Career Highlights

• Multiple Ironman podium finishes

2015 Season

• 2nd IM Western Australia 9:00:21 
• 11th IM Melbourne 9:24:33
• 7th IM Brasil 9:14:50
• 3rd IM Switzerland 9:35:26

Mareen has been on the Kona qualifying bubble for the last few years. In 2013 she qualified but had a frustrating DNF with technical issues on the bike. In 2014 season she raced 6 Ironman races (in addition to Kona) but needed one slot to roll down – which didn’t happen for the female Pros. The KPR rule changes for 2015 – allowing only up to three scoring IMs instead of five as earlier – also impacted her qualifying strategy.

Collecting points for Kona 2015 started well for her: At IM Western Australia she was in the lead for a long time and finished in second place with a new Ironman PR of just over 9 hours. Melbourne didn’t go quite as well, she wasn’t in top form after being sick and not being able to start IM New Zealand two weeks before. She followed that up with a 7th place in Brasil in May – she struggled on the run when she discovered that the run aid stations didn’t have any gels. She still needed more points to qualify and decided to race her fourth Ironman of the season in Switzerland. After a solid race she finished in 3rd place – exactly what she needed for the remaining points.

Mareen is really looking forwards to Kona: “It is the most important race of the season for me. I’m really looking forward to it! After a week of training in Fuerteventura, I’ll fly to Kona two weeks before the race. I am not worried about acclimatizing – I’m doing well in heat and wind. I don’t look for a specific place, but aim for the best performance I have done so far. The bike and run suit me and I will hopefully end up in the first half of the field. Getting out of the water with the front pack would help a lot, but this won’t happen.” Her race plan is similar to that of a couple of other athletes: Limit the time she looses on the swim, then make up time on the bike and try to hold on during the run. In 2012 she finished 19th with a time of 9:52. This year, she’ll have to be about 20 minutes faster to finish in a similar place.

(Photo: Mareen on the run at IM Brasil. Supplied by Mareen.)

This is an excerpt from my free “Kona Rating Report” – 150+ pages with tons of information about the Kona Pro races!

Career Highlights

• 6th Ironman Hawaii 2014
• Multiple Ironman Winner (Arizona, South Africa)

2015 Season

• 5th IM Melbourne 8:12:58
• 2nd 70.3 Austria, 1st 70.3 Gdynia
• 1st Challenge Roth 7:51:28
• 22nd 70.3 Championship

It’s interesting to look at the comments Nils has made last year before Kona: “I don’t know what to expect and where I fit into that incredible field of athletes. A good Kona result is one of my main goals for the future. In 2014 I’ll find out my initial situation. Then I can start to chase the better-placed athletes year after year. Hopefully I won’t have so many to chase!“ Not many people knew Nils before last year’s Kona – after his 6th place that’s going to be a bit different this year!

He started his 2015 season by lining up at the Regional Champs in Melbourne. He posted a new bike course record, building an 11 minute lead. But he wasn’t able to hold on to his lead when he started to struggle around 30k into the marathon, eventually running a disappointing 3:04 marathon. But that race secured his Kona slot and he was ready to focus on his summer race Challenge Roth. Last year he took the lead on the bike only to be run down in the end by Timo Bracht. This year Nils never left any doubt that he would win the race. His 7:51 is the third fastest time of the year. “Clearly, my win at Challenge Roth is the highlight of the year so far. The fast time was the icing on the cake.”

His only “sub-par” result this season was 70.3 Champs in Zell am See – he was still in a decent position coming off the bike, but was only able to finish 22nd. “My bad result in Zell am See gives me extra motivation. There was a lot going wrong both before and during the race.”

But for Nils the main race of the season is Kona: “To be honest Roth already feels as if it’s been ages ago – I’m totally pumped for Kona. Of course my season has gone well so far, but I want to deliver another great performance in Kona, ideally my best performance of the year. The attraction of Kona can’t be compared with any other race. Kona is the race where everyone tries to be in top shape. The combination of a one-day event where a lot can happen with the Ironman history – there is nothing better in our sport!”
After last year’s great debut, what’s Nils’ goal for this year? “I’d like to show a performance on the same level as last year and be active in race. If I can do that, a good place will take care of itself.” Has he identified any weaknesses after last year’s race? “I’ve only raced Kona once, and didn’t really show any glaring weaknesses there. But there are a lot of small things that make a difference. I was surprised by the speed at the start of the bike with a number of pace changes. That’s one of the areas I’ve been working on … I know that it takes a while for me to get used to the heat and humidity. That’s why I’ll spend all of September in Texas where the climate is pretty similar to Kona. Last year I’ve done a similar preparation in Florida and it worked pretty well. Once I was in Kona I adjusted much quicker than if I had come straight from Germany.”

