Ironman Texas on tap this weekend
Texans at Boston Marathon, Deer Park cyclist threatened.
Hello endurance athletes,
It’s a busy week here in The Woodlands. The average pace for runners on the Waterway always descends rapidly the closer we get to Ironman Texas race day. The pros start showing up at area pools and riding around, picking off Strava KOMs on our regular routes. And the lines at Whole Foods get a lot longer.
I’ll be spending Saturday morning at the Jailbreak 100/Jailbird 55 gravel ride, for my first gravel event. I’ll be on the 55-mile course, I’m obviously quite stoked. Then I’ll head back home to see my friends finish IMTX. It’s a great week around here!
On with the news…
All systems go for 2022 Ironman Texas
Finally, after all the delays and cancellations, a spring Ironman Texas is ready to go this Saturday, April 23 in The Woodlands, with a pro field and everything.
Though the pro field will be somewhat diminished because of the proximity to the St. George edition of Ironman World Championships in early May, there are still some standouts on the list.
These start lists haven’t always been 100% accurate in the past, so be warned.
Local favorite Jocelyn McCauley, who gave Daniela Ryf a run for her money a couple of years ago at IMTX is back for another go.
On the men’s side, Bermuda’s Tyler Butterfield, who finished third at Texas in 2017, will toe the startline as well. Another name to watch is Jesper Svensson, who has had some strong results, including a second place at Challenge Roth in 2019 and a recent top-10 finish at Ironman South Africa.
The pro start list is here, but it seems outdated. Here’s the complete participant list, which many on the pro start list are absent from.
The weather has been a little warm around here and there are a lot of folks watching the daily Sharky’s Buttercup Water Temp Report from Magnolia Masters swim coach Tim Floyd. His daily check of the water temperature of Lake Woodlands is always must see TV for those folks praying for a wetsuit-legal race.
Here’s the latest.
Good luck Saturday to all the entrants!
Texans at Boston Marathon
The big winner among Texans at the 126th Boston Marathon was once again Wendy Larsen, who broke her own course record in the hand cycle division.
Video from her finish.
In the men’s race, the top Texan was Cal Neff in 2:23:44, making him the 35th male overall.
His race report on this Instagram post.
In the women’s race, Raquel Jimenez was the top woman from the Great State. She finished in 2:49:14, to take 64th among females. No race report from her yet, or any social that I can find.
Meng Zhao, from Frisco, won the male 45-49 age group with a blazing 2:32:31.
Outside of Meng, no other top 10 finishes for Texans in the age groups at Boston.
Deer Park road rage incident caught on cyclist’s camera
Really frightening video from a cyclist in Deer Park who was harassed by the driver of a Jeep.
Here’s the video, it’s a scary encounter, trigger warning.
The cyclist originally didn’t want to press charges, but has since reconsidered and the case is being investigated.
Not sure how much there is to investigate. The value of cameras for people who ride on the roads is clearly made here.
Officers spoke with the driver who said the cyclist cut him off, as if that’s an excuse to take this action.
Commentary: Assault with a deadly weapon, continues to be not aggressively policed when the victim is a cyclist. I reached out to Bike Law to see if they were involved and haven’t received word back yet.
Meme of the Week
Don’t let it happen to you!
Featured Events
Gator Bait Adventure Race | Adventure Race | Huntsville State Park | April 23
Ironman Texas | 140.6 triathlon | The Woodlands | April 23
Jailbreak 100 / Jailbird 55 Gravel Challenge | Gravel ride 100 or 55 miles | Huntsville | April 23
Wild Canyons Ultra | 100, 75, 50, 25, 10, 5 kilometer trail runs | Caprock Canyon | April 23-24
Cal Tri San Antonio | Variety of multisport events | New Braunfels | April 24
Gator Bait Trail Race | 5K, 15K, 13.1 trail runs | Huntsville State Park | April 24
Texas MS150 | 2-day ride, various routes | Start from several cities, end in Austin | April 30-May 1
Texasman Triathlon | Sprint, olympic, X-50 distance triathlon | Valley View | May 1
Texas Switchback | 26.2, 13.1, 10K, 5K trail run | Johnson City | May 7
Gravel Locos | 30 - 150 mile gravel grinder | Hico | May 12-14
Texas State Time Trial Championships | Individual and team trial race | Hempstead | May 14
Bike MS: Round Up Ride | 2-day ride, various routes | Frisco top Texas Motor Speedway | May 14-15
Buffman & Squeaky Triathlon Festival | Olympic, sprint, kids triathlon | Ransom Canyon Lake | May 15
Sylvan Beach Triathlon / Duathlon | Olympic, sprint, tri and du | La Porte | May 15
OTB Cyclery Enduro at Cameron Park | Enduro bike race, various classes including e-bike | Waco | May 20
Possums Revenge | 69M, 52M, 56K, 17M, 8M AND 4M trail runs | Possum Kingdom Lake | May 21
Fort Worth Triathlon | Olympic, sprint, relay tri and du | Forth Worth | May 22
CapTex Triathlon | Olympic, sprint, super sprint, tri, relays, aquabike | Austin | May 30
Texas Trail Running Festival | 26.2, 13.1, 10K, 5K, Youth 1 mile trail runs | Krause Springs | June 4
Rattlesnake Gravel Grind | 111, 66, 32 mile gravel grinder | Sweetwater | June 17-18
Cypress Tris & Trails Fest | Tris, trail runs, MTB, youth and doggie splash and dash | Cypress | July 23-24, 30
Blazin’ Saddle 75 | 75M, 100K, 40M, 20M ride | Granbury | August 6
WRATH 24/48 Texas Endurance Runs | 24 / 48 Hour timed run | Forth Worth | August 12-14
Hotter’N Hell 100 | 100M ride, crits, gravel, MTB, more | Wichita Falls | August 26-29
Media We are Consuming
Texas car shop faces criticism after video appears to show owner ‘rolling coal’ on cyclist (Ft Worth Star-Telegram)
More safe, walkable streets for pedestrians and cyclists coming to Westchase District (Click2Houston)
Apple Maps Cycling Directions Rolls Out to More US Cities (Mac Observer)
Lubbock Mayor’s Marathon taking place on Sunday, April 24 (Everything Lubbock)
10 triathletes who have run super-fast marathons (Triathlong Mag Canada)
Spring Sprint Triathlon set to support Men’s Fieldhouse in Lufkin (KTRE
There’s New Data on How Your Arm Swing Affects Running (Outside)
Get Out There
What’s better than the official Ironman video from the last time Ironman did one of their highlight videos at Texas.