Ever go for a 1.2-mile swim? What about a 56-mile ride on your bike? Maybe a 13.1-mile run?
What about all three back-to-back-to-back?
For Rodney Scott, a computer programmer from Raleigh, North Carolina, completing the three phases of the Ironman 70.3 Sunday in Delaware was a heck of a way to spend his morning.
Scott, No. 1 in his division’s (men age 40-44) world rankings thanks to a pair of 70.3 wins earlier this year, earned the hat trick by finishing Sunday’s showcase first in his division for the third straight time.
“It’s a really good feeling,” Scott said after crossing the finish line first among the 2,000-plus athletes in action with a time of 4:21.05. “I’m somewhat of a poor swimmer, so I came out of the water a little behind — I’m in chase mode from the start — but I made up some ground on the bike.
“My goal was to win my division and get that trifecta.”
The victory earned Scott one of 50 age-group qualifying slots to the 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championship set to take place in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Other big-time performances belonged to the likes of Mike Vulanich (men’s 30-34 division), a marketing professional from San Francisco, and Angela Quick (women’s 25-29 division), a healthcare professional from Canada.
Vulanich, since it was a wave-based event, actually finished with the fastest time among all competitors, closing in 4:12:53. He crossed the finish line behind Scott and a few others, but started in a later wave.
Quick had the fastest time among women, finishing the swim in 27:34, the bike portion in 2:23:56 and the run in 1:44:26 for a total time of 4:39:36.
Things kicked off with the 1.2-mile swim just off the shores of the Delaware State Park beach. Immediately after exiting the water, the athletes geared up, grabbed their bikes and got started on the 56-mile ride in a single loop through Delaware, Morrow and Marion Counties.
The ride wrapped up at historic Selby Stadium on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University, where the athletes traded in their bikes for sneakers and continued on a double loop style running course along the Olentangy River. Once done with that, they made their way back to Selby to finish with a sprint down the stadium’s track.
