Pocono Mountain 70.3 Race Preview

On October 2, Amber and I will be competing in the Pocono Mountain 70.3 Ironman event. As always, I will be coming in unprepared having not swam in several months and biking less than 50 miles per week. Amber on the other hand, will be coming off a game-changing Timberman race where she found herself with Chrissie Wellington on the bike. She scratched Syracuse 70.3 from her race schedule as she wanted to get some rest before going into Ironman Arizona in November and Poconos should provide a great tune-up for her.

Currently, the following seven pro females will be racing for a podium spot at Pocono's. However, I suspect after Las Vegas there will be several more pro's that decide, last minute, to enter this. So far, the pro field has a variety of athletes: some veterans at Ironman and 70.3 distances and others who appear to have, until now, focused on the shorter, but far faster, Olympic distance. It will be interesting to see how the race turns out.

As of August 31, 2011 the pro females are:

Heather Leiggi

2011 New Orleans 70.3 3:57:51-12th
2011 Florida 70.3 4:32:14-3rd
2011 Rev3 Quassy 4:51:26-12th
2011 Buffalo Springs 70.3 4:45:47-7th
2011 Rhode Island 70.3 4:40:39-3rd
2011 Steelhead 70.3 3:54:42-5th


Sharon Schmidt-Mongrain

2011- Timberman 70.3- 5th Place Female
2011- Ironman Texas 11th Pro Female
2010- Tyler Arboretum 10k 1st Place Overall Female
2010 -St. Croix 70.3 Ironman 1st Place Amateur, 6th Overall Female, 5:11:52*
2010- Savageman 70.0 Ironman 2nd Place Overall Female, 5:24:02
2010- Pittsburgh Triathlon 2nd Place Overall Female, 2:11:12
2010- Philadelphia Women’s Triathlon 1st Place Overall Female

Jennifer Tetrick

2011-Oceanside 70.3 15th Place(first 70.3)
2011- Columbia Tri 5th Place

Mirjam Weerd

2011- Ironman Regensburg- DNF(First place after the bike)
2011- Ironman Frankfurt- DNF
2010- Ironman South Africa- 4th Place
2010-Ironman Wisconsin- 3rd Place
2009- Ironman Germany-6th Place

Kristin White

2011- Eagleman 70.3 9th Pro Female
2011- Florida 70.3 4th Pro Female
2011- Providence 70.3 4th Pro Female
2010- Syracuse 70.3 1st age group, 1st amateur finisher, 3rd female overall
2010-Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 1st age group, 1st amateur finisher, 6th female overall

Missy Kuck

2011- Logan International Triathlon 2nd Place Female
2011-Independence Triathlon 4th Place Female
2011- Philadelphia Insurance Olympic Triathlon-11th Place Female 

Amber Ferreira

2011- Timberman 70.3- 6th Place
2011- Ironman St. George (after two broken spokes and a flat tire)7th Place

2011- Mooseman 70.3 5th Place- 2011 Providence 70.3 -4th Place
2011 -Ironman Lake Placid(after ANOTHER broken spoke)-4th Place
2010 -Ironman Lake Placid- 8th Place
2010 -Snowshoe Championships-1st Place

Like I mentioned before, I suspect several more professionals will be entered as we near the final days before the race. Either way, should be very exciting to watch.



Up Next: Amber: Rest and Recovery until Pocono's Oct 2nd. Danny: Adirondack Marathon Sept 25th and Pocono's Oct 2nd.