Conoco Phillips Rodeo Run 10K

Finish Strong athletes took part in the Conoco Phillips Rodeo 10K Run on Saturday, February 25 in Houston. Rodrigo Abascal, Irasema De Aquino (Rodrigo's mom), Jose Contreras, and Kirk Langford took on the 10K race. Rodrigo crossed the finish line in 47:05 (7:34/mi pace). Ira was very happy with her new 10K PR. She negative split and finished the race in 58:10. Jen Anthony also had a PR finishing in 41:40 (almost 2min faster than she ran it last year). Jose Contreras also had a fine race finishing in 53:50. Kirk Langford also had a PR finishing in 59:50 with negative splits. Competing and completing their first 5K race at Conoco Phillips Rodeo run were Marissa Gerlach, Carmela Holmes, and Erin Krafft. These three gals trained with Associate Coach Sharon Morin. Congrats to all!!

Du the Polar Bear Duathlon

Lane and Katherine Barron (above) enjoy 1st place AG finishes at Du the Polar Bear!

The Du the Polar Bear Duathlon was held on Sunday, February 26. It was a good day for Finish Strong Racing athletes with 3 first place AG finishes and other notable performances.

Katherine Barron won her 15-18 AG in a time of 1:15. Katherine's splits were 13:15 run, 47:08 bike, and 13:38. This was Leo Morales' daughter, Quinci's first duathlon. She placed 4th in her 15-18 AG finishing in 1:25.

Lane Barron won his 14 and under AG in a time of 1:09. Lane was fastest in his AG for all three legs. Lane's splits were 12:05 run, 41:55 bike, 14:10 run.

Mike Novelli won his 55-59 AG with an overall time of 1:07. His splits were 12:00 run, 40:31 bike, and 12:44 final run.

Gavish Mago also did a fine job placing 4th in his AG in a time of 1:04. Gavish's splits were 11:16, 40:32 bike, and 11:39 final run.

Congratulations to all the competitors!

Surf Side Beach Half Marathon

The Surf Side Beach half marathon held on February 18 in Surfside, Texas amidst heavy rain (4" fell during the race) and 30mph gulf head winds. Finish Strong Racing's diehard Robert Simmons claimed it was a race he will never forget! Robert finished 4th overall and claimed the master's win with a time of 1:38:03. Way to go, Robert!

Rhythm & Blues Half Marathon

Finish Strong Racing's Rip Reynolds took first in his 45-49 age group at this weekend's inaugural Rhythm & Blues Half Marathon held in downtown Houston on February 19.

Rip crossed the finish line in 1:30:28 at a brisk 6:54/mile pace. Rip was first in his age group and 26th overall. Great job, Rip. Any pics?

HITS Corpus Christi Triathlon Series - Half Ironman

Six Finish Strong Racing athletes completed the half Ironman distance HITS Corpus Christi Triathlon on Sunday, February 19 as part of their weekend of intense training.

Here are the results of the half Ironman race:

10th overall Snyder, Buck 44:31 swim, 2:54:48 bike, 1:43:56 run 5:28:53 overall
2nd in his 40-44 AG. (Buck and his wife, Kerri, pictured above.)

16th overall Henderson, Brian 42:53 swim, 2:57:54 bike, 1:46:32 run 5:37:00 overall
1st in his 35-39 AG

18th overall Fresquez, Art 42:50 swim, 2:54:45 bike, 1:53:26 run 5:38:55 overall
3rd in his 30-34 AG

33rd overall Wendt, Chris 39:35 swim, 3:25:49 bike, 1:48:57 run 6:03:51 overall
2nd in his 35-39 AG

37th overall Palmer, Jerry 51:01 swim, 3:14:01 bike, 2:08:11 run 6:27:11 overall
6th in his 40-44 AG

48th overall Davis, Russell 56:28 swim, 3:36:38 bike, 2:05:45 run 6:53:38 overall
9th in his 45-49 AG

Other Finish Strong team members chose to train but not complete the half Ironman distance (Irasema de Aquino, Taunya & Dean Zipse, Daryl Parker and Dana Lyons) and full Ironman distance (Tommy Sustala, Cindy McManis, Abraham Hernandez, Scott Peterson, Ronnie Delzer, and Winston Cervantes.) The results did not capture splits for those who did not complete the race.

Congratulations to all for participating in this intense triathlon training weekend!

HITS Corpus Christi Triathlon Series - Olympic

Finish Strong Racing's Tommy Sustala won the Olympic distance race at the HITS Corpus Christi Triathlon Series weekend on Saturday, February 18. He was joined by fellow Finish Strong team members Andy Brock and Cindy McManis (pictured above).

