Mother Nature Sets the Course at Reebok Women's Triathlon Series
Lightning, Sweeping Currents and an Earthquake Make for a Memorable Race Day

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Posted Tuesday, 18 October, 2005

Contact:
Patrice Malloy, Malloy Marketing Group, (760) 635-2833
Jim Curl, RWTS, (858) 259-0352

ENCINITAS, CA (October 17, 2005) – Mother Nature had the last word at the season finale of the 2005 Reebok Women’s Triathlon Series held in Encinitas, CA, on October 16, 2005. The Sprint and SuperSprint events were the last of a four-city series which celebrated its third year.

The day saw a wide variety of weather conditions at the normally idyllic Moonlight Beach in the seaside town of Encinitas, just north of San Diego. Early morning lightning and questionable ocean currents caused race organizers to set up a contingency run course in the event that the traditional swim-bike-run legs would have to be replaced by a run-bike-run.

The swim leg, however, got the go-ahead from city lifeguards who deemed that the lighting was far enough in the distance and the surf was safe. However, conditions changed rapidly and rough water prompted race officials to shorten the swim to 300 meters which proved difficult to navigate, even for the elite field who battled their way out 150 meters to the first buoy, 200 meters to the second buoy and back to shore in the first wave of the event.

“I was just trying to make my way to the finish,” said Jessi Stensland, 29, of San Diego, who was second out of the water and won the Sprint division in one hour, five minutes and 24 seconds. The Sprint event also included a 20K bike and 5K run. Stensland also placed first women in the City of Encinitas 5K which was held in extremely foggy conditions a day earlier.

“We saw how difficult the swim was for the elite field and couldn’t see putting the open field at risk,” said Jim Curl, race administrator. “We decided to have the remaining participants swim or wade 150 meters along the shore in water that was never more than chest-deep. Over 50 percent of the 700 participants were first-timers and we didn’t want anybody to get hurt.”

Because of the unusual nature of the swim leg, participants were scored only for their bike, run and transition times within their age group. “It was the only fair way to time the event,” said Curl. The elite athlete wave was timed separately as well and their swim time was included in their total time.

The shortened waist-deep swim did not seem to dampen the spirits of the all-women’s field, many of whom were raising funds for the event’s official charity, the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Over $160,000 was raised for research this year and over $400,000 has been raised in the series’ three-year history. “Most of the participants were simply glad that they were able to get wet in the event,” said Curl.

The competition and post-race party was held in mostly sunny skies. An afternoon off-shore earthquake measuring 4.9 and early evening showers did not affect the event but added to the day’s unpredictability.

The event weekend also included the City of Encinitas 5K and the Reebok MultiSport Experience – a free event that included clinics on training and nutrition, product demonstrations, and bargains on shoes, gear & apparel. The Experience was also the site of course talks, race packet pick-up and race registration.

Encinitas was the final stop in the four-city Reebok Women’s Triathlon Series, which also included events in St. Petersburg, Florida; Naperville, Illinois; and Seattle, Washington.

The Reebok Women’s Triathlon Series is sponsored nationally by Reebok, Subaru, Triathlete Magazine, Prevention Magazine, Cytosport, K2 Sport, Zoot Sports, Well Fit, Team Trichic.com, Air Aide, AquaSphere, and locally by the City of Encinitas, Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas and Nytro.

For complete results or more information log onto: www.ReebokWomensTriathlon.com or call 1-800-509-5525.

Top Finishers

1 Jessi Stensland 29 San Diego 1:05:24
2 Donna Phelan 32 Encinitas 1:08:24
3 Misako Win 42 Japan 1:09:30

Patrice M. Malloy
Malloy Marketing Group
PO Box 823
Cardiff by the Sea, CA 92007
(760) 635-2833

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