RMEC Shines at Miles and Tris.

While most of the RMEC was racing at Ford's Colony this weekend, several were competing in some Triathlons out of state and also at the Magnificent Mile in Raleigh.

Patriot's Half Ironman:

On Saturday, Mary Whitwell and Kinnie Pruden competed in the Patriot's Half Ironman Triathlon. This SetUp Events race is held annually in Williamsburg, Virginia. Both Mary and Kinnie did outstanding! Mary finished in 6:10:43 and I beleive shave several seconds off her PR (correct me if I am wrong). This earned her fourth place in her age group. She only missed the podium by about two minutes. . . remember, that is two minutes in a six hour race!

Kinnie is in the middle of her Ironman training, so this race was a great test for her. It is safe to say she passed with flying colors. Her time of 5:49:50 knocked about 30 minutes off her previous PR, and placed her third in her age group. She also posted the fastest bike time among the 29 women in her age group.

Don't let the performance of Mary and Kinnie go unnoticed. . . they just did a HALF IRONMAN! I know we all get excited when someone completes a marathon in 3-5 hours. . . these two ladies just raced for 5-6 hours! Great job!

Nation's Triathlon:

Jeff Miller and Dave Lavely headed to Washington DC to participate in the Nation's Triathlon. This is one of the largest Tris you will find on the east coast with over 4,000 participants. After speaking with Dave it sounds like quite the experience. With 4,000 in the event, the water was choppy, the bike course was littered with water bottles, and the run course was crowded with runners.

Despite all of the challenges, both did exceptionally well in the Olympic distance event. Jeff finished with a total time of 2:23:16. Starting over an hour later, Dave had to battle more traffic but still finished in 2:37:27. To put this in terms us runners can understand, Jeff ran a 40:25, and Dave a 45:49 in the final 10k portion of the race.

Magnificent Mile:

Ashley Bass and Brian Lankford both competed in the Magnificent Mile. As the name would indicate, this is a one mile road race, and the kick off race of the Second Empire Series. Ashley was on fire in the race, running a 5:03 mile! Let me remind you that Ashley is 51, which makes him a "Grand Master" in racing. Ashley set the Grand Master course record, breaking the old mark by a full 17 seconds!

You may remember that Brian was finishing 3rd overall in the Ford's Colony 5k just one day before the Magnificent Mile. Brian showed few signs a tired legs on his way to an impressive 5:28 mile time. This race should position both Brian and Ashley well as they continue into the race series.