Race Day: its on!

I'm sitting here suffering through the online coverage of Kona Ironman. I'm suffering, not because the coverage is bad - although the extensive product plugs are getting a bit old - but because I have managed to pick up a bug or some food poisoning in the past 24 hours.

A few surprises at this years race. Normann Stadler is riding away again. He did this a couple of years ago. The pro men let him get away, and then Peter ran an amazing marathon split to try and catch him unsuccessfully. I would have thought that the men wouldn't make that mistake twice. However, it could well be more that they aren't letting him have the time, more like he is taking it from them.

Nice to see Dr. Tom Evans, a dentist from Penticton, BC, is doing very well. This guy is pretty amazing. A practicing dentist and a pro triathlete with several Ironman wins to his name. He is up in the top-ten and staying fairly close to the overall leader.

After a less than perfect swim, it seems as though Lori Bowden, one of my all time favourites, is too far back to be in contention. But I've watched her race for years and it always seems like she turns it on half-way through the bike and then has an amazing marathon to get herself into the mix. My prediction: if she gets off the bike near 20 minutes of the leader, she will run herself into a top-three finish.

More later...