Richie Cunningham: Professional Triathlete

July 1, 2010: My Response to WTC's proposed new rules (and some other thoughts)

Thanks for giving us a chance to voice our opinion. I only hope WTC is going to listen to the athlete's opinions and that the new rules WTC have proposed are not yet set in stone. I understand these new rules are only proposed rules and below are only my opinions.

To start with, I don't quite understand the necessity for all these new proposed rules. I believe the sport certainly has to have more clarity in its rules, but the rules WTC has proposed seem to be more about somebody justifying their job by coming up with new rules than about common sense. The old system and rules from last year were not so bad . There seems to be far more complaints about the new rules introduced this year and new proposed rules than there ever were with the old rules.

Qualifying for Kona
The proposed rule makes qualifying for Kona too complicated. Under the new rule, athletes would not be 100% certain of their Kona slot until September 1st. By September 1st, athletes are already deep into their Kona preparation and training. Qualifying for Kona could be made very simple by using the same system you have now , with the 5% cutoff rule. Limit Kona to a 50 man field. If only 45 people make Kona, then that's fine. You will know they are the best 45 in the world and the rest aren't good enough at this point to race at a world championship. With this system athletes can still choose when and where they want to qualify for Kona or Clearwater. I don't think it's fair that WTC puts stipulations on how an athlete should prepare for a season. For example, making athletes who qualify in the top 10 in Kona validate their Ironman spot by racing another Ironman in the following year.

The new rule making athletes validate their Kona spot by doing another Ironman in a year
I don't like this idea. It should not be the position of the WTC to dictate an athlete's race calendar. If the athlete was good enough to make top 10 or win Kona, then they shouldn't be made to race another Ironman in the year. Multiple top 10 Kona finishers choose to only race one Ironman a year. This system has worked well for many Kona champions. It's the right of the athlete to choose his/her race schedule and some athletes have perfected this to a fine art. It's wrong of WTC to expect them to change their season strategy and preparation for Kona.

Wild Card Entries to Kona
I think this rule should definitely not be implemented. Kona and Clearwater are world championships. You either make it or you don't. You have a whole year to qualify. If something goes wrong, then that is the nature of the sport. There should not be a position where WTC can dictate who gets in and who doesn't. (Sorry Mr. L. Armstrong, you are going to have to qualify like everybody else.) WTC has come up with all these guidelines on how to qualify, but on the other hand, WTC is making a loophole that allows them to let an athlete of their choosing get in to Kona. Who is to say that this wild card spot is not taking the position of someone who legitimately qualifies?

The new points system
I think it's great that WTC wants to implement a points system. However, I don't think it should be the tool to gauge whether an athlete is eligible to qualify for Kona or Clearwater. I think a points system can be used successfully to promote an overall long distance champion, if WTC can successfully work out a good and fair points system combining Ironman and 70.3. WTC could introduce a new title as the best long distance athlete for that year, and maybe even introduce a prize purse for the overall male and female champion. This could encourage athletes to race more Ironman and 70.3 races. I think this is a better way to encourage athletes to race more often. This way, it's the athlete's choice if they want to go for overall points champion or Kona/Clearwater champion. The bottom line is that it would be the athlete's choice and they are not forced to do certain WTC races. (I have some more ideas about this if you wish to talk to me about it. You can always call me. I'm better at explaining this in person.)

Pro licenses
As much as I disagree with having to pay $750 for a pro license, I don't see it going away any time soon. Given that, I think it would be good if there was an opportunity to sign up 2 times in the year (i.e. January 1st and July or August 1st). Both licenses would still run for a 12 month period. This would give athletes the opportunity to sign up later in the year and not have to re-sign again the following January. Also, I think pro athletes should have to be signed up a minimum of 2 months before their first race. This would give WTC the opportunity to drug test those athletes before they race. A second option would be that an athlete can sign up at any time of the year, with the license running for 12 months, but it should still be no less than 2 months before their first race.

The 1 day license
I think this rule goes against everything that WTC originally planned for with their anti-doping control. If athletes were able to get a 1 day license, there is nothing to stop them using banned substances in their build up for races and then coming off the drugs just prior to a race. The 1 day license would not protect the athletes who have paid the $750 for their in and out of competition testing. If WTC is going to charge athletes $750, then WTC assumes responsiblity for making rules that protect the athletes from competing against doping cheats. This new rule just seems like it would be a profit-making scheme.

