The fourth edition of Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas rolled in with unusually comfortable weather conditions, delighting both athletes and the host community of The Woodlands. The unique lake/canal swim, rare one-loop rural bike course, and urban three-loop run rounded out a near-perfect day for pros and age-groupers alike.
Docherty puts it all together
Austin-based Brandon Marsh, known for his consistently strong swim, led the pro men out of the swim in a remarkable 46:38. A minute and 20 seconds behind him came Stephen Bayliss (GBR) and two-time Olympian, Bevan Docherty (NZL). The Netherland's Bas Dierderen, Australian Tim Reed, and Woodlands-based Hungarian Balazs Csoke were shortly behind, with the next pack over three minutes behind them.
Once onto the rolling IRONMAN Texas bike course, Marsh held his lead until mile 65, a just reward for patiently racing "to his numbers," as was reported from a source close to the athlete. Behind him, Docherty and Rapp shuffled for position in the early stages of the bike, with the latter taking the lead at mile 40 after leading a persistent chase group including Reed and Diederen. The second chase group included McDonald, Csoke, Bayliss, Matthew Russell (the day's biggest mover on the bike) Chris Bodreaux and Justin Daerr. In the end Rapp's consistent work on the bike netted him the day's fastest split of 4:21.
Rapp exited T2 with a 3:30 lead over Docherty, surely aware of what the Olympian was capable of but hadn't executed consistently at this distance (Docherty had one IRONMAN title going into this race, in New Zealand 2013). Rapp maintained his lead until mile 10, when the fleet-footed Kiwi finally passed him. Docherty then lost that lead briefly as he stopped at special needs, but took it again at mile 11. He continued to extend his padding over the men behind him as the miles ticked on. Rapp faded, while Russell and Daerr continued to move up through the field. Docherty's 2:49:17 run was the second-best on the day, enough to finalize a victory made especially sweet after the difficult year behind him.
"It's been an emotional year. I have to be honest, there were times I considered retiring from the sport," the champion said, who has had to pull out of his last two IRONMAN races because of nutrition issues. Docherty says he finally solved the problem after IRONMAN New Zealand: "I don't think necessarily more is better," he summarized. On today's comeback win, the grinning Docherty said simply, "It wasn't easy today. You forget how hard these races are—but it's the biggest high of your life when you win races like this."
Williamson runs down the day
Champion-to-be Kelly Williamson, also based in Austin, led the women's pro swim pack with her race-best time of 51:49. Tami Ritchie (USA) was right in her draft, with Germany's Julia Gajer just 45 seconds back. A pack of Americans came in a one to two minutes back of Williamson, including Amber Ferreira, Bree Wee, Christina Jackson, and Jackie Arendt. Suzy Serpico (USA), Eva Wutti (AUT), and Sara Gross (CAN) rounded out the top 10.
Germany's Julia Gajer took the lead early on in the cycling portion of the race, which she would hold for the duration of the 112-miles. Not known as a strong cyclist, the 2013 IRONMAN Arizona champ said she always comes off the bike far behind, and has worked on her cycling all winter. Today it paid off. Amber Ferreira took second at mile 50, overtaking Austria's Eva Wutti, who later dropped out of the race. Wee and Williamson held their top five positions on the bike, as Sarah Piampiano (USA) used her race-best bike of 4:52:05 to blaze through the field.
Gajer's nine minute lead out of T2 might have seemed intimidating to Williamson, but the running powerhouse—who, like Docherty had a disheartening 2013—made short work of it. Williamson reduced her deficit to 5:30 by mile eight, and by mile 16, took the lead. Ferreira and Wee held steady in third and fourth, while Piampiano succumbed her position in the last mile or two to the hard-charging pair Tamara Kozulina and Jennie Hansen, who took fifth and sixth respectively with their almost identical run splits of 3:06 and change.
Williamson's race-best 2:54 marathon solidified her comeback from leg surgery last year, and made for an emotional finish in front of her many local supporters. "It led to a lot of doubts," she said after the race of her 2013 season. "I just had to keep digging at it. I knew I had it in me, but it wasn't until I got out there and started feeling strong throughout. It's tough to overcome struggles when your 12 years into your career." She says that ideally she'd like to be in Kona this year, but for now she just plans to step back and enjoy "the best race [she's] had, ever."