logging the 5th fastest swim, 2nd fastest bike and 3rd fastest run in her AG. Kevin (1st in AG and 12th faster male overall) used a very strong swim (11:12 for 1000m) and bike to clinch his AG win by nearly 8 minutes.

Captex Olympic

May 25, 2008
Austin, TX

As usual, the temperature was hot and the competition was hotter at the Capital of Texas Triathlon. Congratulation to Jim Harrington (74th overall & 11th in AG), Marcos Omelanczuk (199th overall & 24th in AG) and Bret Strong (207th overall & 18th in AG).

CB&I Sprint Triathlon

May 3, 2008

Finish Strong coached athletes dominated at the 5th installment of this local sprint race taking both the female overall award and the top masters award and finishing in second and third places overall. Eight other athletes placed in the top 5 of their age group.

Michelle LeBlanc easily won the female race (by nearly 9 minutes) and fnished second overall and had the second fastest bike split of the day while beating her coach who fnished third overall and claiming the male masters title.

Nineteen coached athletes participated this year with many setting personal bests. Congratulations to Ed York who placed 11th overall and 1st in the 45-49 AG, Nathan Winkelmann 8th overall and 2nd in the 25-29 AG, Tim Monk, 10th overall and 2nd in the 35-39 AG and Bret Strong who placed 17th overall and was 3rd in the 45-49 AG.

Others racing were; Jim Harrington, Tommy Rice, Beth Denson, Kyle Mays, Scott Williamson, Marcos Omelanczuk, Mike Bard, Mark Teft, Mark Callender, Ktistie Chandler, Sharon Morin, Don Cole and Mark Strength.

More Race Updates!

Yam City Sprint Tri

April 20, 2008

Valerie Brown took her second straight win of the season by winning the Yam City sprint tri. Valerie outdistanced the field using a strong bike and improving run.

IRP Striders Duathlon - Long Course

April 20, 2008

Striders is always a grueling and classic race and this year was no different. Nathan Winklemann placed 3rd overall (to 2 pro's) and won his age group. Nathan clocked a 2:59:33 over the 5 mile/45 mile/5 mile course. Nathan used a strong bike averaging 24 mph.

2008 Ironman Arizona

April 13, 2008
Tempe, AZ

Well, Ironman is suppose to be hard but not this hard! The temperatures were in the mid-90's and the wind was blowing at 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph! I put in my training and was prepared for the race but there are some things that are tough to prepare for and heat like this is one of them. IM Arizona had the 3rd highest attirtion rate of any IM with nearly 18% of those starting failing to complete the race.

So congratulation to Don Robbins who turned in a great time of 11:36:33 and Mark Tefft who finished in 14:34:20 despite losing much of his nutrition.

I was very pleased to finish in 10:18:15 which allowed be to achieve my primary goal of earning a slot to Kona! Placing 2nd in my age group and having the 14th fastest amateur run split (3:25:31) was a nice bonus.

Lonestar Sprint, Quarter IM, Half IM and Aqua Bike
March 30 & 31, 2008
Galveston, TX

Congratulation to all coached athletes that competed in one of the four events at this year's event. Nearly 2,200 athletes participated.

Claire Andrews (5th woman overall) and Rodrigo Abascal (8th in AG) participated in the Sprint race on Saturday. You'll see more great results from Claire who is only in 8th grade!

Michelle LeBlance (1st woman overall), Manuel Abascal (38th in the 40-44 AG), Rachel Skiles (20th in AG) and Tommy Rice (11th in AG) raced the Quarter IM distance. In only her second triathlon as a professional, Michelle had an awesome race beating pro's Amanda Lovato and Andrea Fischer by over 6 minutes and had the 6th fastest time overall out of 718 finishers.

Mark Tefft (14th overall) and Michele Blackwell (25th overall) participated in the Aquabike.

In the Half Ironman race, Tim Monk had an excellent race finishing in 4:28:28 which was good for 3rd amateur overall and 1st in his AG, Ed York (18th overall and 1st in AG), Jim Harrington (11th inAG), Don Cole (7th in AG), Christopher Moring (19th in AG), Kristie Chandler (a 26 minute PR) and Jay Richardson (nearly 40 minute PR).

All in all it was a great weekend for Finish Strong athletes.