Creating 'A' and 'B' level races = 2 steps forward, 1 step back
Triathlon is now the fastest growing sport in the world. WTC has taken on the dominant role in the triathlon world. With the new rules, WTC is taking two steps forward and one step back. For example, introducing multiple level division races: an easy solution would be to increase the minimum prize purse for example to $30-35K or more and have no maximum cut-off. WTC is taking a stranglehold over all races and tying the hands of many race directors. For non-WTC races, I think race directors should be given the opportunity to post bigger prize purses if they wish and have more freedom to pursue larger sponsors. It's every race director's dream to put on a big race, so I'm sure they are going to do their best to seek sponsors and offer good prize money. Going to the new system would be one large step backwards. Offering $15,000 for a 70.3 and $25,000 for a fll Ironman is just ludicrous. When that is broken down (for 70.3 'B' race), that's $7,500 split between male and female. If top 5 were paid, that would be a breakdown of something like $3000, $2000, $1000, $750, $250 (I don't know if this is the actual breakdown, but I can't see it being much different). With a breakdown like this, athletes would have to get 3rd just to break even. There is virtually no race you can go to where it doesn't cost less than $1000 to get to. With flights, bike fees, car rentals, accommodation, and the $750 pro license, this would make it extremely hard to be a professional triathlete. This would also severely hinder any athlete looking to race internationally. Foreign athletes would be forced into doing only 'A' grade races. I understand there is also going to be the bigger prize purse races, which is great, but that is how all of the races should be.

Here's a scenario where I think having 'A' and 'B' races will cause a problem for a lot of pros: If an average athlete chooses to race the $15K races throughout the year where the fields will be a lot weaker and this athlete manages to win 3-4 of those races, that athlete can then turn around to sponsors and say he/she is a multiple 70.3 or Ironman champion. He/She can potentially get better sponsors than a better athlete who chooses to race the bigger races and has a great season finishing top 5 but without a win. Sponsors are more inclined to go with athletes who have a 70.3 or Ironman title. This would overshadow the good athlete who raced well in the 'A' races. If the race director wishes to improve their races and put on more prize money, it should be their prerogative. It will only improve the sport and will encourage other race directors to improve their race.

Paying top 5
The new rule implemented this year for only paying top 5 in 70.3 and Ironman is another one of those backward steps. If WTC deems an athlete worthy to pay $750 to be a pro, then they are worthy to be eligible for prize money. I believe all 70.3 races should be a minimum of top 8 paid and Ironman top 10, even if 5th-8th prize money is just enough to cover the athlete's travel expenses. This will encourage athletes to stay in the sport longer.

Race packets for age groupers
On a smaller note, this is not really regarding the pro rules or anything affecting me as a pro, but is something I thought was worth bringing to WTC's attention. I'm only bringing this up due to the large numer of age group athletes who regularly complain to me about this. I really think WTC needs to put in a little bit more effort with the race package bags. As a pro I don't care what I have in mine, but a lot of age groupers have come to me and complained how bad it is. They look forward to getting their race package and when they only have one bottle of eye drops in their bag after paying a large entry fee, they are very disappointed. Some of the athletes have said that even a 70.3 bumper sticker would be good.

Speedsuit rule
Triathlon has always been an innovative sport. The fact that WTC has decided to remove speedsuits from competition as of Sept 1st is another one of the backwards steps WTC is taking. Speedsuits are an even playing field for everyone. There is no real reason for these suits to be removed. All this did was hurt potential sponsors and remove profits from companies who have invested in our sport.

Asthma inhalers
On a closing note (I realize this is going to offend some people), I think WTC needs to have stricter guidelines on the use of asthma inhalers, especially the morning of the race (5+ puffs 15 min before the start). I seriously find it hard to believe that so many pros seem to have asthma. I understand that this is a serious problem for a real asthmatic and I fully support everything that has to be done to avoid a real asthma attack during a race. I'd just like to see a better way of determining who has asthma and who doesn't. (This comment does not apply to true asthmatics and they should not have a problem with my comments. If you are offended, you're probably one of the people I am talking about.)

