The 2009 ITU Duathlon World Championships were contested over the weekend in Concord, North Carolina. Over 750 of the world’s best run-bike-run specialists competed on a 10k – 40k – 5k course at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway.  For the seventh consecutive year, Hypercat Racing supported Team USA with a 12 week training program leading up to race day.  Congratulations to our five medalists! Below are just some of the Team USA performance highlights. Congratulations to all athletes!

Gold Medal
F25-29 – Kelly Fillnow – Huntersville, NC – Time: 2:06:19 – (39:10 / 1:05:06 / 20:11)

Silver Medal
M18-19 – Josh Evans –  Galt, CA – Time: 1:54:43 – (35:06 / 59:34 / 18:42)
F40-44 – Julie Deery – Bala Cynwyd, PA – Time: 2:05:48 – (40:05 / 1:02:29 / 21:28)
M65-69 – Tony Marshall – Carlsbad, CA – Time: 2:11:38 – (40:53 / 1:06:16 / 22:29)

Bronze Medal
F20-24 – Sarah Breevoort –  Charlottesville, VA – Time: 2:12:53 –(40:33 / 1:08:14 / 21:06)

Top Ten Finishers
4^th – M50-54 – Gary Brenner – Madison, WI – Time: 1:56:06 – (35:52 / 59:12 / 19:28)
4^th – F60-64 – Judy Tripp – New York, NY – Time: 2:53:05 –(48:23 / 1:30:49 / 28:05)
5^th – M45-49 – Scott Schraff – Scottsdale, AZ – Time: 1:53:26 –(36:05 / 56:21 / 19:23)
5^th – F50-54 – Lorrie Beck – Williamstown, NJ – Time: 2:13:33 – (42:38 / 1:06:28 / 22:50)
5^th - F25-29 – Ericka Osborn – Elkhorn, WI – Time: 2:16:35 – (44:40 / 1:07:00 / 23:09)
5^th – F55-59 – Pam Stevens – Sartell, MN – Time: 2:26:27 –(48:03 / 1:10:29 / 25:36)
6^th – M60-64 – Gordon Holt – Matthews, NC – Time: 2:09:29 – (41:06 / 1:03:22 / 22:46)
6^th – F25-29 – Julia Nagy – Washington, DC – Time: 2:18:00 – (42:29 / 1:11:10 / 21:26)
6^th – M70-74 – David Zwick – Somerset, KY – Time: 2:36:40 – (47:50 / 1:19:08 / 26:42)
7^th – M45-49 – Dave Riffe – New Stanton, PA – Time: 1:54:23  - (35:39 / 58:34 / 18:25)
8^th – M55-59 – Fred Galata – Omaha, NE – Time: 2:05:26 – (41:04 / 1:00:00 / 21:46)
8^th – F45-49 – Michelle Oneill – Liberty T., OH – Time: 2:16:31 – (42:42 / 1:08:54 / 22:29)
8^th – F50-54 – Debbie Hutkoski – Havana, FL – Time: 2:18:07 – (44:57 / 1:06:30 / 24:31)
8^th – F20-24 – Jacqui Aubert – Crystal Lake, IL – Time: 2:18:13 – (37:34 / 1:19:40 / 19:04)
9^th – M35-39 – Tony Tousley – Golden, CO – Time: 1:52:16 – (35:19 / 56:43 / 18:50)
9^th – M50-54 – James Hannon – Rochester, MN – Time: 2:00:42 – (36:32 / 1:02:01 / 19:47)
9^th – F30-34 – Kristen Klepfer – Taylors, SC – Time: 2:11:08 – (41:14 / 1:04:21 / 23:20)
9^th – F45-49 – Christine Vincent – Jackson, MI – Time: 2:17:03 (41:25 / 1:10:20 / 22:34)
9^th – F25-29 – Marita McCormick – Broomall, PA  - Time: 2:24:22 – (44:51 / 1:13:26 / 24:23)
9^th – F60-64 – Ann Rhea – Plymouth, MN – Time: 3:06:15 – (1:02:30 / 1:25:40 / 34:09)
10^th – M30-34 – Philip Martindale – Nashville, TN – Time: 1:53:45 –(35:35 / 57:22 / 19:01)
10^th  – M35-39 – Patrick Riley – Des Moines, IA – Time: 1:53:58 – (34:39 / 59:05 / 18:38)
10^th – F25-29 – Katie Call – Gilbert, AZ – Time: 2:24:24 – (45:30 / 1:12:05 / 24:51)
10^th – F60-64 – Christine McKnight – Schuylerville, NY – Time: 3:09:58 – (1:00:38 / 1:30:29 / 35:09)

