Perhaps the only downside to having such an amazing team of women at Coeur is that someone is racing somewhere almost every weekend and it’s hard to tear oneself away from in front of the computer.
Especially now as the polar vortex has started to release its grip and our ladies are starting to get out to test their early season fitness.
But what a weekend it was. Here are a few of the efforts that we’re celebrating:
Philippines Xterra
Coeur athletes Renata Bucher and Mieko Carey took first and third respectively at the Xterra Philippines this weekend. At Coeur, we say that we’ll absolutely celebrate a result but what we really love (regardless of the result) is the effort. Renata showed incredible heart and courage as she took the XTERRA Philippines crown for the second time in three years. But wow, did she have to dig deep! Jacqui Slack was first out of the water and led for part of the bike before Renata reeled her back in.
Renata’s bike split was a thing to behold. It was the fastest women’s and fourth fastest overall! We like to think that the Coeur seamless chamois had something to do with that..thank you very much. In any event, she had a lead on the run for a while but was passed by Austrian, Carina Wasle (who had the fastest run of the day). Like we said, we celebrate displays of heart and courage and wow did Renata give us something to celebrate. She “re-passed” Carina near the end to take the win!
http://www.xterraplanet.com/hugo-bucher-win-xterra-philippines-championship
Mooloolaba ITU
2013 USAT Rookie of the Year Katie Hursey took 2nd at the Moololoba ITU race this weekend. Katie. She finished a few seconds behind another American - Gwen Jorgensen. Katie led out of the water and rode in the first pack. The chase group which included Jorgensen and Australian Emma Moffatt eventually closed with Katie’s group. Katie and Gwen hit the run together and dug deep to capture the first two spots.
The was the first 1-2 finish for two Americans at an ITU World Cup since 2003, when Shelia Taormina and Barb Lindquist did it in Madeira, Spain.
http://www.usatriathlon.org/news/articles/2014/3/031514-mooloolaba-recap.aspx
Shamrock Half
Emily Joller is one of our amateur runners and we knew and trained with her when we lived in San Diego. She’s the epitome of a Coeur girl. As generous and nice as a person can be but still fiercely competitive on the track. She loves to laugh, will enjoy a glass of wine and is a very dedicated runner.
We’re highlighting Emily’s 1:28 PR at the Shamrock half marathon for a couple of reasons. First, we know Emily had to dig hard to PR. Second, we also know that this one of the final prep races before she heads to Boston for the Marathon. Given the events in Boston last year, we know that the race will be particularly poignant. As such, we’ve asked Emily to document her thoughts after the race.
As we’ve said before, we love it when people show heart and courage. If you know of someone who “dug deep” (again…regardless of the results), let us know. We’d love to share their story and congratulate them ourselves.