Courtesy: event press release

Even without the new, snazzy, lime green racing suit, Spencer Smith (GBR) would have been easy to spot - he was the guy leading the Gulf Coast Triathlon (1.2 mi S/56 mi B/13.1 mi R) from start to finish. The only real challenge for Smith and two- in-a-row women's champion Karen Holloway (USA), who also went wire-to-wire, was the high-80's, high-humidity morning.

"This was the hardest $1500 I've ever earned. It's hot out there, really hot," Smith said, while cooling off in a rain tent near the finish line. Still, the Carlsbad-based Ironman champion posted a 4:06:35 for this half-iron distance race. His 27:42 swim split and 2:10:45 (25.7 mph) bike split were 3:13 and 4:19 faster than any other pro, respectively, and by the second transition, he had earned a nearly 10-minute advantage that he held for the rest of the race. Smith averaged 6:33 miles for a 1:25:41 half-marathon, second only to the 5:55 average pace set by third-place finisher, Gainesville athlete and rookie pro Darin Shearer (USA).

Still, Smith experienced stomach problems on the run, perhaps, he thought, from a bad, creamy salad dressing the night before. The heat also took its toll from his powerful legs in the late miles. So, when asked if he ever felt challenged or threatened, or if the upset stomach could have cost him even more time, Smith said, "you never know in triathlon. I give everyone respect, never take anyone for granted." Smith said his recovering groin injury did not hold him back.

Dave Harju (CAN), second place finisher in 4:17:15, posted the second fastest bike split, 2:15:04, and third fastest run, 1:27:33. And despite not feeling comfortably set up on the bike he currently rides, quadriceps cramps in the last two miles of the run, and highly varied and often inaccurate splits given to him along the course, the super-lean Canadian had no complaints. After all, Harju said, "there is no shame in coming in second to Spencer."

Harju spent many miles pulling rookie Peter Traylor (USA) around the flat, nearly windless cycle course. "The guy behind me, I didn't know if he could run, so I am I cyclist and knew I could push him," said the faster cyclist and well- seasoned pro in his French-Canadian accent. Harju did not know who was behind him, nor did he know Traylor was also a strong cyclist. "Besides," he continued, "I did not want to get into a running race with five guys." There was a chase pack varying between four and five riders only three or four minutes back. On Front Beach Road, Harju said he running 6-minute miles, if not 5:50's, and felt like he "was flying until about eight or nine, and then it was 'survival mode' (beginning) at 10 or 11." Harju's strategy worked, and he finished safely, two-and-a-half minutes ahead of Shearer.

Traylor, who eventually finished fourth in his debut this weekend, just received his professional racing license this past Wednesday. The 25-year-old chemical engineer was "pretty psyched" about his first pro race and how well he placed. Along the way, he even figured out his earnings from the 4:21:02 workday. "I got run down at mile 12 (by Shearer), and I started to evaluate the taxes," he said from the medical tent cot where he lay draped in a cold compress. The race conditions worked him over, and he realized at that point that racing for position was key not just for survival in the heat. "For third place, I'd have to pay 41 percent in taxes, and finishing in fourth, I wouldn't have to report it." For an engineer-athlete who can calculate how many Little Debbie brownies two dollars in quarters can buy on a training ride, and can accurately recount the nutritional value of the different varieties, the strategy and mental math at mile 12 flowed as quickly as the intravenous fluids he was receiving in the tent.

From a neighboring cot, fifth place finisher Luc Morin (CAN) looked over at Traylor and said, "You rocked on the bike, man." Morin fared well, too. "I had a great swim. I stuck to the plan - I watched the buoys, did not follow anyone else, and found my rhythm," he said. "The training has really paid off." Coming off a top-three finish at the recent New Jersey Shore Marathon, Morin said he "was playing it safe on the bike and run and going for a top finish position and not time. I did not want to hit the wall. All of these things worked very well, and I am really happy overall."

Holloway bikes with the boys

Holloway, like Smith, posted the fastest swim and bike splits, 30:52 and 2:24:51, respectively, en route to her 4:41:08. She also bested her 2002 winning time by 37 seconds. Holloway swam the widely lamented, rough, non-wetsuit swim with a group of four or five men, among them Morin, who led the pack, Peter Kotland (USA) and Simon Malo (CAN). She paced, draft-free, with the men on the cycle course as well. It helped, she said, to ride with Kotland for a while, as she otherwise had not clue of her speed or any way to push herself. "I tend to keep the boys in sight so I won't slow down," Holloway said.

According to Traylor, who spent some time grinding out miles with Holloway, "she was laying it down on the bike."

Holloway, who has a swimming background and is also a tough cyclist, ran a respectable 1:46:45 half-marathon, good for second fastest of the day. Still, she explained her strategy of swimming hard and riding hard: "I need to get out there, ahead for the run." She ran the whole run, without the few walking breaks she took in her 2002 rookie debut, but still, said Holloway, she really did not push hard, due in part to the heat and her experience. "This year I am in better shape and more confident," she explained, "(but) it was still brutally humid on the run."

