Matt Chrabot and Amy Marsh waited until the run for their wins at IRONMAN 70.3 Raleigh. Moderate temperatures and sunny skies made for some hot racing today at IRONMAN 70.3 Raleigh.
Chrabot waits until the run
Eric Limkemann (USA) was first to scramble up the beach of Jordan Lake with a seven-second lead on Matt Chrabot and a 45-second buffer on Sam Douglas (AUS) and Callum Millward (NZL). Timo Bracht (DEU) and Paul Ambrose (AUS) ran into T1 looking at a minute and a half to recover from the leader.
Once on the bike Limkemann and Chrabot stayed within 10 seconds of each other throughout the 56 miles, while the balance of the field lost time to the lead duo. Limkemann and Chrabot came off their bikes eight seconds apart, with Millward, Lionel Sanders (CAN), Ambrose and Douglas following the leaders into T2 over four minutes off the pace.
Once the race hit the run, Chrabot blazed past Limkemann for the lead at two miles, while Sanders was lighting it up on the run behind them, clicking off the miles at a 5:30 pace. Chrabot survived the charge from behind mounted by Sanders and captured the victory by 40 seconds over the flying Sanders, with Millward finishing off the podium, 3:04 off the winning pace.
Marsh with solid performance
Haley Chura (USA, who will be focusing on IRONMAN 70.3 racing for the rest of the season) typically wins the swim leg of the races she starts, and today was no exception. Mary Beth Ellis (USA) was hot on Chura’s heels, three seconds back as the lead pair made their way to their bikes. Amy Marsh (USA), Anna Cleaver (NZL), Jenny Leiser (USA) and Ashley Clifford had deficits ranging from 1:03 to 1:47 to deal with. Margie Shapiro (USA) and Linsey Corbin (USA) were 2:31 and 3:43 in arrears, but had plenty of race in front of them to reduce their early shortfall.
Ellis forced her way to the front of the race on the bike and managed to build up a 2:02 advantage on Marsh, 2:49 on Shapiro and a 6:00 on Corbin at the conclusion of the 56-mile bike.
Once on the run, the gap between Ellis and Marsh, Shapiro and Corbin was falling with each passing mile. Ellis and Marsh ran together nearing the halfway point before Marsh moved into the lead. Behind Marsh, Corbin used the fastest run of the day to work her way into second, but ran out of real estate in her quest to grab the lead. Finishing in 4:21:39, Marsh capped off a well-executed race to claim the 2014 IRONMAN 70.3 Raleigh title. Corbin's swift run netted her second, 1:11 off Marsh’s pace, with Ellis gamely hanging on for the final podium placing, 4:32 after Marsh’s winning time.
Top 5 Men
1 Matt Chrabot USA 3:52:07
2 Lionel Sanders CAN 3:52:47
3 Callum Millward NZL 3:55:11
4 Eric Limkemann USA 3:56:21
5 Paul Ambrose AUS 4:03:12
Top 5 Women
1 Amy Marsh USA 4:21:39
2 Linsey Corbin USA 4:22:50
3 Mary Beth Ellis USA 4:26:11
4 Margie Shapiro USA 4:27:31
5 Hallie Blunck USA 4:31:33