November 14, 2009: Clearwater 70.3 World Championships
Sorry for the delay in my updates. I'm still sulking and bitter about my amateur mistake in transition. I've never felt better going into a race as I did for Clearwater. My preparation was perfect and I was feeling confident for a great race, especially after setting the course record at the Austin 70.3. Unfortunately, I had a brain fart in transition and picked up the wrong bike bag. Once I realized I had grabbed the wrong bag, I ran back to pick up the correct one. By this time, I had lost 90 seconds. In any other race, this would not be such an issue. However, when there is a 40 man peleton, there was no way I was going to catch up, but I did try. Once I got off the bike, I didn't want to throw in the towel, but it's hard to get motivated when you are running from 40th place. After 10K, I managed to run down a lot of people, which gave me a little bit more fire to try and run back into the top 20. I really pushed hard the last 5K, because someone on the road told me I had a chance at top 10. Unfortunately that person couldn't count. In the end I finished 11th, with one of the fastest run times of the day. The last 5K really hurt me, which worried me a little bit for Ironman Arizona the next weekend.

Congrats to the top 3 in Clearwater for having a great race.

Afterthought: Can someone please tell me why 70.3 has to have this ridiculous transition zone with bags and changing tents? Why can't we go back to traditional transitions with your shoes and helmet at your bike? Just because it's called Ironman 70.3 doesn't mean it's an Ironman race. It's a stupid rule and hopefully one day it will be like every other 70.3 throughout the year. This rule is nearly as bad as the Ironman pro license for next year (stupidity). -- Richie's thoughts

October 25, 2009: Austin 70.3
Having a major race in my home town was not quite as easy as I thought it would be. austin

I've been training really hard for Clearwater and Arizona. The last week when I started to taper it was hard to get into race mode since I was sleeping in my own bed and didn't have to travel. Surprisingly, the swim ended up being a wetsuit swim. With the number of ITU guys coming down to the race, I knew the swim would be an important part of the race. The swim turned out to be really fast, but I got myself in a good position and held it through the entire swim. I started the ride with Bennett. Brian Fleischman had a small lead. I started chasing hard in the first couple of miles, but I didn't feel as good as I was hoping. Bennett came flying past and bridged the gap to Fleischman and pulled away from me, Luke Bell and Cartmell. I struggled through the next 30 miles of the ride with Luke and Fraser doing a lot of the work. Around this time we got a time check to Bennett and he had pulled away to 1:45. I knew if I wanted to win the race, I would have to start pushing to catch him. I moved to the front and started working. Surprisingly I felt better once I started pushing. At mile 50 we got another time check and we had pulled back over a minute. The last 3 miles we managed to close the gap back to Bennett. Going into transition, I realized that the run was going to be nuts. I concentrated on having a fast transition so I could get out on the run first. My race plan was to run the first 3 miles hard and see if I could open up a gap, which I managed to do. I just tried to hold a consistent pace maintaining the lead. In the end I was surprised how good I felt and how quick the run time was. Even though I think the run course was about a minute short, it was still a tough course and I was really happy with my run time. All the long runs have been paying off. It was a great feeling being able to defend my title and get a win in my home town.

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September 13, 2009: Muskoka 70.3
Once again, Muskoka attracted a great field of pros. With a lot of olympic distance athletes racing, the first 400 meters turned out to be a lot harder than I expected. After that, the pace settled back to a normal tempo. Coming out of the water, I was still with Crowie and in the lead group. Barney had opened up a gap in the last couple hundred meters of the swim and was riding off the front really hard. Crowie set out to close the gap as quick as possible. From that point on, I knew I was in for a hard day. For the next 20k, my main focus was to hold onto Crowie. 3/4 of the way through the bike, Barney lifted the pace, which broke the group up and left just me, Crowie and Barney. Coming out of transition, Crowie set off at a crazy pace. I went through the first kilometer in a little under 3:20 (5:20 mile) and Crowie had already opened up a big lead. My legs were still hurting from the ride, which ended up being 10 minutes faster than the year before. Barney was also running extremely well and opened up a small gap on me. I just settled in and tried to hold 3:20's for the kilometers. After about 10k, I managed to close the gap to Barney. We ran together for a few kilometers and then I slowly pulled away. By this time, Crowie was already out of sight. The last 4k I found really dificult and the hilly run course was starting to really hurt my legs. I managed to hold onto second. I was happy with the way the race went as I am just starting to build for my Clearwater and Arizona races later in the year.

September 7, 2009: Austin Triathlon
It was a lot of fun to race in my new home town. Sleeping in your own bed before a race is how it should be for every race. Getting on my bike and riding a mile to the swim start makes life a lot easier. Suprisingly, I actually led the swim out. I think that was the first time in my career. It gave me a chance to start the bike in the lead. With Andrew Yoder chasing hard from behind, I knew I had to ride hard from the start. I managed to build a great lead on the bike, which enabled me to have a relaxed run and save my energy for the Muskoka 70.3 six days later.

