Race Coverage

Hasselhoff Running & Public Drooling...

Friday, 05 July 2024 00:10

By Brandon Lee

Manitou Race Recap - First double for me last weekend, even though these are shorter races, the intensity is much higher, and the Manitou Olympic was another 2 hours of near red line on Sunday.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t carry any fatigue over from Saturdays sprint, but overall I felt pretty strong. The weather was so nice, and the sun was bright over WBL Sunday morning. It felt like it had been 10 days since that big orange thing in the sky revealed itself. That same sun was directly in our eyes for the first 600 or so yards l, and I had a lot of trouble sighting, nonetheless I felt very loose and fresh in the water, it was like a cold competition pool feeling and you can definitely push a bit harder and not worry about overheating. I was caught off guard at the end of the swim, it’s very shallow and my David Hasselhoff water running skills are not up to par. Hamstring cramped in transition but was able to peel out and get on the bike. I knew I had my work cut out for me as Marcus Duval was probably 3 minutes ahead at this point.

The bike course was fantastic, pretty much in my backyard and I ride these roads all the time, so I had a good tactical plan and knew where the hills were and when to push hard on the descents. Started to run out of gas at mile 20, but kept on pushing....

Didn’t see Marcus at all, and knew he probably had 5-6 minutes on me, and there was no way I’d catch him on the run. At that point my goal was to run well and not completely bury myself, but I did just that anyway.

 Met Marcus when I was around mile 3 and we both extended our hands and gave a little high 5, he had a day, and It was fun to watch. The run course is an out and back along WBL, and there were many intentional and unintentional spectators on their Sunday walk, but everyone was cheering the racers on and you were never alone on the run. It’s a poppin little area with a lot of outdoor dining and recreation, the perfect spot to showcase my drooling and visible pain.

Ended up 2nd overall, and I sure had a good time. MM Races did a hell of a job, and that fresh grilled burger post race hit the spot! Thanks Judy!
#mergemultisport thanks Coach T- that was a fun weekend!