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Boulder Peak is the Olympic distance non-drafting classic which drew A-list pros that who could get a catered speed workout at altitude in their summer home and test themselves with a 1,000 feet of climbing – 600 feet all at once on Olde Stage Road. The list of winners includes world champions like Jackie Gallagher, Simon Lessing, Craig Alexander, Leanda Cave, Tim O’Donnell, Joanna Zeiger and competitors included famous triathletes like Laura Bennett, Mary Beth Ellis and Peter Robertson and Bermuda’s Flora Duffy. When it was an independent entity, the race could get by with minimal prize money, but now that it is part of the 5i50 series, a purse of $35,000 is an even bigger draw for international stars.
This year the 5i50 version of Boulder Peak drew yet another superstar, Sweden’s Olympic silver medalist and ITU World Triathlon Series champion Lisa Norden, who was taking time off from the ITU circuit and enjoying the pleasures of the North American non-drafting races. Several others were flying in after a daunting test at the Kitzbühel WTS race whose peak 23 degrees of climb made the once daunting Olde Stage Road look by contrast as if it was downhill. While Denis Vasiliev of Russia remained jet-lagged and not in top form on his way to 9th place at Boulder, Nicky Samuels of New Zealand followed her 5th place at Kitzbühel with a solid runner-up to Lisa Norden at Boulder. Other athletes chose a closer-to-home double as Lauren Goss followed her runner-up finish at the Minneapolis Life Time Fitness race on Saturday with a 3rd place at Boulder.
Thanks to road construction that forced a detour that lopped an estimated 2 or 3 kilometers off Boulder Peak’s classic, longer-than-standard 42-kilometer bike course, race records were set. Tim O’Donnell took 3:04 off his 2011 race record with a final time of 1:48:48.
Whatever the distances, Colorado amateurs used a home court advantage to post some impressive results. Women’s 30-34 winner Hayley Benson finished 9th overall an ahead of several famous pros, as did 45-49 winner Steph Popelar, who was 12th overall. Marathon legend and Boulder resident Colleen De Reuck was 2nd in 45-49 and placed 14th overall in a time of 2:16:03, capped off by a 38:41 run.
Boulder Peak 5i50 Triathlon
Swim 1.5K/Bike 23K/Run 10K
Top Men
1. Timothy O’Donnell (USA) 1:48:48
2. James Seear (AUS) 1:50:06
3. Josh Amberger (AUS) 1:50:43
4. David Thompson (USA) 1:51:44
5. Brian Fleischmann (USA) 1:52:01
Top Women
1. Lisa Norden (SWE) 1:59:30
2. Nicky Samuels (NZL) 2:02:37
3. Lauren Goss (USA) 2:04:02
4. Flora Duffy (BERMUDA) 2:05:21
5. Jeanni Seymour (RSA) 2:05:33
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