July 24, 2009: New Sponsor - CeraSport
I'm excited to announce that I'm now a Cera Sport athlete. I was looking to improve my nutrition, because I didn't think the products I had been using were good enough to meet my nutritional needs. I needed to get it all ironed out perfectly since I'm going to be doing an Ironman at the end of the year and nutrition plays as big a part of the race as fitness does. My friend, Mirinda Carfrae recommended Cera Sport as a new option. I think Cera Sport is going to be more than just a sponsor for me. I just moved down to Austin, TX last week and it's been over 100 degrees every day. I've found that I haven't been as thirsty as I expected to be training in the heat. Cera Sport has proven to be so good that even hospitals and some branches of the military have started using them to hydrate their patients. I'm already noticing the difference using it in my training as I've been able to ride in the middle of the day down here in Austin and then train later in the day without any hydration problems. Can't wait to start using Cera Sport in my races.

May 17, 2009: Columbia Triathlon
Me swim hard. Me ride hard (well, I thought I rode hard). Me run hard. Still not good enough. Winter has really hurt me this year. Hopefully next year I can come back feeling better as I feel like it's one of the best olympic distance races in America.

May 7, 2009: Schedule Update
I have decided to withdraw from Frankfurt Ironman and focus on more on 70.3's this year. I'm still planning on doing an Ironman later this year, possibly Arizona.

May 3, 2009: St. Croix 70.3
The three or four days leading into the race were extremely windy. I was stressing that the race was going to be one of those brutal windy hot St. Croix days. Luckily, race morning the wind died off and the heat stayed away, making for perfect race conditions. Dirk Bockel made it clear from the start that he was going for the swim prem, so everyone settled into a fast but relaxed pace. There was quite a large pack for the first couple of miles of the bike. I didn't feel that great early on. Rhodsey worked hard for the first part of the ride until we got to the beast. I managed to get first over the top of the beast, making it the third year in a row winning the bike prem. After the beast, the pack had thinned out quite a lot and we were down to a 5 man group. The pace remained really high throughout the rest of the ride. Toward the end of the ride I started to cramp and was struggling to hold the group. Heading out on the run, Rhodsey, Dirk, and Igor had a 50 second gap on me. I felt really good the first 3 miles and chased hard, catching Rhodsey early and quickly closing on Dirk and Igor. Me and Tim ran side by side for the first 3 or 4 miles. I started to feel really good running through the golf course and Tim dropped off. Unfortunately my good legs didn't last much longer than that. Heading back out on the second lap, for some reason I bonked really badly. I'm not sure whether it was nutrion during the race or lack of bike mileage throughout the winter, but for the next 6 miles, I really had to dig deep and hurt to hold onto third. I managed to stay on the podium for the 5th year in a row. Looks like that win will have to wait until next year.

April 26, 2009: St. Anthony's Olympic Distance
Once again St. Anthony's attracted a world class field. For those who were there, they know how bad the swim was. We woke up to perfect conditions, apart from the choppy water. The race director, Philip, had no choice but to cancel the swim for the age groupers. I totally support his decision as I wasn't looking forward to swimming myself. It definetly made for a challenging but enjoyable race. I lined up next to Matt Reed knowing that with his long legs he'd be out in front early. I tried to stay with him as long as possible, but it was extremely hard to see anything with the beating I was getting from the waves. I came out of the water in the top 10, happy that I'd survived the swim. Everybody put the hammer down right from the start on the bike. I could still feel my winter legs as I just couldn't get into a good rhythm. I struggled throughout the whole ride. Going into the run after the first couple hundred meteres Andy Raelert pulled up next to me. For the first few miles I just sat in on Andy and Matt Chrabot. The three of us battled it out for 5 1/2 miles. Luckily my legs held out and I was able to kick down the last half mile to pull away from Andy and secure a 4th spot. I just want to thank Philip Lahaye, the race organizer for putting on another great race.

