IRONMAN BOULDER COLORADO 2015

USPA NEWS - It wasn't that long ago that Clay Emge questioned whether he would be able to compete in triathlons again. In August 2014, a sacral fracture sidelined the then-professional Texan and prevented him from running for eight months.

Last August, Emge couldn't have guessed that he could not only return to the sport he loves in just one year's time but also win his first Ironman championship.
"This means a lot," Emge said. "I was real frustrated and real uncertain about my future in triathlon. To be able to be here a year later and in this kind of shape, I'm blessed. It's been a steady build-up for the last six months or so. It worked out well and it was great to get first." Emge finished 8 minutes, 45 seconds ahead of runner-up Steve Mantell from Fort Collins, who finished in 8:54.04 after recently winning the Tri the Boat half-Ironman in Steamboat Springs in June. Longmont resident Steve Johnson was third with a time of 8:58.43.
A reminder: Emge competed as an amateur.

Before his injury, Emge was a professional triathlete with Maverick Multisport. As for the possibility of a return to the professional ranks in light of his recent victory, the 31-year-old said it is unlikely.
In the woman's race it was italian Francesca Tibaldi first across the finish line. A veteran racer, Tibaldi finished the 140.6-mile swim/bike/run course in 9 hours, 53 minutes, 41 seconds. Monica Folts of Lakewood was second, finishing 12:29 behind Tibaldi. The top area finisher was Boulder's Erin Kersten, who was fourth, 42:40 off the lead.
Tibaldi, who turned 40 last month and mother of two is a veteran triathlete who competed for the Italian National team in the late 1990s, mainly in Olympic and sprint races.

Our inside view of Ironman Boulder is Anthony Di Mauro. To some, Anthony might appear to be an amateur racer but his perseverance and tenacity are driving him up the rankings! Q: Anthony, what were your sensations this morning? A: "Race morning as usual, nerves were tight, just the right amount to stay focused. Swim was pleasant and managed to stay relaxed without going too hard to conserve some energy due to the elevation of the race site (5600ft). Swim time 1:25:58. The first 30 miles of the bike I was feeling good and strong even though I had switched nutrition source due to a lack of my usual product at the race event. By mile 50 I started realizing that my stomach was negatively reacting to the new nutrition but I kept on forcing it down my throat as I needed the calories." D: What happened then? A: "Wrong move!" At mile 70 all engine systems were RED! My stomach could not accept anymore of that stuff and it was too late to switch to whatever nutrition they were handing out at on the course. The final miles of the bike I had the weirdest feeling in my body and was light headed and very low on energy, I finished the bike leg on a deficit of about 650 calories. Bike time 5:38:43. In transition to the run I decided to stop longer than usual and try to reset my body as much as I could in order to be able to finish the race. The first 3 miles of the run were a nightmare! Stomach cramps and very low energy were holding me down to the point I had doubted I could even finish this race, let alone get in a good finish time. The good note was seeing Iain Campbell, a team mate from Chicago, at the first aid station and him telling me to relax and execute the run as if it was a long training run. Things started turning around at mile 6 as I drank cola and took in salt, and walked for 30 seconds at every aid station (I think I drank 1 gallon of cola during the run). Run time 4:55:43. I managed to finish the race in 12hr 27min, and overall am happy with the ending result given the circumstances. It was great to see Jennifer Hienton, “TJ-Tall Jenn“, many times on the course as she kept on encouraging me to move forward and just keep going!"