Steven Keller, Venuza Maciel Take Inaugural Ultraman Arizona
Steven Keller crosses the finish line of the Ultraman Arizona in first place for the day and overall. Keller’s wife, Ally McNaughton, left, as well as Keller’s support crew greet him at the finish line. (Photo by Rich Reed, Courtesy of Steven Keller)
The opening salvo of Ultraman Arizona Friday started with a sunny, calm conditions, but within 25 minutes Mother Nature took charge. In the next few minutes race officials called off the swim. As one official described, “It was an easy decision as athletes were dropping like flies and conditions turned dangerous very quickly with wind gusts to 40mph creating insane chop and waves.”
Safety crews pulled several shivering athletes out of the rough conditions, but within an hour hardy and adaptive Ultra triathletes recovered and began the 90-mile bike leg at 9 am. Soon, 37-year-old veterinarian Steven Keller of Virginia Beach, Virginia was well on his way to a race-best 3:54:11 split that gave him a 3:05 lead on 55-year-old Bill Owsley and 21:38 over 41-year-old Matt Barcus.
Jamie Harris, 46, jump-started the women with a 4:37:38 split that gave her a 12:11 lead on 28-year-old Nicole Suss, 23:64 on Meredith Terranova, 48, and 32 minutes on 52-year-old Venuza Maciel of Brazil. Unlike Keller’s steady grip on the men, Maciel and Terranova soon took control over Harris and Suss.
Men
Keller gradually pulled away from all rivals as his Day Two 8:16:36 split outpaced Owsley’s 8:29:58 by 13:22 and increased Keller’s margin to 17:41 over Owsley and 43 minutes over Matt Barcus, who posted an 8:38:32 Day Two split.
Keller then eliminated all doubts with a race-best 6:31:87 double marathon on Sunday, which propelled him to an 18:41:54 total time – shockingly fast until you remember that it factored in a swim cancellation, cutting out at least 2 hours 30 minutes that would have taken on the usual 10k swim.
Barcus ascended to second place with a third-fastest 7:36:20 double marathon that brought him to the finish in 20:30:41. On the wings of a second-best 6:42:04 run, 53-year-old James Scanlan took third place, 2:18 behind the winner.
Keller, a model of consistency, followed his previous second-place finish at 2019 Ultraman Florida and victory at 2020 Ultraman Florida.
Keller, a hard-working veterinarian and father of two, gets his workouts in before dawn. “I’m usually out the door and on my bike around 4 a.m., so my training doesn’t eat into family time too much,” he said. "My wife and I work together to make it all happen – I couldn’t do it without her.”
Women
Photo by Jen McVeay
Terranova took a short lead at the end of Day Two – her 15:53:00 gave her a 1:51 margin over Maciel. Meanwhile, the Day One heroes fell back – Jamie Harris’s 11:42:07 gave up 58 minutes to Maciel and Suss surrendered 51 minutes to the leader.
Maciel took complete control on the double marathon as the Brazilian’s 8:45:39 out split Terranova by 7 minutes, and Harris and Suss by just under 3 hours.
Interview with women’s champion, Venuza Maciel
Maciel suffered a career disappointment when she DNF’d – missing the bike cutoff by 7 minutes – at the 2018 Ultraman World Championship in Hawaii. That that ignited a determination to conquer the distance. But Covid resulted in several delays. Ultimately her choice of venue was the inaugural Ultraman Arizona this March.
"I don't think I've ever waited so long for a triathlon test,” she told Ultraman media after this race. “With the postponement we had by the pandemic, I wished more than ever that I could be here in Arizona doing what I love most. During these two years, I dedicated myself as never before to training.”
Maciel made this return to Ultraman a mission. “So for me it was a personal matter to be able to finish this test again. I trained a lot and I won it, I'm extremely happy!”
A key weakness which she prepared for was her vulnerability to cold water and rugged conditions. “I had a fear of swimming, so I prepared myself to face my fear of cold water. On the first day [March 11] of the Arizona Ultraman, it was not only cold but also very windy and rippling. I prayed for our safety. I thank the race director so much for canceling.”
Thanks to her thorough preparation Maciel’s race went smoothly. “For the bike and run, I liked the routes; I like technical tests and above all, Arizona is fantastic! So beautiful! Also, my crew was impeccable over the three days! Congratulations to the race director and team for a fantastic event!"
Ultraman Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
March 11-13, 2022
Day One 90-mile bike [10k swim cancelled de to stormy conditions]
Day Two 171.4-mile bike
Day Three 52.4-mile run
Men
1. Steven Keller Male 37 Total Day 1+2 12:10:47 Day 3 Run 6:31:07 Total 18:41:54
2. Matt Barcus Male 41 Day 1-2 Total 12:54:21 Day 3 Run 7:36:20 Total 20:30:41
3. James Scanlan M53 Day 1-2 Total 14:18:00 Day 3 Run 6:42:04 Total 21:00:04
4. Bill Owsley Male 55 Day 1-2 Total 12:27:06 Day 3 Run 8:55:09 Total 21:22:15
5. Jason Verbacken Male 47 Day 1-2 Total 14:31:51 Day 3 Run 8:28:08 Total 22:59:59
6. Dan Beaver Male 54 Day1-2 Total 13:58:04 Day 3 Run 9:07:45 Total 23:05:49
7. Juan Coassolo Male 47 Day 1-2 Total 15:01:34 Day 3 Run 8:11:46 Total 23:13:20
8. Lucas Vilhena Male 43 Day 1-2 Total 15:16:25 Day 3 Run 7:59:12 Total 23:15:37
9. Andy Mally Male 42 Day 1-2 Total 14: 51:19 Day 3 Run 9:18:06 TOTAL 24:09:25
10. Jeremy Couch Male 45 Day 1-2 Total 15:46:20 Day 3 Run 9:15:05 TOTAL 24:55:25
Women
1. Vanuza Maciel Female 52 Day 1-2 Total 15:54:51 Day 3 Run 8:45:39 TOTAL 24:46:30
2. Meredith Terranova Female 48 Day 1-2 Total 15:53:00 Day 3 Run 9:33:44 TOTAL 25:26:44
3. Jamie Harris Female 46 Day 1-2 Total 16:19:45 Day 3 Run 11:46:53 TOTAL 28:00:38
4. Nicole Suss Female 28 Day 1-2 Total 16:34:53 Day 3 Run 11L38L02 TOTAL 28:12:55
5. Julie Riley Female 43 Bike Day 1-2 17:38:31 Day 3 Run 11:11:05 TOTAL 28:49:36
6. Fiona Siemelink Female 54 Day 1-2 Total 17:17:07 Day 3 Run 11:46:55 TOTAL 29:64:02