March 4, 2009: Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, CA
I have discovered the best pre race meal. After going for a run warm up on Saturday, I went for breakfast with Dede and a couple of her athletes. She knew a great place to get a kick ass pancake. It's called a man hole cover. Check it out:

With a good feed in my belly, I knew I was ready for a good race. What could go wrong after a big feed like that? This year we got lucky with the water temperature. It was a huge 58 degrees instead of 55 like last year. It seemed like everybody turned up for the first race of the year and with a lot of guys coming from world cup, the swim turned out to be extremely fast. I managed to get in a good position early in the swim and just held on until the end. The new xterra wetsuit that I got made life a lot easier (it's fast). Once again, we had to play catch up to Andy, who built up good lead out of the water. This was my first 70.3 on the new bike. After 10-15K, I knew I had made the right decision for the season riding the Ridley Dean. The tempo remained high for the entire ride. With perfect weather conditions, everyone was jamming on the bike. Coming into transition, we had all regrouped. The first 3 miles of the run was super fast. I tried to go out with Matt Reed, but he was on a mission. His tempo was too fast for me that early in the season. He slowly pulled away from the group. The first 10K turned out to be a good fight between Andy, Luke and myself. Andy slowly pulled away and opened up a lead on me and Luke. Around 11K, I managed to pull away from Luke. The early high pace paid it's toll around 17K. When Ronnie Schildknecht caught me, I was unable to go with him. I held on for 4th, which I was really happy with as my time was over 15 minutes faster than last year. It was an extremely fast day all around. Congrats to Matt Reed for his first 70.3 win. I'd also like to thank Saucony for the new sponsoring for this year. I really enjoyed racing in their shoes.

March 8, 2009: Coming Out of Hibernation
It was almost warm enough today to bike outside. Not quite though (I'm a wimp). I managed to sneak out of Boston twice this winter to go to St. Petersberg and Austin to train and now I'm heading back down to Austin in the middle of this week. Hopefully by the time I get back the snow will be all melted. The computrainer has really saved my ass this winter. I'd be a grouchy bastard if I had to spend the whole winter staring at my wall on the wind trainer. I raced the half marathon in St Petersberg last weekend for a good workout and to see where my fitness was at for the season. Though the race ended up being harder than I thought due to the 45 mph winds, I was still happy to come away with a win and 4 days of extremely painful legs. Now I have 4 weeks until my first major race for the season, which will be Oceanside 70.3. Hopefully I get enough training done down in Austin to be ready for the race. Good luck to everyone with their season.

December 20, 2008: The End of My Season
It's been a while since I've updated my site. In September and October I was just trying to focus on training for Austin 70.3 and Clearwater. richie cunningham phuket triathlon

Taking my dog to the park took up all my spare time. Now that I'm back from Thailand I can get everything up to date. Here's a brief update on all the races I've done since Muskoka.

After Muskoka, I realized I was lacking a lot of fitness on the bike, so I went looking an olympic distance race to do. I decided to race Westchester, NY, which I did a few years earlier when it was an ITU points race. It turned out to be a lot harder race than I expected. A lot of guys rode hard. I ended up finishing second, but still needed a lot more work on the bike. After that race I spent the next few weeks doing a lot of riding.

The next race was Austin 70.3. I had been looking forward to this race the whole year. It was my plan the whole year to try and win that race, as I have a lot of friends there and I wanted to win it for one of my sponsors, Jack and Adams, which is based out of Austin (so if anyone is ever in Austin and looking for a great bike shop, Jack and Adams is the place to go). All my training worked out perfectly for the race. I felt really confident on my run because of the new run program I was following, which my old coach from school, Dave Bullock, wrote up for me. I finally regained my fitness on the bike and I came into transition with the main group, just under 4 minutes behind Kieran Doe. I chased hard right from the start and after 5 miles, I caught Kieran and Joe Gambles. The run course was quite challenging, being windy on one side and hilly on the other. I managed to pull away from Joe, who was also having a cracker race. I ended up running a 1:15 on the course, which gave me a lot of confidence leading into Clearwater.

I stayed down in Austin for a couple of weeks for a two week training camp, because it was starting to get a little chilly in Boston. I ended up doing all my training alone since everyone had gone to Hawaii. I decided not to take any recovery after the race and just went into a two week training block. After Austin I had to go home because my mut missed me.

I followed the same routine as the last two years and went down to Clearwater with Rinny (Mirinda Carfrae), Joe, and Thomo the week before the race to do my final taper. That whole week I felt really relaxed and confident that I had done all the right training.

