Posted: April 18, 2006

Triathlon: Lisa Bentley wins 10th Career Ironman

Lisa Bentley secured her 10th career Ironman victory by winning Ironman Australia for the fifth consecutive time, the first woman ever to accomplish this feat. Despite starting the marathon in third place, Bentley rallied for a 2:59:00 marathon and a relatively easy win earlier this month.

Bentley was 12 minutes off the pace after the bike, but unleashed her trademark withering run to overhaul the leaders in the marathon. “I started the run completely at peace but absorbed by the task of catching the leaders. I love to run and I would run for the love of running – and the love of catching the leaders. My legs had felt terrible on the bike from all of the climbing, but once I started running, it felt like magic.”

She won in 9:19:44 almost 11 minutes better than Australian Belinda Granger who repeated last year's second place finish in 9:30.30. The last time Bentley raced an Ironman she was forced to pull out of Hawaii last October with stomach pain and eventually had her appendix removed. "I am happy that I was able to stay out of the operating room - winning an Ironman is so tough, but to win five is extraordinary and each one is special," said Bentley.

Bentley’s fifth title came on a brand new course at Port Macquarie, further up the New South Wales mid-north coast from the old race site at Forster. Bentley said she loved the Forster course and struggled to embrace the Port Macquarie course when se first arrived. “So despite all the hype about winning 5 consecutive titles, I saw this victory as my first one since the course was very different from the one I had won 4 times previous.”

Bentley, from Caledon, Ontario, went on to say the new course did not play to her strengths. “That is what makes the victory so sweet, I was forced to get out of my comfort zone, and in doing that, I had a fantastic race.”

Bentley, a runner with a tremendous reputation, revealed that she's been working with coach, Lance Watson, aiming at a 2:55 marathon. More than 1600 competitors started the race consisting of a 3.8km swim, a 180km cycle leg and a 42.2km run.

Triathlon Canada is the National Federation for the Sport of Triathlon and Duathlon in Canada.

Comment on this story.

Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest

Save to del.icio.us