Whoa, 2 weeks of fast and fun racing to catch up on. Grab a seat and hang on!
Ultramax decided good clean mud just wasn’t enough, so Mark Livesay & Co. pulled out all the stops to make the biggest, dirtiest, most colorful zombie-filled race you’ll find anywhere. And of course CMC was there en masse as we’re never ones to miss out on a party: Denise Bartels, Meg Bechtold, Misty Brawner (and she volunteered too!), Sherry Corwin, Imani Etter, Tiffin Etter, Becky Hoover, Warren Hoover, Chris Jones (his first race as a CMCer! Welcome!), Nate Jones, John Knowles, Lauren Livesay, Bill Luebbert, Christina Luebbert, Craig Lycke, Trenton Reed, Turner Reed, Jake Simpson, Cody Suthoff, Samantha Suthoff, Catina Topash, Angie Turner, and Alex Younger (his first Ultramax event, and surely not his last!). Looks like a great time!
While some were playing in mud, others were competing on a national stage at the HyVee 5150 Championships (yep, they all had to qualify just to toe the line in Des Moines). Big kudos to Kimberly Earnest (with a HUGE 6min PR!), Becky Hennessy 4th (also with a big PR!), Steve Keithahn, Colleen Parsons 3rd, Karen Roberts 5th (and a PR!), Tom and Beth Sweeney did the relay, and Nancy Yaeger. A PR kind of a day!
The day prior the kids took center stage. Hope Keithahn put up some big numbers as did Grace Parsons, Brynna Williams, Gabe Worthington, Melina Worthington, and Sidney Yaeger. Way to go, guys!
Labor Day brings the annual Heart of America Marathon. Not for the faint of heart, this race is known for the heat, hills, and humidity. But challenges bring out the intrepid: Stephen Bourgeois, Andy Emerson 3rd (and 10th overall!), Hugh Emerson, Keith Fernandez, James Harrington, Craig Johnston, Maggie Johnston, Jim McDermott 5th, Rob Parham, Stephen Parshall, and Erik Stone. Way to tackle those hills!
Kirksville, MO, is home to the small but popular NEMO Triathlon, and CMC was atop the podium all day: Rodney Adkison 1st overall (!), Jerry Donohue 1st, Bob Martin 3rd, Tony Rigdon 2nd, Marzena Tomicki 1st overall female (!), Kristin Underwood 1st (and 4th overall female!), Brandon Young 1st, and Brent Young. Great race!
From our STL contingent, Carol Crooks and dog Jack ran in the SLU Billikens 5k, and Carol says Jack won a medal. I’m pretty sure she was attached to the other end of that leash and landed a medal herself. 😉 Congrats to you both!
What’s better than cycling? Cycling with thousands of friends in a weekend-long party to raise tons of money and awareness for the Multiple Sclerosis Society: the annual MS150. Grab your bike and pick your poison, choosing from 40, 75, and 100mi options each day. CMC had riders going long between 140 and 200 miles over the 2-day event: James Benson 150, Misty Brawner 140 (including her first century!!), Russ Greene 150, Karen Knowles 200 (capturing her first double in fine form!), Craig Lycke 200 (his first double not long after completing his first single century!), JP Palmer 175, Colleen Parsons 140 (she knocked out her first century too!), Pete Schuyler 175, James Trammell 140 (pretty sure he’s new to the 100 club also), Gary Werkmeister 150, and Rachel Wittenberger 200 (in her first double!). TONS of HUGE PRs and BIG firsts!!
Another long-distance junkie, Jenny Clark headed out to Las Vegas for the IM 70.3 World Championship – with the thermostat hovering somewhere around you’ve-got-to-be-kidding. She managed to keep it together and avoid the med tent, which on a day like that was significant. Well done, Jenny! Special kudos to Paula Rawlings who made the trip out as sherpa and support crew extraordinaire, which makes a tremendous difference. Thanks, Paula!
Far from Vegas, Jessica Johnson pulled it together for a final tuneup before Redman, the Patriots Half (more like 73.0) in Williamsburg, VA, where a decent run made up for a weak swim and bike to land a 2nd place finish in her division. And sporting her CMC colors, met a fellow Mizzou alum and DC transplant. Too late to recruit this year, but maybe 2013…
And saving the biggest for last, IM Wisconsin! 3 first timers and a seasoned vet all had INCREDIBLE races! Tim Albers, in his first, made it through 2 chain mishaps and a rear flat to blaze on to an 11:10:23 finish. Mike Gogel earned his stripes with a 12:34:29 finish. Brad Suthoff crushed his first 140.6 in 10:33:03 (!). And Jonathan Shearon, who beat the pros in his earlier races, joined them this time, and smoked the course in 9:28:54 to finish 13th among the pro men. Going along as support crew and volunteers were Luise King and Samantha Suthoff. Congratulations, Ironmen!!
And catching up from a few weeks ago, we inadvertently left out Lisa Wells, who was perhaps the only solo woman to complete the Race for the Rivers 41-mile race from Washington to St. Charles on the Missouri River. Awesome, Lisa!
For the photo of the week, super-fast CMC canine Jack (and his runner Carol Crooks) sporting his medal after the SLU Billikens 5k! Looking good, Jack!
The Countdown:
- Redman/Club Nationals: 9 days (!)
- Roots n Blues: 9 days
- Tough Mudder MO: 31 days
Whether racing or tapering, have a great weekend!
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