Opelousas Sunrise Rotary Duathlon

March 16, 2008

Opelousas, Lousianna

This year the Opelousas Du served as the Lousianna State Duathlon Championship and most of the state's top multisport athletes were there to test themselves. The run was fairly flat and fast while the bike was slightly. Valerie Brown won the womens overall title by over 5 minutes and had the 15 fastest bike split on the day (out of nearly 170 competitors). Dana Lyons placed second overall with the help of the fastest bike split of the day.

As usual, the post race party was great with plenty of food and drink!

Webster Du

March 9, 2008

The Webster Du is a great little duathlon series just south of Houston. The 2 mile run/11 mile bike/2 mile run is flat and fast. Congratulations to Michelle LeBlanc who finished 3rd overall and was the only female to finish in under 1 hour. She also had the second fastest bike split (yes, only one guy had a faster bike). Ed York finished 7th overall and claimed the Master's title. Rodrigo Abascal (age 14) placed 2nd in his age group while his father, Manuel placed 10th in his.

The second race in the series is a 3 mile run/17 mile bike/3 mile run taking place on July 20.

SMW USAT 2008 Awards Banquet

January 19, 2008

Austin, TX

The South Midwest region of USAT annual awards banquet is always well attended as it was this year. The best age group athletes in USAT's largest region (over 8,000 members) were recognized for their efforts in 2007.

Congratulations to coached triathletes Valerie Brown (1st female, 25-29 age group), Michelle Easton (1st female, 30-34 age group) and Ed York (2nd male, 45-49 age group).

In duathlon, Nathan Winklemann was 1st in the 25-29 age group.

I had a great year earning first overall in triathlon and the master's title in duathlon.

2007 Ironman Florida

November 3rd, 2007
Panama City Beach, Florida

Congratulation to all coached athletes that competed in this years Florida Ironman. All athletes completed the race in less than their goal time.
Jim Harrington, 10:57:15; Marcos Omelanczuk, 11:45:19; Mark Strength, 13:39:00, and Roger Vertrees, 15:23:56.

Lifetime Fitness Toyota Open Olympic Tri

October 14, 2007

This race was the culmination of the Lifetime Fitness series. The series began in Minneapolis in July with the Lifetime Fitness triathlon, headed to NYC for the Nautica NYC triathlon, traveled to Chicago for the Accenture Chicago Triathlon and visited LA for the Kaiser Permanente LA triathlon and before finishing in Dallas.

There were some big names racing in the pro field. Greg Bennett was the most talked about man as he has won each of the 4 contests in the series so far. By winning this race, he took home $420,000! On the women's side, Emma Snowsill was considered the one to beat. But Sarah Haskins, Julie Dibens, Mirinda Carfrae, Rebeccah Wassner and a dozen others were there to see what they could do.

After dominating the amateur field over the past two years, Michelle LeBlanc recently turned pro. In her first pro race she placed 10th and had the 3rd fastes female bike split over the hilly and windy course.

Michele Blackwell also raced and placed well in her age group. Her total time included a stop to render aid to a woman who wrecked on her bike...she was bleeding from a head laceration (the physician in her made her stop!).

Ten for Texas

October 13, 2007

Ten for Texas is a great local road race and continues to grow each year with over 1100 participating this year. The weather was great and many turned in great times.

Congratulations to Tommy Rice, Kristin Collins, Ed York, Bret Strong (racing as Bret Strong), Roger Mercier, Maria Rodriquez, Jim Harrington, Mark Strength, Mark Teft, Michelle Easton, Mary Kerschbaum, Linda Deitz, Tania Hendry, Cindy Weller, Amy Henderson, Caleb Loomis and Brad Thompson.

More Race Updates!

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Stonebrdige Ranch Sprint Tri

September 30, 2007

Michelle LeBlanc entered this race at the last minute as she was up in Dallas visiting family. She came away with the overall win... and I mean overall! She beat everyone including all the men. She had the fatest bike split and 2nd fastest run out of the 371 participants.

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Cinco Ranch Sprint Tri

September 30, 2007

Despite a muddy 400m swim and crowded race course conditions, Kyle Mays turned in a great performance by finishing 21st overall (there were a little over 600 participants) and 6th in a very competitive 40 - 44 age group. Claire Andrews was 5th female overall and won the 14 and under age group. Claire's 18:39 run (5k) was the fastest of all females with the exception of one elite women.

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Stanford University Cross Country Invitational

September 29, 2007

The Lady Highlanders cross country team traveled to California this past weekend to participate in this prestigious west coast invitational. Running in the seeded Elite division, the team placed 4th out of 29 teams.