Kim Loeffler (USA) posted a third-fastest swim (35:49) behind Holloway and Marie Danais (CAN) (32:25), but was passed on the bike by Sara McCarney (USA). She chased late on the bike, reaching transition shortly behind, and then Pac- manned McCarney on the run to take second overall in 4:51:28, but not without a 2:00 penalty. Loeffler took third overall last year in 4:53:36.

Like Holloway, of Richmond, Va., many of the athletes came from colder climes. It was hard to soak up the sun and lighten up, as Sheryl Crow would suggest. Team Timex athletes Harju and Marie Danais (CAN), have seen about one or two 60-degree days in their hometown of Hull, Que. And, says Harju, he was out of town that day.

"The lake at home, the ice just melted about three or four weeks ago," Danais said. "We only had three rides that we were able to wear shorts. So you don't sweat, and you don't drink either." Hydration and heat were to be challenges for them. Danais and Harju arrived on Wednesday before the race in order to acclimatize, and it paid off, as Harju's very strong effort earned his second overall and Danais' solid efforts assured her fourth overall 5:01:08. Danais, a top athlete at the 2002 Canadian Long Course Championships, may have had a faster race in her but, she said, "it was just too hot."

In an unfortunate snafu, professional athlete Lara Shaw (USA) took a wrong turn on the run and found she accidentally cut the course. According to Gulf Coast Triathlon's head official, Charlie Crawford, when she arrived at an intersection to see runners passing by, Shaw felt terrible, and issued herself a seven-minute "stand-down" penalty at the side of the road before re-joining the ranks. She could not find her way back from the way she came, he said, and Shaw hoped the penalty would be acceptable to him when she arrived at the finish line to explain. Unfortunately, Crawford, one of the toughest, yet fairest, officials on the circuit, said a disqualification was required, and he said Shaw gracefully accepted. As they passed her on the side of the road, a few of the other pro women asked if she was OK, and her replies seemed demoralized. She really felt badly, they said, and it was hard to see her relinquish the position she earned throughout the race.

Set for the Summer Season

Eighth place professional Erik DeRoche (USA) said, after his second race as a professional and about the new season, "You know, you take the next step up and you really take the next step up. You're at the swim start with guys you read about in magazines. It pushes you harder, and it's a new motivation."

Regarding the long-course distance and the weather conditions, he said, "I cannot even complain. Not even a little. I had a good day and a lot of fun. It's kind of a love-hate relationship." It was a sentiment echoed by many age-groupers, too.

Holloway, at the annual post-race party held at Spinnaker's beach side nightclub, also summed up what the 1,900- plus athletes felt: "I like this race, all the people here, and the way they run it. It's just a good start-of-the-season race."

GCT's key sponsors include Dragon Sports Bicycle and Tri Shop (official swim and bike courses sponsor), Boardwalk Beach Resort (host site), Gatorade, Fig Newtons, Tyr Sport, Clif Bar, Bay Medical SportsCare, and Nextel, all of which are leaders in their respective categories.

Notes

Smith travels next to race at Half-Ironman Idaho. Holloway will return to race at Ironman USA later this season, where she placed third professional at her iron-distance debut in 2002. Morin, who recently left the Bulldog Sports team to race independently, has signed on with agent Hammy Handwerker. Journeyman pro Kotland reports that his Achilles tendon injury is recovering well, but this weekend's race was affected by it, noting that it was possibly the first race where his run position was further back than his bike. Traylor, of Blacksburg, Va., relocates this week to San Diego, where he will work as a chemical engineer, his full-time career.

Gulf Coast Triathlon
Panama City Beach, Fla.
(1.2 mi S, 56 mi B, 13.1 mi R)
May 10, 2003

Male professionals: 1) Spencer Smith (GBR), 4:06:35; 2) Dave Harju (CAN), 4:17:15; 3) Darin Shearer (USA), 4:19:48; 4) Peter Traylor (USA), 4:21:02; 5) Luc Morin (CAN), 4:31:27; 6) Peter Kotland (USA), 4:33:45; 7) George Newsome (USA), 4:34:29; 8) Erik DeRoche (USA), 4:35:34; 9) Scott Duprex (USA), 4:41:35; 10) Simon Malo (CAN), 4:52:24.

Female professionals: 1) Karen Holloway (USA), 4:45:08; 2) Kim Loeffler (USA), 4:51:28; 3) Sara McCarney (USA), 4:58:40; 4) Marie Danais (CAN), 5:01:08; 5) Lucia Kuhner (GER), 5:21:07; 6) Sara Shrubb (CAN), 5:31:06; Lara Shaw (USA), DQ.

Male amateurs: 1) John Reback (Florida), 4:23:10; 2) Bruce Gennari (Tennessee), 4:25:56; 3) Jeff Cuddeback (Florida), 4:26:05.

Female amateurs: 1) Carole Sharpless (Georgia), 4:59:07; 2) Heather Hedrick (Indiana), 5:01:07; 3) Gabriele Hauck (Georgia), 5:02:30.