Shorter days and cooler temps mean one thing in NH: another triathlon season is coming to a close. That didn’t stop 2 of our own from chalking up speedy first-time Ironman finishes, even if they did have to do some traveling to find more favorable race conditions.
In late September, Craig Stoller, completed his first 140.6 at ChesapeakMan in Cambridge, MD. He overcame cold swim conditions and a large cut in his back tire at mile 30 on the bike, en route to a sub-4:00 marathon and 2nd-place age-group finish. His total time of 11:47:07 is even more impressive when you consider that this is only Craig’s 2nd season racing triathlon. Wow!
Craig pushing it on the bike.
Making it look easy.
One month later, another NEMS athlete was ready to make his iron-distance debut. Jim Piper traveled to Wilmington, NC to take on the PPD Beach2Battleship. Despite a hectic lead-up to the race, and 36-degree air temps to start his day, Jim had the race of his life, reaching the finish and the waiting arms of his family in an amazing 11:12:01. Way to go, Jim!
This is what it looks like to crush your race goal!
Team Piper