Nils may not be as much in the focus as the main German contenders, Sebastian and Frodo. For example there was a lot of press when Frodo showed off the new Canyon Triathlon bike in Frankfurt. It went pretty much unnoticed that Nils was on the same model just one week later (you can see the bike and its distinct aero bottle and speed box in the picture). But it’s clear that he is focused on a good performance in Kona, not only in this year but in the long run.

After finishing in the Top 10 on his debut, his next logical step forward would be a spot on the podium and Nils is definitely one of the contenders. But at 29 years of age, he is still young for an Ironman triathlete and can afford to take a few more learning years before stepping up. I think just repeating his Top 10 from last year will be a good result for him – we have seen a lot of athletes that have finished well and then struggled the next year. He has the strength in all three disciplines to adjust to a changing race – he should be able to swim with the front group, then stay with the first group on the bike or even go with the faster bikers when they ride away. His run in Kona last year has shown that he’s still able to run strong in the last 10k when the final ranking is decided. We may end up with an all German male podium this year!

(Photo: Nils on his new Canyon bike while training in Texas. Credit: Sarah Fladung)

This is an excerpt from my free “Kona Rating Report” – 150+ pages with tons of information about the Kona Pro races!

Career Highlights

• Multiple IM-distance winner (Barcelona, UK, Wales, Lanzarote)

2015 Season

• 2nd IM South Africa 9:31:20
• 1st 70.3 Staffordshire
• 1st IM UK 9:31:58

Last year Lucy was racing Kona for the first time as a Pro (she had raced before as an agegrouper). It almost seems as if she was a bit intimidated by the race and the field – and she didn’t have a good race, walking for most of the run with an injury she didn’t take the time to properly take care of as she was afraid she’d loose to much time in her Kona prep. Loosing her bike sponsor in the winter had her question the path she’d chosen – she’d decided to try Pro triathlon for a bit before returning to her career as a Medical Doctor.

After being back healthy (and with a new bike sponsor), she qualified for Kona without having to focus on points – a second place in the Regional Champs in South Africa took care of the bulk of points, and winning 70.3 Staffordshire put her in safe territory for Kona. Nonetheless she decided to race IM UK. “Winning on home soil is always special and this was the first time I’d entered a race with the sole goal of winning. I think this was probably the best race of my career to date and the support from the crowds was unrivalled.” After a 3:03 marathon she was leading by more than 30 minutes and could take some extra time to celebrate her win in the finish chute.

Going into Kona, Lucy feels very motivated to do well: “I’ve got unfinished business from last year! If I didn’t go back it would have beaten me – I don’t like getting beaten!” At the same time, she has learned from last year: “I’m definitely going into Kona much more rested. Last year I was digging myself a hole in the run up. This year I’m of the philosophy that it’s better to be fresh so have been far less scared of holding back when I’m tired.”

Lucy decided to do most of her preparation in the UK. “I have tried to stick to the formula that works for me: Keeping it fun and doing some low key races as training. I’ve done some decent time trials recently (100 mile and 50 mile) which have provided me with the confidence that I’m strong on flat fast courses as well as hilly ones.” (One should note that one of the ‘decent time trials’ was a 100 mile time of 3hr 48min – the second fastest 100 on record!) What about the Kona heat? “I’ve done a bit of heat prep this time – watt bike sessions in a hot yoga room. I’ve got a bit longer out in Kona this year before the race to acclimatise fully.”

What will be possible for Lucy this year? Based on the numbers, she should be just outside the Top 10. But as she has never really competed in Kona and usually races harder, slower courses she could actually do much better. Being a minute or two faster on the swim could have a big impact on what group she’ll be able to ride with and anyone who can run around 3:05 in the Kona heat will make up a lot of spots on the run. Maybe we’ll see her in the Top 10 this year? “I want to put together a race that lets me dance down the finish line smiling. If I’m doing that I’ll be proud of my performance. I know I’m fit so I hope I can do myself justice!”

(Photo: Lucy celebrating her win at IM UK. Supplied by Lucy)

This is an excerpt from my free “Kona Rating Report” – 150+ pages with tons of information about the Kona Pro races!

Career Highlights

• Winner IM UK 2015
• 7th Commonwealth Games 2014

2015 Season

• 7th IM South Africa 8:43:35
• 3rd 70.3 Mallorca, 70.3 Kraichgau
• 1st IM UK 8:46:37
• 4th 70.3 Mallorca

Up until last year, David has been racing Olympic Distance, getting a number of Top 10 finishes in ITU World Triathlon Series races and fishing 7th in the 2014 Commonwealth Games 2014. This year he stepped up to longer distance racing. “The vibe at Ironman/70.3 events is very different from Olympic distance racing.  Athletes are a lot more relaxed around one another and there’s much better integration between the pros and age group competitors.  For me, racing in fewer races than I am used to has led me to being more excited to get out there and deliver when the opportunity comes.”

