Posted: June 21, 2004

Triathlon: Quartermax, Minimax Triathlons action packed

INNSBROOK, Mo. (June 21, 2004) – Wetsuit-free water and perfect, summer weather welcomed nearly 600 athletes to Saturday’s Quartermax Triathlon (.6 mi swim/30 mi bike/6.5 mi run) and children’s Minimax Triathlon at this past weekend’s Halfmax Triathlon festival on Innsbrook's rolling, sweeping greens and roads, and finger-spread lakes.

Women Max out the action

In the women’s race, local triathlon hero and collegiate swimmer Molly Vetter, 24, left a wake for the rest with her 11:24 swim, and her 1:20.31 ride (22.4 mph) was not to be threatened, either. The second through sixth fastest overall, respectively, were all top-rank triathletes, too – Sarah Haskins, 23, Lindsay Yore, 36, rookie pro and emergency medicine doctor Amber Mounday, 29, and Jennifer Meyer, 40, and it made for exciting action. Haskins reached the beach in 11:34 to Mounday’s 12:48 and she put an additional two seconds on her in transition, but Mounday was a surgeon on wheels, averaging 0.3 mph quicker (21.7), dramatically closing the gap, stitching through countless riders over the 30 miles.

With a 3.5-second quicker bike-to-run pass-through, Dr. Mounday was now less than five seconds behind Haskins, but lost ground on the run as Haskins ran 25 seconds-per-mile faster. At the same time, Yore was running a 6:50 pace – averaging 12 seconds faster than Mounday – through the steep, asphalt and gravel hills. Mounday had no response to Yore, seven years her senior, and finished just less than nine seconds behind. It was the closest battle of the weekend.

Coach Zucco schools field

Nationally respected amateur athlete and coach Adam Zucco, 29, took his win by nearly five minutes with a road-melting 24.6 mph average on the winding, steep-graded cycling course and 5:59 per mile pace on an even tougher run route. The battle was behind him.

Second-place finisher Ted Zderic, 32, exited the swim-to-bike transition 35 seconds ahead of his age-group competitor Christian Waterstraat, 30, but Waterstraat only need to turn the cranks .2 mph faster in order to rack his bike 10 seconds earlier. But with a 20-second quicker transition and 19-seconds-per-mile faster run, Zderic was able to retake his position and post a 2:24 differential on the results board.

Fourth place overall finisher Tim Sandfort, 27, passed fifth placer Louis Di Guiseppe, 39, with a 37-second faster T1, probably without knowing he’d be locked in on radar and dropped on the bike. But Sandfort again regained real estate with an 18-point lower rate in T2 interest, and needed only seven seconds per mile to re-pass and take a notch higher in final standings.

Minimax athletes show ultra-max potential, provide Father’s Day pride

About 100 six to twelve-year-olds participated in the Minimax Triathlon, Saturday afternoon, on a much-abbreviated course from what their parents and grandparents raced on. Still, the swim-to-run – for the youngest participants, and swim-to-bike transitions included a long, uphill run, and the youth were every bit as determined and competitive. Said one proud father, “my seven-year-old daughter’s tougher than I am! I had to walk through transition.”

Nearly two dozen Quartermax athletes did the double, competing in the Halfmax Triathlon the next day. Of the 460 or so participants at Sunday’s Halfmax, about 120 qualified for the U.S. Half Iron Triathlon Championship, to be held at Innsbrook, September 25, 2004. For more information on that race, visit www.ushalfchampionship.com.

The Halfmax Triathlon is hosted by the Missouri Lions Eye Research Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to sight preservation and restoration. One hundred percent of the race proceeds go towards benefiting sight programs, such as the Amblyopia Prevention Program, which screens Missouri children for vision impairments. For more information about the Halfmax Triathlon weekend, visit www.ultramaxtri.com or call Tiffany Esterline at 573-424-7029.

2004 Halfmax Triathlon (.6 S/30 mi B/6.5 mi R) -June 19, 2004, Innsbrook, Mo.

Men
1.        Adam Zucco (12:08/1:13.16/38:56/2:06:49)
2.        Ted Zderic (14:28/1:16.15/38:18/2:11.33)
3.        Christian Waterstraat (15:01/1:15.32/40:27/2:13.57)
4.        Tim Sandfort (12:23/1:17.37/42.07/2:14.19)
5.        Louis Di Guiseppe (12:15/1:16.32/42:54/2:14.47)

Women
1.       Molly Vetter (11:24/1:20.31/45:07/2:19.43)
2.        Sarah Haskins (11:34/1:24.05/43:03/2:21.41)
3.       Lindsay Yore (14:37/1:22.17/44:28/2:24.14)
4.       Amber Mounday (12:48/1:22.57/45:41/2:24.23)
5.        Jennifer Meyer (15:59/1:26.49/44:20/2:30.37)

From: Hammy Handwerker @ slhcomm@hotmail.com.