Boulder's Top Triathlon

Athletes in Peak Form

By Richard Martin, 7-25-06

	Thank God it's not an Ironman.

Voted one of the top 5 triathlons in America earlier this year by Inside Triathlon magazine, the Boulder Peak race, held on Sunday, is an entertaining, often thrilling, combination of a local athletic get-together with many competitors who train and socialize together and a world-class competition. This year's edition had its share of great stories, including that of Boulder's Mary Beth Ellis, who last year won the age-group (i.e., amateur competition), and this year, in her fourth race since turning pro, took second in a field stacked with world-class competitors.

Ellis trains under former world champion Siri Lindley, who coaches a group of professionals and top-flight amateurs under the banner of Team Sirius (get it?). A graduate of Brown whose sunny demeanor, expressiveness and good looks have led to a second career as a TV analyst, Lindley is exhibit A in the case for triathlon, one of the fastest-growing participatory sports, deserves a more prominent spot on the media-saturated stage of big-time American pro sports.

In the men's race, a trio of Boulder-area long-distance stars comprising two-time Ironman world champ Tim DeBoom, veteran Cameron Widoff and rising star Michael Lovato pushed Craig Alexander (an Australian who also, naturally, trains in Boulder) to a fast 1:56.18 winning time. The Boulder Peak is an Olympic-distance triathlon -- a 1.5-kilometer swim, 42K ride and 10K run -- a brief stroll in the park compared to the Ironman distances of 2.4 miles/112 miles/26.2 miles. Many international observer consider the Olympic distance to be a truer test of overall athletic ability, and the Peak, with the swim in the Boulder Reservoir, the ride over Olde Stage Road in the Rocky Mountain foothills, and the run around the Rez, is considered one of the most scenic races in the world.

Almost breaking three hours in Sunday's race was Lori Garcia-Meredith of Victoria, British Columbia, whose father Howard died of a heart attack during last year's Boulder Peak. She would have finished under the three-hour mark if not for a flat tire on the bike portion.

"I didn't completely fall apart until I got to the finish line, or approaching the finish line," Garcia-Meredith told the Post's John Meyer. "I felt really good and kind of horrible at the same time."

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