Top 20 Age Group Finishers
Mike Lies, M55-59, Lawrenceburg, IN
Jeremy Dodds, M40-44, Skaneateles, NY
Sharon Adams, F30-34, Reston, VA
Robert Bachorik, M65-59, Ellsworth, MA
Suzanne Bay, F20-24, Southlake TX
Alicia Borgess, F25-29, Alexandria, VA
Rebecca Bradley, F30-34, Dallas, TX
Laura Bergmann, F25-29, Bakerton, WV
Michael Coffman, M35-39, Alexandria, VA
Doug Covington, M40-44, Marion, VA
Kristi Erickson, F20-24, Spring Lake, NC
Leo Fohl, M65-69, Willoughby, OH
Maria Galbraith, F40-44, Glen Allen, VA
Sharon Good, F35-39, Castle Pines, CO
Tammy Guld, F30-34, Yardley, PA
Julie Haight, F40-44, Holly Springs, NC
Tracie Kent, F35-39, Saint Paul, MN
Ted Neidhardt, M40-44, Galena, OH
Colleen Nicoulin, F35-39, Port Orange, FL
Shari Noer, F45-49, Brookville, OH
Jean Wood, F60-64, Excelsior, MN  
Donna Williams, F45-49, Troutville, VA
Debra Weird, F45-49, Pearland, TX
Eva Van Stratum, F50-54, Aston, PA
Rebecca Thomas, F30-34, Pewaukee, WI
Brian Sangutei, M30-34, Durham, NC
Erica Ruge, F35-39, Rhineback, NY
Heidi Robb, F40-44, Maple Grove, MN
Doug Reimer, M45-49, Randolph, NJ
Joan Perry, F50-54, Kinston, NC
Cory Olson, M20-24, Fargo, ND

A contingent of fiesty Hypercat athletes descended on the beautiful country side of Santa Rosa, CA for a toasty day of multisport racing over the weekend.  Contested on Saturday, August 1 were the Full Vineman, Full Vineman Aquabike, Half Vineman Aquabike and Barb’s Race Half Ironman events.  The Full Vineman is the oldest independent iron distance triathlon in the United States. The 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile event offers a formidable challenge for all racers and draws many a top long course triathlete to test their endurance mettle.  Quickly growing in popularity are the Full and Half Aquabike events which challenge athletes to race a swim/bike combination following the same course as the triathlon events. Barb’s Race is the only all-female half-ironman triathlon in the country and its cause (to fight cancer) spirit and competition makes it a very popular August event in Northern California.

We like wine!

This year, several Hypercat athletes choose to compete in the Aquabike events as part of their preparation for other later season events. These ‘training event’s provide the ideal opportunity to simulate race conditions for Ironman and half ironman racing without the recovery costs of the run leg.  Steve Fung of Orinda, CA had a strong day setting a new personal best in the 2.4 mile swim and riding a strong 5:44:38 for the 112 mile bike leg. Steve’s overall time of 6:51:14 placed him 5th M35-39.
Considering Steve suffered two (!) flat tires near 90 and 100 miles, his time and finishing place is even more impressive.  No doubt that the flat tires cost Steve valuable time that might have enabled him to give his coach, Rachel Casanta a ride for her money. Rachel finished 2nd female overall, behind fellow pro Teri Albertazzi,  in a time of 6:44:10. She also set a personal best for the 2.4 mile swim (1:09:56) and clocked a 5:30:15 for the 112 mile bike.  

