IRONMAN Los Cabos
We had no idea this event was on in Los Cabos but as soon as we got on the shuttle from the airport the guide proudly announced the inaugural Ironman to be held on Sunday. I have covered the Ironman in Penticton a couple of times and half Ironman in Osoyoos and Oliver, each a couple of times, so I was quite excited to hear this. I have mountains of respect for these athletes. I was a triathlete once , but nowhere near the ironman distance. I did a 1/3 ironman but that is more than twenty years ago. In 2009 I ran a 1/2 Marathon and could barely walk the next day.
On our first morning at the resort we dragged our winter pale bodies down to the pool and noticed a woman doing laps. It quickly became obviously she wasn't just doing a couple of morning laps to wake up. After about 15 minutes I secretly wished she would stop as she was making us look bad lounging on our beach chairs :) I don't think I have ever seen a better swimmer live. At the end the workout her husband approaches her and I hear they are speaking Danish (my native tongue). I strike a pleasant conversation with Claus. The "swimmer" quickly joined us and said; "Do I hear Danish" and with a big smile says; "Hi, I'm Michelle.
Michelle Vesterby is the top Danish Triathlete and travels the world with her husband and her aim was clear; to win the Los Cabos Ironman. You can follow Michelle on her home page here.
On race day I was out there with the camera and tried to grab a few shots of Michelle as she fought the heat. She was first out of the water and was second after the bike leg. We spotted her after 28K into the run where she had taken the lead. This was pretty cool as we starting thinking that she would pull this off. However a strong Erica Cosmor caught up and won the race. Michelle I believe was only a minute behind for a second place finish. Bitter sweet but if you ask me an awesome result.
Michelle, Claus and Jens (another Danish triathlete) took time to tell us about previous races, preparations for this event and were just top notch to be around. Thanks guys and best of luck from here on.
To view more photos from the race please link to my SmugMug gallery for IRONMAN Los Cabos.
Photo credit goes to my son, Mik Byskov, for the last frame in this series.