His start of the season was Challenge Dubai (as far as I can tell his fist race longer than Olympic Distance), and even if a 21st place finish doesn’t sound like much, his 1:13 run was faster than the split of winner Terenzo Bozzone. Still, he didn’t really know what to expect of this year: “Joel [Filliol, Davis’s coach] and I never really sat down and defined what success would look like for me this year, mainly because there were too many unknown factors.  How would my body adapt to the training?  How long would it take to get use to a TT bike?  How long would it take even figure out how to race these events? A lot of these unknowns I still desperately need to sort out and improve.”

David’s first Ironman was IM South Africa in March, loosing a bit of time on the bike but finishing the marathon in 2:54 and placing 7th. He had a couple of podium finishes in 70.3s against good fields and then raced his “home” Ironman in Bolton. Again, he lost some time on the bike (but was only four minutes slower than his mani competitors), but his strong run carried the day. His 2:51 was the fastest marathon of the day by quite a margin, and he won the race by almost five minutes! He also secured a Kona slot, so he is happy with his first long distance season.

Coming into Kona, David still feels he has areas he can improve: “My main limiter is the current lack of ability to put out a good enough180k bike leg. Kona is currently the only race that matters, especially in the contenders eyes.  I don’t think I fully appreciated the importance of it, even the achievement of reaching it until this season.  The fact it’s only once a year, also the only time everyone goes head to head makes it more significant to the athletes than say an ITU Grand Final.  An average year could all of a sudden become pretty special if you deliver on the right day.”

Being the first time in Kona, there are not too many expectations on David. While he probably won’t make the first swim group, he shouldn’t be too far back. The main question for him will be how he deals with the ton of people that will blow by him on the bike: Most of the people that swim a similar time will probably put ten to fifteen minutes on the bike into him. If he saves his legs for the run, he may still be able to place well – for him that’ll probably mean a Top 20.

(Photo: David winning IM UK, supplied by David.)

There are a lot more profiles like this in my free “Kona Rating Report” – 150+ pages with tons of information about the Kona Pro races!

This is an extended version of the the profile on Cait that I have released as part of my free “Kona Rating Report“. A big “Thank You” to Cait for sharing her story with me!

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Be Kind; Everyone You Meet is Fighting a Hard Battle

— Ian MacLaren

The Data

Career Highlights

• Multiple IM Winner (Lake Placid, France)
• Top 10 Finisher in Kona (8th 2010, 9th 2011, 9th 2012, 6th 2013)

2015 Season

• 9th IM South Africa 9:55:03
• 3rd 70.3 Raleigh
• 1st IM France 9:24:50
• 10th IM Canada 10:17:42
• 2nd 70.3 Indonesia

Kona 2014

When Cait was getting ready for last year’s race in Hawaii, there were high expectations on her: In 2013 she was the top US female, finishing 6th in 9:10:12 with a sub-3 hour marathon that allowed her to overtake Meredith Kessler in the final mile. She had had a great 2014 season leading into Kona, with a number of podium finishes in 70.3s and a close second place at IM France. Her marathon time in Nice had been a 2:52:26 which was even faster than Mirinda Carfare’s marathon in Roth and the fastest 2014 female marathon before Kona.

But in reality, the chances for a good finish in Kona were pretty small when she was on the startline.

Only a few people very close to her knew that things started to unravel a few weeks before Kona: Her husband told her in August he needed some space to figure things out and needed to go away for a while, a move that turned out to mark the end of their marriage. Cait said, “It was a really big surprise to me. We tried to start working on things a little bit, but we decided to put everything on hold before Kona. I tried to focus on the race, but emotionally I shut down.” In order to do well in an Ironman, you have to race with all your heart and soul. Cait’s heart and soul were still busy dealing with the separation.

The weekend before the race she had to face another issue: “I was going for a recovery ride and was distracted. I tipped over and stuck my hand out. I thought I had strained a few muscles in my forearm, just icing and ibuprofen would help it. But a week after the race I had an MRI and it turned out that I had fractured a bone in my forearm.”

Still, her race day started okay: “I swam much better than I thought, I just had the hand in a fist but was able to swim with a group. It was okay on the bike. I knew going up Palani it would be painful to come out of the aero bars. But my heart rate was just too high. I tried really hard to stay in the moment because there was nothing I could do about my personal life on race day. People go through things that are that much harder. There was someone with ALS who had tried to finish an IM before and I thought how she would do absolutely anything just to be able to finish. That really helped me to get to the finish line. As much as I wanted to stop and quit, I knew I couldn’t stomach it afterwards.”

