Race Coverage

An Amazing Day...

Friday, 04 July 2014 00:10

ED. One of America's best 40+ female triathletes, Indiana's Chris Wickard blogged about her BOUS experience:

By Chris Wickard (http://chriswickard.wix.com/triathlete/apps/blog)

BOUS Race Report - This was my 6th appearance at the Best of the US (BOUS).  I think of BOUS like a mini USAT National Championship, as it brings out some very talented athletes.  Unlike Nats where you are competing against others in your age group, at BOUS you are competing against all the other female or all the other male athletes.

The hosts/organizers at BOUS .....are extremely passionate about the sport of triathlons.  So if you ever have the opportunity to participate in a race that they are involved in, you know it will be spectacular. 

The morning began with the inaugural Capital City Sprint Triathlon.....

Once a majority of the sprint athletes finished, it was time for the BOUS to begin.  Our race was an Olympic distance.  One of the many great things about this race was that is was very spectator friendly.  The swim was 2 loops, the bike was 3 loops, and the run was 2 loops.  This is definitely nice for those out there cheering us on as well as the athletes since we would get lots of cheers and encouragement throughout the course.

Our race was a relatively small field of competitors but it was packed with talent.  The males and females started the swim together.  It was surprising a not very physical swim.  You never can tell when the males and females start together if it will involved swimming on top of each other.  Since we all had the same swim caps, I couldn't tell how many females were...

ahead of me.  I felt good in the water and hustled into T1 with a few other females then onto the bike.  In the beginning portion of the bike, the roads weren't the best of condition but eventually the pavement smoothed out.  It was nice riding three loops and being able to see where the other competitors were in prospective to me.  The loops also seemed to made the time go by faster.  Maybe it was the awesome crowd cheering us on each lap.

Coming into T2, the skies were starting to darken and a rumble could be heard in the distance.  The two loop run course consisted of some rolling hills with a few small but challenging inclines.  The run I found was the hardest portion for me at this race.  During the bike, it was nice having a less congested ride but the run I found very lonely not having other competitors surrounding me.  This was one of those races where I had to dig deep to get to the finish line.

I crossed the finish line with my son Jake running with me waving the Indiana state flag.  Just as I finished, the skies opened up and it down poured.  I managed to come away with a 4th place finish behind an EXTREMELY talented group of ladies.  Taking the title of "Best of the US" for the ladies was Dani Fischer from Wisconsin who technically could be my daughter.  Yes, I'm getting old.  2nd place was Jenny Garrison from Illinois who earned two short course national championship titles in her amazing career as well as many other titles including a few years as a professional triathlete.  Then in 3rd place was Kirsten Sass of Tennessee who was the 2013 Female Triathlete of the Year.  All-in-all, it was an amazing day of racing for me. 

I want to thank Trudles ...for a great race which I know they will continue to grow and build into "THE RACE" to race!  Thanks to my sponsors Spenco, PowerBar, Brooks and Rudy Project for helping me along the way!

CHRIS WICKARD - Swim - 18:51 - Bike - 1:05:35 - Run41:46 - 2:07:22 - 4th place