Fachbach, Ellis in Regensburg
Markus Fachbach took the win at the 2011 Ironman Regensburg in Southern Germany and with it his first Ironman title in 8:29:16. Mary Beth Ellis continued with her stellar form and took the women's title in 9:18:55.
Andreas Raelert was at the start as had been predicted, but the 2010 Ironman Hawaii runner-up had announced before the race that he not race the event, but merely finish to earn his Kona 2011 ticket. Plus it had been rumored that the elder Raelert was hampered by injuries just like his younger brother.
With Raelert just there to finish, the race was wide open and Horst Reichel was first out of the water in 46:51. The fastest swim of the day though was by age grouper David Bartlett in 46:41. Markus Fachbach was the second Pro out of the water about 30 seconds after Reichel and the race was on.
Fachbach soon caught up to Reichel and the two athletes rode at the front of the race until about the 100k mark. At that point Fachbach pulled away and Reichel seemed to really slow down. Frank Vytrisal caught Reichel soon after and moved into second position on the road and closer and closer to Fachbach. With 30k to go Vytrisal moved past the Commerzbank Pro into the lead and returned to the bike-run transition with a 4:33:37 bike split and a 2.5 minute advantage over Fachbach.
Fachbach looked much more comfortable on the run and it did not take him very long to take the lead back. From there the 28-year old German ran a 2:58:11 marathon to win his first Ironman title in 8:29:16. Stefan Riesen from Switzerland finished second and Frank Vytrisal held on to third.
Andreas Raelert crossed the line in 21:05 and with his 340th place finish quite a few money got raised for charity, as he had offered to donate 20 Euro per athlete who will cross the line ahead of him.
Mary Beth Ellis was first out of the water for the women but lost time early on during the bike with what turned out to be glute issues. German Pros Annett Kamenz and Katja Rabe were riding at the front for quite a while with Mirjam Weerd in third position behind them a couple minutes down. But the Dutch Pro moved into the lead with about 30k to go with Kamenz now in second position. Weerd reached T2 first but Ellis had clawed her way towards the front again.
Kamenz caught Weerd for the lead after 10k of the run and the Dutch Pro eventually dropped out from the race. Ellis who actually considered dropping out of the race during the bike segment, moved into second place soon after and took the lead at the halfway point of the marathon. Ellis finished the day out with a 3:06:45 marathon and took the win in 9:18:55. A good time indeed, but quite a bit slower than the incredible 8:43:34 she had posted in Klagenfurt about a month ago. But considering that she wasn't feeling well that is quite a feat. Kamenz held on to second place and Nicole Leder who was steady all day took the final podium spot.
"I have a muscle strain in my glute. It was aggravated and I had trouble pedaling and getting into aerobars. I spent first 80k of the bike sitting up trying to decide whether to pull out of the race. But pain and cramping subsided and I decided to at least finish bike strong and not sure if I would be able to run," said Ellis to slowtwitch. "When I got off the bike, it was ok running so I decided to finish. It was a tough and ugly day at the office but I am glad I didn't quit out there."
Ironman Regensburg
Regensburg, Germany / August 7, 2011
3.8 km swim / 180 km bike / 42.2 km run
Top men
1. Markus Fachbach (GER) 8:29:16
2. Stefan Riesen (SUI) 8:36:54
3. Frank Vytrisal (GER) 8:37:11
4. Horst Reichel (GER) 8:42:07
5. Bas Diederen (NED) 8:42:34 *M30-34
6. Lothar Leder (GER) 8:45:30
7. Kyle Buckingham (GBR) 8:56:22 * M25-29
8. Rene Vallant (AUT) 8:56:50
9. Nicolas Beyeler (SUI) 8:57:17 * M35-39
10. James Kimberley (GBR) 8:58:50 * AG M30-34
Top women
1. Mary Beth Ellis (USA) 9:18:55
2. Annett Kamenz (GER) 9:28:33
3. Nicole Leder (GER) 9:30:27
4. Heidi Jesberger (GER) 9:34:42
5. Katja Rabe (GER) 9:44:45
6. Katrin Esefeld (GER) 9:49:53
7. Tanja Buehlmann Umbricht (SUI) 9:57:54
8. Becky Paige (USA) 9:58:07
9. Kristin Baker (CAN) 9:58:55
10. Grada Boschker (NED) 10:04:05
