Well, it’s has been a fantastic week and we’re carving out a bit of time to commemorate, celebrate, and congratulate all of our customers, sponsored athletes, and friends who put it on the line over the last seven days. By the way, are there any other words that end in “ate” that have positive connotations (other than I "ate" that carrot cake)? If so, let us know, so we can use them in the future.
Our spectating adventure started with the Boston Marathon on April 20th. We shut down operations in the Coeur office and had the race on television (thanks Universal Sports) and on the computer so that we could track our friends. We thought that, in a way, the drizzly and overcast conditions were perfect, in that they served to underscore the toughness of the participants and the city. While cool, clear, and sunny weather makes for great Chamber of Commerce advertisements, we think that there is something “right” about less than perfect conditions. There’s no question that everyone lining up for the race was tough and having an equally tough backdrop just seemed fitting.
Coeur had three sponsored athletes participating in the Boston Marathon and they all had incredibly impressive races.
Sonja took a break from her Ironman training and put down a 3:14.
Look what happens when you run smart. Way to pace Sonja!
Kristin set a PR with her 3:19
A great shot of Kristin in Boston
Nicole went 4:03
We also want to send out congratulations to one of our favorite bloggers @Readeatwriterun and our good friend Christine on finishing Boston as well. We can’t really explain why, but it was just an incredibly emotional day and we were literally high-fiving as we got splits and saw everyone push toward the finish at Boylston.
Now, we know that a lot of people live for the weekends and we’re no different. It’s not that we’re not working on the weekend, it’s just that there’s a virtual smorgasbord of racing going on, especially this time of year.
Our spectating feast continued on Saturday as some of the best ITU racers lined up in Cape Town. Thanks to the time zone difference between South Africa and our office in Los Angeles, the day of spectating started early. Katie Zaferes dove into the frigid harbor waters at 6:00 a.m. California time. She led out of the water and made sure she stayed toward the front of the bike pack on the 25 mile ride. A group of about 12 ladies bunched together at the front of the run and Katie staked out a spot at the tip of the spear. The pace lifted in the last couple of miles and the pack began to shrink to five, then four, then eventually three. Katie stayed with the leaders and dug in to outsprint the 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist to claim second place! This was her fourth consecutive podium, and thanks to this string of great results, Katie now sits atop the 2015 ITU Series Rankings. In fact four of the top five women in the world race for the USA. Here are the point standings as of today:
- Katie Zaferes USA 2905 points
- Gwen Jorgensen USA 2400 points
- Sarah True USA 1947 points
- Andrea Hewitt NZL 1904 points
- Lindsey Jerdonek USA 1387 points
Katie sporting the Number 1
Our adventures in cheering continued on Saturday afternoon. Melissa Christensen competed in the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon and ran a 3:42 on another overcast and drizzly day. We saw this great picture of her charging toward the finish.
Kristin showing Heart & Courage on an overcast day
The sun did come out for at least one Marathon and we heard rumors that Melissa Fryback actually got a bit of a tan as she ran the Bend Marathon in 4:22 on Sunday.
We had more triathletes in action on Sunday as the gun went off for the Ironman Texas 70.3. Beth Shutt showed some great early season form as she placed 6th in a very deep field and Kaitlin Anelauskas finished 12th.
Beth on the Run at Ironman Texas 70.3
Kaitlin pushing toward the finish
Finally, we want to say congratulations to Lisa Smelser and Kristin Coker for their great results at the St. Anthony’s Triathlon. We heard this was Kristin’s first Olympic distance tri and we hope she comes back for more.
Lisa & Kristin at St. Anthony's
I know we mentioned this before but we love celebrating the amazing accomplishments of all our friends, so if you’re racing, just let us know. We’ll tune in and cheer for you from start to finish.
Have a great week everyone!
Your friends at Coeur.