Here are the Olympic race results:

1st overall Sustala, Tommy 22:58 swim, 1:10:08 bike, 47:07 run 2:25:36 overall
(1st in his 40-44 AG)

46th overall Brock, Andy 34:51 swim, 1:34:57 bike, 47:28 run 3:03:38 overall
6th in Olympic Military Male category (or in his 45-49 AG)

59th overall McManis, Cindy 32:26 swim, 1:33:09 bike, 1:01 run 3:13:12 overall
2nd in her 50-54 AG

All three of these competitors went on to participate in an even longer triathlon the following day - either half or full Ironman training distance.

HITS Corpus Christi, TX Triathlon Series - Sprint

Twenty-one Finish Strong Racing team members traveled to Corpus Christi to train at the HITS Corpus Christi Triathlon Series on February 18-19. The 21 team members trained in 34 races this weekend ranging from sprint to full Ironman distances.

The sprint race consisting of 750m ocean swim, 12.4 mi bike, and 3.1 mi run in Corpus Christi took place on Saturday. There were plenty of podium finishes for the 11 competitors including 2nd female overall, two AG wins, two 2nd in AG, three 3rd in AG.

Here are the sprint race results in order from our youngest to oldest competitors:

9th overall Rodrigo Abascal 11:08 swim, 36:11 bike, 21:33 run 1:12:04 overall
2nd in 18 and under AG

8th overall Scott Peterson 11:28 swim, 36:40 bike, 17:55 run 1:11:45 overall
1st in 30-34 AG. (Scott pictured above.)

29th overall Ronnie Delzer 14:00 swim, 41:57 bike, 21:20 run overall 1:21:46. 3rd in 30-34 AG

73rd overall Daryl Parker 19:35 swim, N/A bike, 23:13 run 1:38:54 overall
7th in 30-34 AG

2nd female and 37th overall Taunya Zipse 14:10 swim, 41:27 bike, 24:37 run 1:24:06 overall (1st in her 35-39 AG)

40th overall Chris Wendt 13:08 swim, 42:33 bike, 24:40 run 1:26:07 overall
3rd in his 35-39 AG

20th overall Winston Cervantes 17:20 swim, 35:05 bike, 22:15 run 1:18:43 overall
2nd in his 40-44 AG

21st overall Buck Snyder 14:33 swim, 37:31 bike, 21:10 run 1:18:50 overall
3rd in his 40-44 AG

43rd overall Jerry Palmer 16:24 swim, 39:45 bike, 25:20 run 1:26:36 overall
5th in his 40-44 AG

32nd overall Dean Zipse 14:31 swim, 38:36 bike, 24:02 run 1:22:17 overall
5th in his 45-49 AG

6th overall Dana Lyons 13:10 swim, 32:50 bike, 20:23 run 1:10:54 overall
1st in his 50-54 AG

Most of these athletes participated in an even longer distance triathlon the next day -- either the half or full ironman.

Jail Break Half Marathon

Jail Break Half Marathon was held on Saturday, February 11 to benefit the Baytown Police Department. The race takes runners up to the top of the Fred Hartman Bridge at the mid-point of the race for a picturesque view of Houston Ship Channel. Despite the wind and the cold, Finish Strong's Deb Lyons had a great race. Deb finished in 1:54 - a PR by over 4 minutes. She was excited to win her AG and totally credits her wonderful coach (and husband) for helping her train.

St. Petersburg Rock N Roll Half Marathon

Greg Gibbons took on the Rock & Roll Half Marathon in St. Petersburg, FL on February 12. He finished the race in 1:36 setting na new PR for himself. Way to go!

Panama City 70.3

Congrats to Linda Trinkle who won her 45-49 AG at Panama City 70.3. Linda's splits were an amazing 29:48 swim, 2:50:24 bike, and 1:53:57 run for an overall time of 5:21:34. Linda's was over 21 minutes faster than the next competitor in her AG and ended up finishing 11th overall among AG women. Wow! And she even got to see Lance Armstrong during the run.

Dirty Dozen Bike Race

Amid the rain, wind and temperatures in the 40’s, Finish Strong Racing Jim Harrington (pictured above) and Raul Luzano competed in the Dirty Dozen 2-person 6 hour mountain bike race which was shortened to 4 hours because of all the rain on Saturday morning, February 4. Jim's team finished the race in 4:16:49 and captured 2nd place. Jim remarked, "Not bad for my first mountain bike endurance race. Now it’s time to get back on the road bike!"

Galveston Half Marathon

Congratulations to Finish Strong Racing athletes, Sharon Morin (above right) and Cindy McManis who raced the Galveston Half Marathon on Sunday, February 5. They overcame 25 mph winds and nearly torrential rain to complete strong efforts over the 13.1 mile course. Sharon Morin won the top master's spot with a time of 1:43:37.1 . Cindy came in 4th in her 50-54 age group with a time of 2:02:36.5. Well done!