The Lady Highlanders are currently ranked 3rd in the state of Texas. Their next race is this coming weekend at the Nike South meet in The Woodlands.

Race Updates!

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Texasman Sprint Triathlon

USAT SMW Regional Championship

September 16, 2007

This years Sprint Regional Championship was held just north of Denton, TX over somewhat rolling terrain.

Valerie Brown was 3rd women and won her age group, Michelle Easton placed 4th women and was 2nd in her AG while Claire Andrews was 6th women overall and won her AG (which happend to be the 13 - 15 year old bracket!)

For the men, Bret Strong finished 14th overall and 6th in his AG (the 40-45 AG is always tough!) and Ed York was 18 overall and 2nd in his AG. I had a great race winning the overall title.

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Halfmax National Long Course Championship

September 15, 2007

The half ironman race was held in St. Louis on a very hilly course. Tim Monk placed 5th in his age group which qualified him to represent the USA at the ITU World Long Course Championships to be held in Holland next August.

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Huntsville Mountain Bike Race

September 16, 2007

Holly Marrs won the womens 30-39 race at this very competitive race.

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Veracruz International Triathlon

September 8, 2007

The Veracruz International Triathlon served as Mexico's youth championship race. Rodrigo Abascal had a great race beating most of his direct competition in the 14 - 15 year old age bracket.

Austin Olympic Tri

September 3, 2007

Nearly 800 athletes participated in this Labor Day event held in downtown Austin. Michelle LeBlanc was second female overall racing in the elite wave. Her bike split of 1:02:43 was nearly 4:00 faster than her nearest competitor and faster than most men. Valerie Brown was 3rd in her age group. Her bike split was the fastest in her AG.

Webster Du

July 22, 2007

The Webster Du is a great little duathlon series just south of Houston. This summers third race consisted of 2 mile run/10 mile bike/2 mile run on a flat and fast course. Coached athletes Nathan Winklemann and Michelle LeBlanc were the top male and female competitors. Both used blazing bike splits to establish a huge lead going into the second run. Michele Blackwell, Tommy Rice, Eric Hattoy and Rodrigo Abascal also had great races.

Indian Creek Olympic Tri

June 10, 2007

The Indian Creek Tri in Alexandria, LA was the SMW USAT Regional championship this year and was also a qualifier for the 2008 ITU World Championships to be held in Vancouver, Canada on June 4/5, 2008. Some very good competitors from the region as well as some from as far away as New England were on hand to compete and earn a coveted slot to Worlds.

Michelle LeBlanc was second female overall and Valerie Brown won her age group as both qualified for the ITU World Championships. Michelle's bike split was the 6th fastest overall! I won my age group thus qualifying for Worlds also. All 3 of us have accepted our slots and will be making the trip.

Ed York had a great race finishing 4th in the very competitive 45-49 AG.

CB&I Sprint Triathlon

May 5, 2007

CB&I served as the Texas State Championship this year and that insured that the top athletes from the state were present.

Great performances were put in many coached athletes. Congratulations to Sean Easton who placed 2nd overall and 1st in the 35-39 AG, Michelle Easton who placed 3rd female overall and 1st in the 35-39 AG, Nathan Winkelmann 3rd overall and 1st in the 20-24 AG, Bruce Cobb, 52nd overall and 2nd in the 55-59 AG, Tim Monk, 12th overall and 3rd in the 35-39 AG. I was pleased with my 4th overall placement and top masters athlete.

Others racing were; Madeleine Elorduy, Ana Davila, Jim Harrington, Adam Mathews, Bret Strong, Ed York, Cecilia Ramos, Tommy Rice, Lourdes Alonso, Eric Crecelius, Beth Denson, Kyle Mays, Jose Luis Reyes, Mike Young and Mark Strength.

Lonestar Sprint, Quarter IM and Half IM
March 31 & April 1, 2007
Galveston, TX

Congratulation to all coached athletes that competed in this first year event.
Michelle Easton (3rd woman overall), Sean Easton (2nd in AG and 10th overall), Kyle Mays (3rd in AG), Ana Davilla (23rd in AG) participated in the Sprint race on Saturday.

Frank Lee (6th in AG), Michele Blackwell (17th in AG) and Tommy Rice (6th in AG) race the Quarter IM distance while Bret Strong (3rd in AG), Adam Matthews (7th in AG) and Tim Monk (3rd overall and 1st in AG) did the Half IM distance.