Published March 1, 2010 01:31PM
On the day the Canadian hockey team took the gold in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Canadian Samantha McGlone took an early season victory for herself at the 2010 Desert Classic Duathlon in Phoenix, Ariz. The Tucson resident earned the victory over a star-packed women’s field including two-time Ironman World Champion Michellie Jones (AUS), Canada’s Angela Naeth, Switzerland’s Renata Bucher, Great Britain’s Leanda Cave and the United States’ Linsey Corbin.
McGlone’s win came thanks to a steady effort across all three legs of the race through tough rainy conditions. McGlone headed off of the first run leg and onto the bike in sixth position and slowly worked her way to front of the field. By the time she reached the finish line at 1:36:00 she had overtaken all of the women ahead of her. Now 40-years-old, Jones proved that she can still compete with the best, coming in second at 1:37:00. Third went to Canada’s Angela Naeth at 1:37:09. Naeth was forced to sit out much of 2009 due to a series of injuries, and she looks to be starting 2010 strong with a podium finish against a tough field.
While the men’s race was not as star packed as the women’s, it did provide for an exciting day with the top four finishing within three minutes of each other. American Chris Foster took the win thanks to a blazing start on the run. Foster posted a 16:51 time for the first 3.5 mile run of the race, which is good enough for an average pace of 4:49 minutes/mile. From there he never looked back and crossed the tape in first with a time of 1:23:57. American Ben Hoffman used a strong bike leg to finish second at 1:25:52. American Matthew Sheeks finished third at 1:26:02.
Desert Classic Duathlon
Phoenix, Ariz. – February 28, 2010
3.5-mile run, 21-mile bike, 2.7-mile run
Men
1. Chris Foster (USA) 1:23:57
2. Ben Hoffman (USA) 1:25:52
3. Matthew Sheeks (USA) 1:26:02
4. Ryan Giuliano (USA) 1:26:29
5. Chris Ganter (USA) 1:29:49
Women
1. Samantha McGlone (CAN) 1:36:00
2. Michellie Jones (AUS) 1:37:00
3. Angela Naeth (CAN) 1:37:09
4. Leanda Cave (GBR) 1:37:28
5. Lisa Ribe s(USA) 1:38:41