Race morning yet again turned out to be perfect weather. I got a great start in the swim and managed to get onto Andy Raelert's feet, where I stayed for the rest of the swim. The first 10k of the bike was fast, with a lot of guys trying to position themselves near the front. Joe Gambles moved to the front and lifted the pace for the next 10-15k. Around 20k, Galindez made his way to the front and from then on the speed lifted to a ridiculous 45/46 k average. Around 35k, the speed became nuts as the front guys went after the Timex bike bonus. The group started to split at this point. The next 10k was probably the hardest 10k I've ever had to ride in my life. I was totally red-lining just to hold the front group in sight. I managed to get back onto the front group around 50k. With 10k to go, Galindez, Colucci and Torenzo managed to slip away and open up a 45 second gap leading into transition. Leaving transition, I realized I had to catch the front 3 as quickly as possible to have any chance of getting on the podium. During the first mile, I started to panic as my legs were still on fire from the insane bike ride. After the first mile, I got back into a good running rhythm and I was starting to pull back time on Galindez and Colucci. I managed to catch up to Galindez and then a mile later caught Colucci. Torenzo was still out the front and running really strong. Going over the bridge for the second time, I managed to get rid of Galindez and Colucci. At this point I thought I was feeling really confident and second was looking really good. That didn't last too long as Andy Raelert came flying past me. I tried to go with him for a little bit but my legs told me I was kidding myself as Andy was on a 1:10 half marathon pace. With a mile to go, I realized I had third place sewn up, so I just ran to the finish enjoying the crowd and the great atmosphere. There was not much more I could have done during the race and I was really happy to be on the podium for the second time in the last three years.

After the awards ceremony, we all headed to one of the local bars, which turned out to be even more fun than the race, with everyone getting extremely drunk and having a great time. I tried to put on my good dance moves and get up on stage with Chris Legh, but the bouncers were intimidated by our killer dancing skills and kicked us off. Rinny did us proud though and managed to stay on stage. I guess she had better moves than we did. I was more sore the next morning from the drinking than I was from the race.

I went to St. Croix for the island classic race there to defend my win from the year before. It wasn't pretty. I hardly trained all week (possibly because of all the alcohol I had on Sunday night). Ohh good times.

After St. Croix, I returned home for one day and then flew directly back to Australia to take my girlfriend on a holiday back home. With Phuket triathlon still to come, I had to force myself out the door each day to do at least a little training. Phuket went surprisingly well considering the lack of training I did. I think I must have been totally rested. Leaving transition onto the run, I was in the same position as last year, with me and Mossimo going head to head. I managed to open up a gap around 4k and held it to the finish line. After 5 years, I finally accomplished my goal of getting to run to the finish line with a baby elephant. Phuket has the best finish line. Running with an elephant was awesome, but I think the sneaky bastard put in a late surge just before the line and got me by a trunk. Once again, the after part turned into a drinking festival with me, Rinny and Chris. This time, Chris and I got to show off our moves on stage (not pretty).

After Phuket, I flew home to Australia for a couple of days and now I'm back in Boston stuck in the shitty snow. I don't know who hates the cold more - me or Sam (my dog). This morning, me and Melissa (girlfriend) took him to the park. Last night we had a huge snow storm and he got to play in the snow for the first time. He ran around like a spastic in his spandex suit, sweater, winter coat, and booties. He lasted about 20 minutes and then wanted to go home. He's high maintenance.

September 14, 2008: Ironman 70.3 Triathlon, Muskoka, Canada
I was really looking forward to doing this race all year. It was nice to race in a beautiful place and on a demanding bike and run course. The start list was looking really hot until the morning of the race when 2 or 3 athletes pulled out. The swim went really well and I exited the water 3rd behind Simon and Brent. It was a long tough run to transition, which really hurt my legs for the first 10k of the bike. Crowie came flying past me just after leaving transition on the bike. I was unable to follow him for the first couple of k's, which resulted in me chasing the front 3 for the next 60k. I could always see the leaders but couldn't quite bridge the gap. I finally managed to catch up around 75k. Coming out of transition, Crowie and Brent took off at a crazy pace. My race plan was just to run strong and get through the run course. Me and Simon closed the gap back to Brent and then I managed to pull away and open up a lead, which I was able to hold for the rest of the race. Despite the constant rain and cold, I was really happy with the race. Congrats to Crowie for winning. With this form, I think he can go on to win Kona.

