Stafford, Lively take Ultraman Canada
U.S. competitors Stephen Stafford and Consuela Lively won Ultraman Canada in a challenging three days made tougher by unrelenting mid-90 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures.
Stafford, 31, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, finished the 10 kilometer swim, 261-miles of biking, and a 52.4-mile run in three days to finish in 22:34:35 with a 34:54 margin of victory over runner-up Chad Hon of Mobile, Alabama. Stafford’s time was the second fastest in the 12-year history of this event – 44 minutes and 50 seconds slower than the race record set in 2010 by Penticton’s Kevin Cutjar – who has also won the Ultraman World Championship in Hawaii.
Lively, 41, of Winter Park Florida, finished the 3-day, 325-mile stage triathlon, held on much of the roads and trails of Ironman Canada, in 27:25:23 with a narrow-for-Ultraman 29 minutes and 3 seconds margin of victory over runner-up Kat Calder-Becker, 48, of Montreal.
Day One: 10k swim and 90-mile bike
Chad Hon was the first man out of the 10 kilometer swim in Skaha Lake in a time of 2:51:29/ Following Hon were David Craig of Wellington, New Zealand in 3:01:42, followed 4 seconds later by Stephen Stafford. Alice Robb of Perth Australia was the first woman out of the water in 3:23:45, followed by Canadian Katherine Calder-Becker of Montreal in 3:27:16 and Consuela Lively third in 3:42:47.
In the heat of the day, Stephen Stafford took over the lead with a course-record 3:58:58 for the 90-mile bike over the Richter Pass and on to the finish in Okanagan Falls. His total time for the first day was 7:00:44, third-fastest ever. Chad Hon ride 4:26:18 to hit the Day one finish in 7:17:47, and David Craig rode 4:34:05 for Day 1 overall time of 7:35:47.
Lively quickly overcame her deficit on the swim with a 4:56:55 bike split which gave her a Day 1 total of 8:39:42 and 3:51 lead on Calder-Becker, who rode 5:16:17.
Day Two: 171.3-mile bike
Stafford took control of the race in Day 2, posting a second straight race record time for the 171.3-mile bike leg. His 7:47:33 split was 19 minutes faster than the previous record and 33 minutes and 10 seconds faster than James Player of Roseville, California, who finished just 3 second ahead of Chad Hon. At the end of Day 2, Stafford’s combined time of 14:48:17 was 50 minutes 26 seconds ahead of Hon, 1 hour 21 minutes and 5 seconds ahead of the New Zealander, David Craig.
In the women’s race, Alice Robb burned up the roads with a 9:33:06 split – the 4th fastest in Ultraman Canada women’s race history. Lively followed just 2:12 later, with Ingrid Hillhouse 3rd fastest in 9:39:04. Calder-Becker hung on to 2nd place overall with a 4th-fastest women’s bike split of 9:47:15. Going into the final day, Lively led at 18:15:00, followed by Calder-Becker at 18:30:48 and Robb at 18:32:26.
Day 3: 52.4-mile run
Chad Hon won the day but lost the war, posting the day’s fastest run – and the fourth fastest ever in Ultraman Canada history — in 7:30:56. But Stafford’s second-best 7:53:18 double marathon was more than good enough to defend his lead, finishing in 22:34:35 with a comfortable 34:55 margin over the runner-up. Lames Player posted the third-fastest run of the day – 7:53:18 to finish third overall in 24:45;08.
Lively ran the women’s fastest run in 9:10:33 to secure the victory in 27:25:33. Calder-Becker’s 9:23:48 was the next best double marathon and good enough to secure second overall woman just 29:03 back. Robb could not finish the run, so Ingrid Hillhouse ran 10:03:27 to advance to third overall woman, 2 hours 15 minutes and 47 seconds back of the winner.
2012 Ultraman Canada
Penticton, British Columbia, Canada
August 4-6, 2012
Day One: Swim 10k/ Bike 90 mi.
Day Two: Bike 171.4 mi.
Day Three: Run 52.4 mi.
Results
Men
1. Stephen Stafford (USA) – S 3:01:46 B 3:35:58 B 7:47:33 R 7:46:18 TOT 22:34:35
2. Chad Hon (USA) – S 2:51:29 B 4:26:18 B 8:20:46 R 7:30:56 TOT 23:09:29
3. James Player (USA) – S 3:46:31 B 4:44:36 B 8:20:43 R 7:53:18 TOT 24:45:08
4. David Craig (NZL) – S 3:01:42 B 4:34:05 B 8:33:36 R 9:04:49 TOT 25:14:12
5. Keith Bergh (USA) – S 3:14:54 B 5:00:00 B 9:23:20 R 8:26:10 TOT 26:04:24
6. Giancarlo Matarazzo (BRA) – S 3:18:27 B 4:56:03 B 9:30:15 R 8:54:59 TOT 26:39:44
7. Ruben Perez Diego (ESP) – S 3:34:52 B 4:58:59 B 9:34:48 R 8:46:30 TOT 26:55:09
8. Nigel Willerton (USA) – S 3:40:31 B 4:48:57 B 9:10:14 R 9:20:07 TOT 26:59:49
9. Kevin Becker (CAN) – S 3:44:03 B 4:52:57 B 9:41:13 R 8:42:11 TOT 27:00:24
10. Wissthon Rodrigues (BRA) S 3:21:37 B 5:04:54 B 9:35:18 R 9:46:21 TOT 27:36:41
Women
1. Consuela Lively (USA) – S 3:42:47 B 4:56:55 B 9:23:49 R 9:10:33 TOT 27:25:33
2. Kat Calder-Becker (CAN) – S 3:27:16 B 5:16:17 B 9:47:15 R 9:23:48 TOT 27:54:36
3. Ingrid Hillhouse (USA) – S 4:33:12 B 5:25:14 B 9:39:04 R 10:03:27 TOT 29:40:57
4. Stacey Schand (CAN) – S 4:19:15 B 5:34:45 B 10:28:16 R 9:29:39 TOT 29:51:55
5. Kara Hoffman (CAN) – S 4:23:37 B 5:35:28 B 10:54:54 R 11:11:15 TOT 31:56:14
6. Alice Robb (AUS) – S 3:23:45 B 5:35:35 B 9:33:06 R DNF