She biked almost 20 minutes slower than the year before, and things didn’t get better on the run. Other athletes would have been happy with her 3:16 marathon, for her it was the slowest IM run since 2007 – she finished in 22nd place, more than 45 minutes behind Mirinda Carfrae.

Picking up the Pieces

After the race it was clear that Cait had lost two important pillars of her strength: The bad result in Kona had her question her athletic ability, and the end of her marriage meant an upheaval in her personal life. Having to deal with only one of these issues can be hard enough, so even with the help of her family she was pretty much in a funk for the rest of the year and early 2015. Things were still raw for her, hard to talk about and process. She was just exercising out of habit and ended up having a three month ‘extended off season’ after Kona.

Things got better with a QT2 training camp in February. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to go to Florida, especially considering that her ex-husband would be there as well. She and her coach Jesse Kropelnicki decided to go one day at a time and see how she’d feel. “I was able to stay focused and camp went well. I ended up in decent shape at the end of it and thought that I want to race soon. We hoped I’d come out of camp with a little bit fire but I don’t think we expected that. Camp ended on Sunday, Jesse and I talked on Wednesday, and decided that it would make sense to race IM South Africa.”

Booking her flights on Friday, she flew out on Monday and spent three weeks getting familiar with the race course. With the limited amount of training it was clear that she wouldn’t be able to tear up the course, she just wanted to “get back the joy that racing can bring”. After the race (finishing 9th) she spent her last day on a Safari before it was time to fly back home.

Ironman France & Canada

Cait must have really enjoyed that trip: Less than two months after coming back from South Africa she was on another transcontinental flight, this time to Nice, France. She had finished second at IM France 2014 but had barely seen the course. “We tried to ride the course in a car, but the first time I saw the whole bike course was on race day.” This year she had the chance to prepare on the course for four weeks and enjoy the French lifestyle. On one of her bike rides on the course she was caught in a thunderstorm. Here’s how she described it on her blog: “I = FREEZING. Promising myself that I would stop at the next store/restaurant/inhabited home that I came across and beg them to call a taxi, no matter what the cost. SO COLD!! Hands not working well, head starting to shut down. FIRE DEPARTMENT!!!! Wrapped in towel, fireman rubbing my arms trying to get me warm; hot shower, random clothes from firemen, wrapped in sheet, given hot tea, driven back to car by fireman. Awesome!”

Raceday proved that she was almost back to her old self: After being only 41 seconds back last year, she won the race with a sub-3 marathon! This year she was the one being pushed for the whole run, Lisa Ribes ran a 2:54 marathon and finished just a little over a minute behind Cait. After celebrating her win, Cait took some more time to travel France and Italy with her family.

Racing Kona was one of the things furthest from Cait’s mind at the start of the year, but her win in France had put qualifying in her reach after all. She decided to go for the remaining points at IM Whistler, the last race before the July cutoff. Again she took some time to prepare on the course and get familiar with the conditions. Race day turned out to be a big surprise to her and a lot of other athletes: A grey morning that was supposed to be overcast turned to cold and rainy while everyone was swimming, and it continued to rain for most of the morning. Shortly after starting the bike, Cait was so cold and wet that she borrowed a trash bag from an aid station. She ended up riding in that bag in addition to toe covers, gloves and arm warmers for most of the bike ride. Being that cold she wasn’t able to put out decent wattage. By the time she finished the bike her body had used up a lot of energy just to stay warm, and she couldn’t produce a run that would have moved her much closer to the money slots. She finished 10th and was philosophical about not qualifying for Kona – after all she had come a long way since the start of the year.

Kona 2015 – Qualifying and Chances

Instead of the extended recovery that Cait would have had to take had she qualified for Kona, she was considering fall Ironman races that would suit her schedule. But when looking at the start lists for August Ironman races, it seemed possible that she could qualify by filling her “open” 70.3 points slot. 70.3 Indonesia seemed like a good choice, it was a new race for Ironman (it used to be organized as “MetaMan Bintan”) and offered good points. Cait put herself on the startlist and jumped on a plane to Indonesia. Coming off the bike she still needed to make up a few spots, but her running speed quickly moved her into second place. When she finished behind Gina Crawford, she had a safe Kona slot after all!

Just one year after being a solid Top 10 contender, most people won’t think of Cait when discussing who could be the top US woman this year. She’s probably fine flying under the radar for this year and is doing her standard preparation with an extended stay at the race venue. Anyone who can run sub-3 after a decent bike will be moving through the field. But while she’s competitive enough to want to do well, just being able to race Ironman Hawaii is a big bonus for Cait after the year she has been through.

(Photo: Cait winning Ironman France, Credit: FinisherPix,
Cait and her Trading Card by Nils Nilssen, Credit: Nils Nilssen)