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The fickle Midwest weather made Holly Lawrence quite comfortable.
A thunderstorm that hit Nebraska in the early hours of Sunday pushed back the start of the inaugural 70.3 Ironman Des Moines professional race by nearly three hours. The late start allowed the British athlete to eat a second breakfast and return to bed for a nap while letting others fret over the delay.
“I think I’m pretty good at handling a bit of, like, chaos. I kind of like it,” says Lawrence, 31. “It may relate to some other people. I see the funny side. It helps me not to take it too seriously.”
When the competition kicked off at 09:45 with a 1.2-mile swim at Gray’s Lake Park, Lawrence put his game face on. The 2016 Ironman 70.3 world champion was first out of the water by 42 seconds over American Ali Brauer and extended that margin to 2:31 over Brauer after a shortened bike path to claim victory in 2 hours, 53 minutes, 46 seconds.
“I was afraid they would make a safety call to cancel it,” said Lawrence, beaming after his fourth professional triathlon since early 2020. “I’m glad they did it.”
Lawrence withstood a belated accusation by fellow Brit Emma Pallant-Browne. Pallant-Browne, 32, closed in 55 seconds after 9.3 miles of a 13.1-mile run before faltering too late. He finished 1:40 behind in second.
“I just know Emma is an amazing runner,” Lawrence said. “I was running scared the whole time, just trying to look calm even though I was nervous inside. I was just trying not to lose my mind and keep driving.”
American Jason West dominated the men’s professional race in the same way to also land atop the podium on Court Avenue. Boulder resident Colo. turned a 1:09:36 best run on a half-marathon course over fellow American Collin Chartier with 1:22 and won the race for the first time since Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz in September 2019.
“This one tastes a lot sweeter just because the last few (races) have been rough,” said West. “The last 18 months (during the COVID-19 pandemic) have been difficult for everyone. None of us are immune to the struggle. It feels really hard and finally to have a good (race) and feel like I did. This place is in sport. Easy I hope people will know my name soon.”
West, 28, returns to Des Moines with fond memories of racing here. He finished fourth in the Des Moines Triathlon, the successor to the Hy-Vee Triathlon, in September 2015. Two years later, he finished second to Olympic silver medalist Javier Gomez in the Des Moines Escape Triathlon.
“I remember running really fast,” West said. “I really like it. So I’m really excited for it. I want to see how fast I can go.”
The young former wrestler from Pennsylvania emerged from the water at Gray’s Lake in a group of four and carved out a small lead on the bike trail, which was reduced to a little over 25 miles to accommodate a tight schedule.
Chile’s Martin Ulloa shot past West during the final mile of the bike leg to open up a 13-second lead after the second transition area.
“I don’t know who’s coming around me with a 5K possibility to leave,” West said.
Undaunted, he passed Ulloa on the first mile of the run and seemed to flourish as the sun broke from the clouds and the others began to wither from the heat.
“I got a rhythm at the start of the run,” West said. “His legs were moving well and starting to get hot and I felt like I had to tell myself to slow down, slow down. That turned into some tough conditions there over the last 10K.”
Chartier finished the game with a second-best time of 1:10:17 to move up six places in the last leg.
“The whole time on the bike I saw him (West) up front and I was like, ‘I can catch him on the run.’ It didn’t end. It was a surprise on the run that the sun was out. I didn’t even have sunglasses on.”
Iowa natives all finish in the top 20
Lesley Smith, an Iowa City native, managed to finish fifth in the 3:03:02 women’s professional race. The residents of Boulder have a large group of family and friends wearing white T-shirts supporting them.
“It was great fun racing in Iowa in my state,” said 38-year-old Smith. “I’m so excited to have an Ironman show here and I hope there will be more.”
Smith filled five places during the half-marathon, when she ran 1:18:57 which was the fourth best time among female professionals.
“I really wanted to get in the top five and I got fifth,” said Smith, 38. “It’s a very strong women’s court. He (Lawrence) was definitely in his game today.”
Des Moines professional TJ Tollakson finished 12th overall in 2:49:36 in his last professional triathlon. After the race, the 40-year-old owner of Dimond Bikes announced his retirement from the competition.
“I gave my best today and had a great time out there,” Tollakson said. “(It) provided a great end to a long 17-year career as a professional athlete.”
Tollakson said the shortened bike path was ruining his chances of fighting for a place on the podium. The owner of Dimond Bikes in Des Moines is known for his cycling skills and finished with a second best bike time of 58:29.
“It was not the race I wanted, not the track I wanted,” he said. “I definitely had one of the faster bikes today. To be competitive in this kind of terrain, I need every mile on the bike I can get. I will probably run at the same time whether I cycle 10 miles or 56 miles. . It wasn’t set up well for me.”
Tollakson was a key figure in helping Ironman come to Des Moines. He started his professional career racing 2014 at Iowa events such as the former Big Creek Triathlon. He left after 2011 wins at Eagleman 70.3 and Ironman Lake Placid and, his favourite, the title at Ironman Mont Tremblant in 2014.
“I love racing, but it’s time to step aside and let some of these young players be in the spotlight,” Tollakson said. “I have a lot of other things I’m passionate about so I need to devote my time and focus.”
Tyson Wieland of Des Moines, a former Johnston High swimmer and runner, beat nine of his rivals in a 13.1-mile run to finish 16th overall in 2:54:15. Wieland finished with an 11th best run at 1:15:33 by a professional man.
“On a typical day, it was a sub 4 hours and a half Ironman, which would be a PR (personal record) for myself,” said Wieland. “A lot of people will fade in the heat. I know I will fade, but I wish it had faded less. I think that’s the power I have in the heat. I take heat whenever I can get it.”
Wieland, 26, also had the crowd cheering him along the track, leading him to the top 20 finish he is aiming for.
“I can feel the crowd,” Wieland said. “That’s one of the reasons why my runs are so good. I hear (people say) Tyson is probably 90% of my runs, that’s great.”
Elaina Biechler, a professor at Loras College, placed third in the women’s age group competition with a time of 3:27:41. Danna Herrick, a former professional runner at Hansons Brooks who now lives at Norwalk, was fifth in 3:29:54.
Wanted to hear more about triathlon and long-distance running in Iowa. Listen to my podcast here: https://anchor.fm/lance-bergeson8
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