New Mercury Athletes Rising to the Challenge

Two of our crew's newest athletes, Kari Strutt and Patty Infusino, are already on their way to a great year! Both had solid days at the Last Chance Half in Calgary on the weekend. Congratulations to Patty for finishing 28th out of 257 females the day after surviving one of Michelle Milot's awesome marathon spin sessions, and Kari for hitting a PB by over 12 minutes!! Great first race of the year, ladies!! Some post-race thoughts from Kari can be found here...a great read!

http://alexandrawriterswritenow.blogspot.com/

Clearwater

Just wanted to send a quick shout out to Luke and Meg for competing in the Clearwater 70.3 World Championships! It was a tough day but both of them slugged it out to the finish! Luke finished with a 4:18 and most certainly had some positive aspects to the day! He had an amazing year!!

Silverman and Jingle Bells

Todd Graham met his match at the Silverman Iron Distance Triathlon over the weekend. A momentous occasion - not only did Todd take 15th/45 in his age group, but it was the first time I have heard Todd use the phrase "I am tired." Apparently it takes one of the toughest Iron Distance courses out there, less than 2 months after Ironman Canada, a windy & hot day, killer tarantulas, and a series of flats to finally tire this boy out. He dug deep to get through it and now will be taking a well deserved rest...right, Todd?!

While her husband was battling the desert, Shana Graham raced her way to a PB at the Jingle Bell 10k Run in Regina over the weekend. Congrats, Shana!!

Fast Fall 10k's

Photo Credit: telegraph.co.uk


Mercury Riser's James Galbraith and Sarah Miller competed in their very first 10k run races this fall.

Two weeks back James did the Hallow's Eve 10k on Vancouver's North Shore. An incredibly hilly and challenging trail run where runners race in costume (this can be distracting, yet fun). James made it look easy, finishing in an impressive time of 51:17. He was 4th in his age group and 18th overall. Way to go James!

Today Sarah Miller competed in the Angus Glen 10k in Markham, Ontario. Her goal time was 50 minutes and Sarah came in at 50:36. She was thrilled with her time and then had the added bonus of being on her age group podium. 3rd place belongs to Sarah and we're very proud of her hard work.

More speed to come from both James and Sarah. Congrats to you each. We look forward to your future results!

Claire gets the job done at IM Florida

Ottawa resident and Ironman rookie Claire Matheson finished Ironman Florida today in 11h21 and 9th in the competitive 30-34 age group! She got stronger as the day went on with a 1h16 swim, 5h57 bike and sub-4h marathon.

Claire is a long-time friend of mine (Sara) and i have coached her since 2007. She focused on running for 2 years, qualifying and completing 2 Boston marathons before returning to triathlon and deciding to take on the Ironman. Like everyone, Claire has had some challenges in her training and has had to make sacrifices to stay healthy and consistent. I am very pleased to see those sacrifices pay off!

My history with Claire goes back to the first time i returned to Canada after many years abroad. I came to race Ironman Canada in 2004, my second Ironman. Claire was one of the people in Penticton who made me feel very welcome. My first morning in town, Claire and I rode together and she invited me to her Yoga class as well. Claire's kindness truly goes above and beyond. In the years that followed, I stayed in her home for a couple months each year training for Ironman Canada and Hawaii. Needless to say, I am very pleased to see Claire put together such a great race on her first attempt at Ironman! Congratulations Claire!


Claire chilling out before one of her little runs in Boston.

Big Day in Kona for Mercury Rising

Mercury Rising had 3 athletes competing in the Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona this year, and all three executed excellent races.

Leading the charge was Michael Vanderhyde who put together a sub-10h finish of 9:58! Fantastic. Michael was followed closely by Jeremy Hopwood, who managed a 10:05 and swears he will return someday for a faster finish!

Jeremy glad to reach the finishline!

And Mercury Coach and athlete Michelle Milot finished in 10:28, a superb time that also made her the 2nd fastest Canadian female!!

Michelle rocks the run course.

We are all extremely proud of these 3 amazing athletes!

The very next day Clint and I (Sara) went out to watch some of our girls compete in the Victoria full and half marathon. It was fun to watch both Tessa P. and Lisa Isley run PBs for the half distance and see Jenna's smiling face as she finished the marathon just 6 weeks after Ironman Canada.

Huge Congrats to everyone!!

Teresa Copeland Rocks the Black Diamond!!

Yesterday Teresa Copeland took the 50-54 age group title at the Black Diamond 1/2 Ironman in Washington! She also knocked 30 minutes off her 1/2 IM time from last year.
Everyone at Mercury Rising Triathlon is very proud of her!
Come on Teresa - send us some photos and write a race report!!