Best of 2012 – the Run
The run – the primal weapon.
Back in prehistory, hunter-gatherers killed saber-toothed tigers by running them to death. In 2012, Alistair Brownlee vanquished his rivals at the Olympics and Craig Alexander did the same to all comers at Ironman Melbourne the old fashioned way – with the most enduring two feet on the run.
All photographs © Timothy Carlson
Pete Jacobs set the fastest run at Ironman Hawaii the last two years. This year, his more balanced attack finished with the 3rd-best 2:48:05 run – and the overall victory.
Mari Rabie of South Africa ran undaunted through Maui’s mud to take 3rd overall at the XTERRA World Championship.
Faris Al-Sultan almost won a home country victory for Team Abu Dhabi until Rasmus Henning of Denmark passed him in the final miles of the run.
Linsey Corbin of Missoula, Montana took control of Ironman Arizona on the run.
Miro Kregar of Slovenia [left] and Alexandre Ribeiro of Brazil [right] dueled for the first 30 kilometers of the Day 3 run at the Ultraman World Championship before Ribeiro ran away to victory.
Jordan Rapp pushed hard on the run but fell 1:23 short of Jesse Thomas at Wildflower long course.
Suzy Degazon is joyous at Mile 15 of the Ultraman Hawaii double marathon on Day 3.
Tyler Butterfield of Bermuda cools off during Formula 1 sprint triathlon in Coronado.
Andy Potts runs by a memorial of flags honoring armed forces deaths at the CapTex Triathlon in Austin, Texas.
Cameron Dye runs at twilight at the Boulder Reservoir.
Tim Don, Manuel Huerta and Bevan Docherty give it their all at the ITU World Triathlon Series event in San Diego.
Competitor runs past a roadside memorial during the Ultraman World Championship Day 3 double marathon in November.
Caroline Steffen runs past a theater at the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon.
Paul Ambrose runs along Oceanside waterfront at Ironman 70.3 California.
Age groupers are tough too! A young woman runs with a sling at Pacific Grove.
Melissa Hauschildt, the 2011 Ironman 70.3 World Champion, is one of the greatest runners in the sport.
Lance Armstrong ran a race-best 1:19 to win the unsanctioned Superfrog Triathlon in September.
Jesse Thomas, Richie Cunningham and Leon Griffin duel on the run at Oceanside.
Leanda Cave finished 4th here at Wildflower but saved her best races for a late season double – winning at Las Vegas and Kona.
Casual competitor at Superfrog wore a GoPro camera and juggled his way through the 13.1-mile run.
