A BIG Congratulations to all our Ironman Arizona participants! You all did an incredible job on a very tough day! All finishers truly earned the title of "Ironman" on that day! I have been to 100's of triathlon events around the world and I can honestly say it was one of the toughest days I have ever seen. The course is not real scenic, which makes it tough mentally. Then the day brought brutal heat and wind conditions. The combination makes for a very tough day for everyone, even the spectators! I am truly impressed with all who completed the course under such tough conditions.

We had a few first timers out there too, so we'll give them kudos first:

• Tony Benassi - 1st Time IM Finisher - 12:21:46 - Awesome job!
• Ted Ornduff - 1st Time IM Finisher - 12:47:16 - Positive attitude all the way!
• Jana Crane - 1st Time IM Finisher - 14:11:07 - Smiling all the way!
• Nelson Hom - 1st Time IM Finisher - 16:19:26 - Hung tough to the finish!

We had some other great performances too: Debbie Isaacson - 12:17:54 - 9th in 40-44 age group - Awesome! Wes Meyer - 10:05:58 - 11th 30-34 age group - What wind? Nice work! Mike Grimm - 10:33:21 - 12th 45-49 age group - Just missed a IM spot! Great job! Lori Bradford - 14:11:05 - 17th 45-49 age group - A NEW PR!!! Sweet! Russell Shaw - 11:59:27 - New PR! Way to go! Don Barry - 12:44:37 - New PR! Solid! Josh Mader - 12:30:01 - New PR! Not bad for a crash course in IM training!! Wayne Glusker - 15:16:00 - Hung tough to the finish!

We had a few tough luck folks due to the very extreme conditions:

• Ahmed Hassan - Great swim! Good start to bike, then bad cramps + nausea caused him to stop after the bike. Will crush it the next time!
• Joanne Wicker - Similar experience, with the body not processing fluids. Stopped after the bike. Will be back with a vengeance!
• Ingrid Wafelbakker - Same bad belly caused her to stop after the bike too. Look out for her next year at IM Austria!
• Connie Frank - Amazing to just be starting the race, let alone finishing the swim, bike and a lap of the run! A head start on the KP "Comeback of the Year" Award! (Connie broke her elbow and pelvis in a bike crash back in December!)

Great job to all of you!!! We have quite a few folks getting ready for IM's later in the year. You are all an inspiration to them and their training in the coming months.

Congratulations again!!! You all can take this week off!

Guess who got into Ironman Hawaii through the IM lottery this year?

And the winners from KP are:

• Tami Dickins
• Debbie Isaacson
• Maverick Malech

Congrats! Your training has just begun!

Mark July 5th, 2009 on the race calendar. Ironman Austria is our Destination in 2009! More details to follow...