Wine is good!

Jen Kibler of San Francisco is currently preparing for Ironman Arizona this November. Jen competed in the Half Vineman Aquabike as part of her training preparations.  Rewarded for her efforts on warm, sunny day Jen placed 1st in the F25-29 age group and showed she is well on her way to becoming an Ironman!  Congratulations Jen!

The race production staff at Vineman certainly had their hands full with the Full Vineman and Aquabike events being contested simulataneously. Add to the mix, the all-women’s Barb’s Race Half-Ironman and you have one large multisport party!  Two Hypercat Racing athletes, Tracey Roeder and Catherine Hackett were both first time half-ironman competitors. Roeder, mom of two, competed at the Wildlfower Olympic and Escape from Alcatraz earlier this year.  During the summer she juggled her training with family, work and life’s demands. Tracey triumphantly crossed the finishline at Barbs in 6:25:18 for a 17th place F40-44 finish!  Tracy now has her sights on the California International Marathon on December 6th.

Catherine Hackett, a teacher residing in San Francisco surprised herself as showed that yes, she can do it! Hackett finished her first half ironman (and only second triathlon ever) in 7:37:04 finished 48th F35-39. Way to go Catherine! Your students will be so inspired! Catherine is now focusing her training on preparations to run the New York City marathon this November.

There’s no place like home. Hypercat Racing coach and professional triathlete Rachel Sears Casanta returned to her home state of New York to compete in the first Aflac Irongirl Triathlon on July 26, 2009.  The all women event welcomed nearly five hundred registered participants to the race venue at a Oneida Shores in Brewerton, New York (north of Syracuse).  Casanta won the 800m swim, 30k bike and 5k run in 1:20:19. Julie Rosa of LaFayette finished 2nd in 1:23:32 and Jaime Stitt crossed the line in 3rd in 1:24:53.

Coach with her first Coach!

Casanta, born in Syracuse, NY, spent her formative years running on the same roads of the Irongirl race course.  The 5k run overlapped the route she ran many times as teen participating in Oneida Shores Fun Runs sponsored by the Syracuse Chargers track club.  The nostalgia of returning to Oneida Shore was made extra special by the presence of  Casanta’s first running coach, Kelly Schulz.  Schulz coached Casanta when she was a cross country runner at Millard Hawk Junior High in Central Square, NY.  Schulz and Casanta got reacquainted at a pre-race course talk where Casanta offered advice to Irongirl competitors, many of whom would be tackling their very first triathlon event. 

Additional Media Coverage:

http://photos.syracuse.com/post-standard/2009/07/iron_girl_triathlon_sunday_at_6.html

http://www.syracuse.com/today/index.ssf/2009/07/rachel_sears_casanta_wins_firs.html

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/first_iron_girl_triathlon_in_t.html

http://blog.syracuse.com/sports/2009/07/results_from_aflac_iron_girl_s.html

=>Read Rachel’s Aflac Irongirl Race Report here.<=

Patrick James suffered some minor injuries while on a training ride a few weeks back.  He was still bouncing back, recovering and finding his stride.  Rather than miss the Vineman 70.3 though, he had decided to approach the event as a more casual training session. Nevertheless, in spite of  hot conditions, residual boo-boos and a mellow approach,  James set new personal best splits for the swim and bike enroute to a new personal best half-ironman time.  James’  performance earned him a qualifying starting spot (M35-39) at the 2009 Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida.

In addition to the Ironman Lake Stevens 70.3 in August, James is also training for Ironman Florida. James regularly trains with athletes of Forward Motion and is coached by Rachel Casanta of Hypercat Racing.

