Coach Frank had a great point that he made prior to the race.  Ninety percent of the people that make it to Hawaii Ironman know that they are not going to win so they should focus on just having a good time.  As shown below, that is exactly what she did. 

The race will be televised December 18th on NBC and as mentioned in an article last month she will be getting 3 to 5 minutes of fame during the 2 hour video which we are anxiously waiting to see.   Apparently the audience worldwide  for this event, which has been televised annually for 20 years, is 10 million. Please post any supportive comments for Kathleen below or contact Kathleen directly at kathleenallen3 which is a hotmail.com address.

Click to make any picture bigger!

Check out all those people!

Kathleen has never been kicked so much in a swim but "it was worth it"

How can anyone be happy after swimming 2.4 miles in the ocean?

The First real good ATA logo shot!

Starting off the 112 mile bike

Did you notice she is still smiling?

As if being happy weren't enough, Kathleen takes the time to give us a Thumbs Up!

The temperature was over 100 degrees on the asphalt, and humid to boot

Is that guy looking at my wife's rear?

We surfed and snorkled while waiting to see Kathleen

It was the hardest but most rewarding race of her life

Kathleen Allen, you are an Ironman!

Stephen, Ben, Kathleen, Eddie (Finish Exchange Student), Jessica, Mack and Zoe

There are several types of  triathlons which are all different distances:  Sprint distance, Olympic distance, half Ironman and full Ironman.  The Hawii Ironman race is a full Ironman and it is the world championship.  A full ironman is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and then a 26.2 marathon run.  She has done two Ironman distance races, one in Florida on November 6th of 2006 before her accident on August 24th, 2007 and one last year in Arizona on November 22nd of 2009.   Again, she got into this race because of her amazing comeback from her accident mentioned last month on our website.

How Will She Do?

Many people ask how she thinks she will do in this race.  Modesty on her part means she will tell you that she just wants to finish the race and “have fun.”  Having fun for Kathleen means continuously smiling and laughing, congratulating everyone who passes her on the bike and run and also acknowledging and thanking every volunteer that she sees.   I think she will continue to do what she has done at every single race since the accident, which is to set a new PR (personal record).  My gut tells me she will do fantastic.   Fantastic is going “Sub 11″ which means finishing under 11 hours.  The last ironman in Arizona she got a total time of 11:18:10 which was in November of 2009.  Has she improved since then?  Absolutely!

How Good Is She?Kathleen has never done the Hawaii Ironman race but let’s look at some fun statistics and specifically talk about an amazing triathlete named Wendy Mader, who is two years younger then Kathleen.  Wendy is a coach, racing friend and incredible triathlete.  For literally 8 years Kathleen has raced in her shadow as Wendy continues to win or get 1st place in her age group in sprint distance, olympic distance and half Ironman races.  Kathleen doesn’t actually feel like she competes against Wendy, she competes against herself, but here are some very interesting “Kathleen Hanging with Mader” chronological facts:

• Wendy finished with an absolutely amazing 1st in her age group, setting a new course record for her age in the 2008 World Ironman Chamionship in Hawaii
• This year for the first time ever Kathleen has “leap frogged” with Wendy during several races, passing her in the bike and then getting passed.
• On Sunday, June 20th, 2010 at the Boulder 5430 sprint distance race Kathleen finished 3rd in her age group, 5th overall, with a 1:19:53 and Wendy finished 1st in her age group, 2nd overall, with a 1:18:11.
• On Sunday, July 11th at the Boulder Peak 5430 olympic distance race Kathleen finished 5th in her age group, 9th overall, with a 2:24:08 and Wendy finished 3rd in her age group, 5th overall, with a 2:22:43.
• On August 29th of this year Wendy finished first overall at the Aflac Sprint Distance Race with a time of 1:14:03 and Kathleen finished 3rd overall with a time of 1:15:30.
• On September 12th Kathleen did the Harvest Moon Half Ironman in Boulder and finished 2nd in her age group, 6th overall, with a 4:50:18 and Wendy finished 1st in her age group, and 5th overall with a 4:45:36.

So, one fun statistic to look at on Ironmanlive.com the race is to see how Kathleen is doing with respect to Wendy Mader.   Kathleen likes to point out that Mader is absolutely incredible and part of that is her ability to keep a constant speed on a race that is twice as long as the Harvest Moon Half Ironman.  Watch us on Saturday, October 9th on IronmanLive.com!

It was an incredible race for her even though she is experiencing some foot issues that we think are due to overcompensation resulting from her August 2007 accident.  Out of a field of 800 women Kathleen placed a very solid third place.   Check out the sweet results here. 

Similar to previous races this year, Kathleen was leap frogging with 1st place overall Wendy Mader and at the end Amanda Durner’s incredible running skill allowed her to pass Kathleen with about a quarter mile to go in the run.  As always, Kathleen is absolutely tickled with her performance but looking for ideas on how to fix her foot issue.  She is considering getting a cortisone shot to help her out but knows that it just masks the pain so is hoping new orthotics (should be done tomorrow) and continued massage therapy on her foot will make it feel better without getting shot up.

This last picture is of 5 of the top 10 finishers.  From the left they are  Alicia Brillon (10th), Amanda Duran (2nd), Kathleen (3rd), Wendy Mader (1s) and Nancy Goldsmith (6th).  Way to go girls!!!

Ben

Ben

Racing in Kansas, 2009

Kathleen Allen will be interviewed by NBC regarding her recent honor of receiving the coveted 2010 Hawaii Ironman media slot.  For 3 days this September, the 15th through the 17th, NBC will follow “a day in the life” of Kathleen as she shares how she manages a high energy husband, 4 kids and an exchange student.  She will likely also share the successes and hurdles she has had to overcome since her  bike versus motor vehicle accident August 24th, 2007 that left her with 2 neck fractures, 2 back fractures, a broken rib and two broken wrists (from braking too hard!).  After a minor stroke and 6 surgeries on her right leg to relieve compartment syndrome she was able to come back to her favorite sport of triathlon and finish 6th in the world in her age group last September in Australia, 25 months after the accident.  

She will be competing in Hawaii on October 9th and we have 14 people coming with us so far to cheer her on (let us know if you want to come!)

September, 2007 After Removing Wrist Casts

We are looking forward to sharing what we believe is one of the most beautiful places on earth with NBC…Evergreen, Colorado.

For a complete list of Kathleen Allen Triathlete News go to our special Triathlete News Blog.  At the very least check out her new sponsor here.

For the September, 2010 Newsletter Articles go here:

• Will Your Cell Phone Kill You?
• Business Continuity Picture of the Month
• New Staff – Vote for the best mullet ever