Ironman World Championship 70.3

Ironman World Championship 70.3
Clearwater, FL
11/11/06

Swim 1.2 | Bike 56 | Run 13.1

Lisa Bentley
Canada

Mirinda Carfrae
Australia

Samantha McGlone
Canada

Several of the top women competitors in the upcoming Ironman World Championship 70.3 were invited to a pre race press conference including, Lisa Bentley, Mirinda Carfrae and Samantha McGlone. Lisa Bentley recently took third place in the Hawaii Ironman World Championship. When asked if she was ready to compete in this race so soon after competing in Hawaii, she said yes! She spent some relaxation time in Hawaii and is now fully recovered, and ready to take on the Ironman World Championship 70.3. Read more about Lisa at lisabentley.com.

Samantha McGlone was asked how she would change her tactics to adjust for this anticipated fast course. She said she will go fast from start to finish, no tactics needed. Samantha does most of her training in Boulder, Colorado where she swims daily and also bikes or runs each day, sometimes training in all three sports in the same day.

Simon Lessing
Great Britain

Chris Legh
Australia

Craig Alexander
Australia

At the pre race press conference, top male competitors SImon Lessing, Chris Legh and Craig Alexander answered questions from reporters. Simon Lessing was asked how competing in the Ironman 70.3 event (Swim 1.2 miles, Bike 56 miles & Run 13.1 miles) was different from racing in the standard Ironman. Simon stated that because the 70.3 race is half the distance of a traditional Ironman, the competitors go flat out throughout the race, and there is no pacing yourself at that distance. It is “pure hell.”

Simon qualified for this event winning the Banamex Ironman 70.3 on September 17, 2006 in Cancun, and The Vineman Ironman 70.3 on July 30^th. When asked if he would consider Clearwater as a future vacation destination, he stated his family was enjoying the beautiful beaches, and they may return for a future vacation.

On the day before the competition, we ran into Angela Shields at Clearwater beach. She is one of the outstanding non-professional women who qualified for this World Championship.

Angela will be competing in the first Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater, Florida on November 11, 2006. Her husband is also competing in this year’s inaugural event.

Angela is thrilled with the 70.3 distance (Swim 1.2 miles, Bike 56 miles & Run 13.1 miles), which allows more athletes to compete in an Ironman event. She is planning on competing in a full Ironman Triathlon next year. While preparing for the race, Angela and her family are enjoying the beautiful venue that was chosen for the first Ironman World Championship 70.3. We wish her good luck!

Angela Shields - Suited up for a training swim the day before the race.