Overall time: 5:06:13.
Swim 34:32 – PR. Bike 2:39:44 – PR. Run 1:47 

It is always terrific to see people accomplish something they might not previously have thought possible.
On July 11th, a crew of alumni from the television show “The Biggest Loser” tackled the San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island.  Coach Phil Casanta had the pleasure of meeting several of the BL’s including Pete Thomas. Pete was very kind to mention Hypercat Racing and Phil in a recent blog post. We wish Pete and all of the Biggest Loser family well in their future athletic pursuits.

http://www.winningman.com/biggest-loser-triathlon-2009/

While crazy floats and naked runners raced across the city of San Francisco in the Bay to Breakers 12k, a large contingent of seriously competitive triathletes made the trip to Morgan Hill for the 18th annual Morgan Hill Sprint Triathlon at Uvas Reservoir.

Julie Pfeifle made her presence known in the women’s 50-54 age group. A youngster in the age group Julie showed that she has what it takes to compete with the best. She placed 3rd of 30 with a finishing time of 1:57:39.  Julie swam .75k in 25:25, cycled 16 miles in 49:31 and ran 5 miles in 39:53. 

By finishing in the top 10% of her age group, Julie qualified for the 2009 USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships later this year.  Age group nationals are slated for August 22, 2009 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Julie is coached by Rachel Casanta.

Congratulations to Steve Fung of Orinda on his 19th place finish at the 2009 Morgan Hill Sprint Triathlon. Finishing in 1:46:09, Steve placed 19th M35-39. His splits:  24:41 (.75k swim) , 43:06 (16 mile bike) and 33:05 (5 mile run).

Next up for Steve? The Silicon Valley Triathlon on 6/21/09.

Chris McCormack and Steve Fung

Time: 13:55
Swim: 1:24
Bike: 5:55
Run: 6:30 (113 degree heat!)

Steve will enjoy some short course racing in early summer, but already has
his eyes on his next big challenge, Ironman Arizona on November 22, 2009.
Way to go, Steve!

Read Steve’s account of his experience here:

Congratulations to each and every athlete who competed in the Wildflower Triathlons in Lake San Antonio on May 2-3, 2009. Below are the results of athletes who followed the Hypercat Racing Wildflower Training plans available through TriCalifornia.

Please post your race reports and thoughts about the training plans.  Congratulations on your accomplishments!

MTB Sprint
5^th F55-59 – Joann Rieke – 1:44:18
8^th F30-34 – Mone’ Leon – 1:16:52
19^th M25-29 – Kile Krol – 1:10:12
25^th M45-49 – Jeff Bracket – 1:25:21
33^rd W45-49 – Tricia Fertig – 1:42:27
43^rd F25-29 – Sara Pelosi – 1:30:55
51^st M25-29 – Arthur Hoffman – 1:18:00
65^th F25-29 – Amber Phillips – 1:39:37

Olympic
7^th F45-49 – Mary Kathryn Lynch – 2:50:33
10^th M30-34 – Peter Smith – 2:29:13
10^th M60-64 – Frederic Kass – 3:26:03
15^th F45-49 – Wendy Thomas – 3:01:53
18^th F50-54 – Betsy Davis – 3:42:17
23rd F40-44 – Tracey Roeder – 3:08:16
29^th F30-34 – Brianna Lewke – 4:06:40
25^th F40-44 – Colleen Hutchings – 3:05:57
27^th F40-44 – Fabienne Kobrak – 3:07:34
33^rd F45-49 – Michele Torres – 3:24:25
44^th M20-24 – Brandon Lewke – 3:37:37
52^nd M35-39 – Matthew Lodewick – 2:48:27
52^nd F40-44 – Jen Wineman – 3:40:24
53^rd F30-34 – Jessica Redding – 3:10:21
54^th F35-39 – Kim Lange – 3:16:24
61^st M25-29 – Brooks Kincaid – 2:48:06
69^th M40-44 – Steve Martin – 3:09:48
74^th M50-54 – Bret Husted – 4:04:34
78^th F35-39 – Betsy Baum – 3:29:19
79^th F30-34 – Jill Piotrowski – 3:18:36
80^th F35-39 – Jessica Archibald – 3:30:18
82^nd F40-44 – Jayne Whitelaw – 3:48:45
90^th M40-44 – Peter Sandhill – 3:23:18
104^th F25-29 – Ella Apgar – 3:26:18
107^th F40-44 – Veronica Cerruti – 4:38:45
114^th F35-39 – Denise Bradley – 3:42:05
114^th M35-39 – Jason Homme – 3:03:18
119^th F30-34 – Allison Fay – 3:31:16
124^th  F30-34 – Stacy Menz – 3:33:57
129^th M35-39 – Mathew Honan – 3:07:09
134^th F30-34 – Rachel Brinker – 3:36:21
144^th M25-29 – Andrew Holt – 3:09:05
144^th F30-34 – Natasha Hepburn – 3:37:45
159^th F35-39 – Sarah Madams – 4:25:01
161^st F25-29 – Suzanne Richards – 3:44:01
164^th M40-44 – Andy Gallardo – 3:45:19
170^th M40-44 – Jeffrey Keating – 3:50:59
177^th F25-29 – Lauren Laroche – 3:49:42
207^th M35-39 – Rosendo Salazar – 3:30:31
208^th M35-39 – Todd Espicha – 3:30:42
220^th M35-39 – Richard Hall – 3:40:05
261^st M30-34 – Brian Loftus – 3:59:59
278^th M30-34 – Kurt Spenser – 2:36:41

Long Course
14^th Pro F – Rachel Sears Casanta – 5:27:33
19^th F25-29 – Lorelle Hovsepian – 5:56:59
36^th M55-59 – Kent Relei – 7:45:44
38^th F30-34 – Caroline Glynn – 6:24:33
42^nd M40-44 – Chris Karamatic – 5:19:13
42^nd F45-49 – Nancy Lucero – 8:28:45
66^th M25-29 – Matthew Lawyer – 5:48:33
71^st F30-34 – Camille Salazar – 7:15:35
72^nd M50-54 – Simon Boughey – 7:20:25
81^st M45-49 – David Cefali – 6:07:54
129^th M45-49 – Michael Bickel – 6:44:05
133^rd M30-34 – Josh Clark – 5:55:50
146^th M45-49 – Wayne Deloney – 7:07:09
155^th M40-44 – Michael Van Antwerp – 6:29:41
163^rd M35-39 – Joseph Green – 6:09:45
198^th M25-29 – Kent Palmer – 6:31:37
211^th M35-39 – Josh Clark – 6:35:56
222^nd M40-44 – Andrews Barrows – 7:12:29
251^st M35-39 – Brook Mancinelli – 7:05:08
271^st M35-39 – Rodrigo Ruiz – 7:35:38

Get ready for Wildflower! Meet Hypercat Racing coach Phil Casanta at the Sports Basement Speaker series.

The Sports Basement Wildflower speaker series presented by Tri-California Training and Hypercat Racing continues presents training talk at the Bay Area Sports Basement locations. In March, Coach Phil Casanta will talk about training, equipment and nutrition as they relate to the Wildflower triathlons. For the April talks, race preparation will be discussed. Coach Phil will advise you on how to be prepared for race day, festival and lake logistics and camping needs. Whether you’ve attended Wildflower in the past, or this is your first time, don’t miss your opportunity to get terrific guidance from Coach Phil Casanta.

Stop by, meet Coach Phil, get your questions answered and prepare yourself for a confident, sucessful and fun Wildflower experience.
All Talk begins at 6:30 pm.

Wed. 3/11/09  
Sports Basement – 610 Old Mason St, San Francisco, CA 94129.
(415) 437-0100

Thur. 3/12/09
Sports Basement – 1177 Kern Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94085.
(408) 732 – 0300

Thurs. 3/19/09
Sports Basement – 1590 Bryant Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 575 – 3000

Wed. 4/8/09
Sports Basement – 1177 Kern Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94085.
(408)  732 – 0300

Wed. 4/15/09
Sports Basement – 1881 Ygnasio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598.
(925) 941-6100