August 24, 2008: Lifetime Fitness Series Triathlon, Chicago IL
I was pleased with the way I went in Chicago considering I hadn't really tapered for the race since I was trying to focus all my training on end of the season with Muskoka, Austin, and World Champs as my main focus. It was quite a strong field. The bike was really fast as everyone had to chase the leader, Matt Reed. I felt good through the first 2-3 miles of the run and then the heavy training load caught up to me and I had a large bonk. I was still able to hold on for 6th place. Next day was my birthday. Happy Birthday to me. Where's all my presents?

July 27, 2008: Ironman 70.3 Triathlon, Newfoundland, Canada
For once, flying to the race, I ended up being the lucky one. I arrived on time with my bike and bags. Most of the others weren't so lucky. Rinny had to wait two days for her bike to come, Crowie spent a day sightseeing around America only to end up 12 hrs later arriving back at the same airport he left in the morning, and Paul Matthews' flight was cancelled and spent 3 days getting to the race - his bike finally arrived at 10pm the night before the race. Destination races may be beautiful to see, but they are a pain in the ass to get to. Race day turned out to be nice and warm. It's so good to do a race that starts a little later (at 8am). It wasn't a large field, but certainly had a lot of quality. The swim was fairly low key. Paul and Brent slipped away and had a minute going into transition. Me and Crowie then settled in to chase down the lead two. Crowie managed to bridge across to the front group. Poor Paul's troubles continued after receiving a very dodgy drafting penalty. The bike was quite difficult with a solid head wind. Heading into T2, Crowie and Brent had about a minute and a half lead. Starting off on the run, I could see them running head to head and I knew I was going to have to run hard to at least catch one of them. At the turn around, I noticed Crowie had started to pull away from Brent, so I set my sights on catching him. With the final turn around at 15k, I realized Brent had pulled out, which left me in second place. It was good to get back to back second places. Now I look forward to a couple of weeks of training before Chicago.

July 13, 2008: Ironman 70.3 Triathlon, Providence, Rhode Island
It was great to actually be able to drive to a race. The triathlon ended up having a really strong field. The swim was a normal swim. Leaving transition, Paul Ambrose put the gas down straight away and rode extremely strong all the way to the front group. With a tailwind, the pace was high. Once Oscar Galindez caught up, the pack split. After 4 weeks of feeling down, it was good to finally feel better on the bike. Coming into transition, I was just over 2 minutes down on Oscar and Paul. I started to chase hard to pull back as much time as I could early. I was feeling pretty good until I hit the hill. Once over the top, I found my rhythm and set off chasing the leaders again. I was feeling pretty good and then another unexpected wall hit me:

This wall included a hood, windscreen, and some asphalt on my ass. I didn't realize that steeple chase was part of the race course. I tried to jump over the car before it hit me. I avoided getting run over but still ended up ass first into the windscreen.

Once I picked myself up off of the ground I was still able to think clearly and just wanted to get back into the race, but my legs didn't seem to want to cooperate and were all wobbly. After a few hundred meters, I regained control of them and set off after the leaders again. I managed to fight my way to second place. Crossing the finish line, I went straight to the medical tent to get the rest of the glass plucked off my butt and back. Overall, I enjoyed the race and the tough course, minus the obstacles.

June 15, 2008: Ironman 70.3 Triathlon, Lawrence, Kansas
Finished 7th. A lot of effort for no pay. Sometimes I think what's the point.

June 8, 2008: Eagleman 70.3 Triathlon
Eagleman turned out to be another hard fought race. There was a lot of controversy regarding drafting. The race day was super hot and made it difficult for everyone. Paul Amey and Terenzo both had a great race. I managed to struggle through the run to hold onto third. The heat really knocked me around and it has taken me several weeks to recover fully.

May 18, 2008: Columbia Olympic Distance Triathlon
The Columbia triathlon is a great race if you want to get the european feel for triathlon racing. The swim is in a little lake. The bike course is challenging but scenic and enjoyable. It's good to find a race that has a bike course with some hills and a challenging run through the parks and back streets of the local area. The race started off fairly relaxed without too much stress on the swim. Once on the bike, Chris Lieto didn't waste any time in proving that he's one of the best riders in triathlon. After about 5k, he had already opened up a lead. With Macca doing a lot of the chase work, I was just riding to hold on. In the last couple of miles, me, Macca and Greg started passing athletes that we had already passed earlier in the race. We didn't know if it was them or us that had gone the wrong way. In the end, it was us. Greg and Macca opened up a small gap coming into transition. I didn't know what position I was in because of our detour. I chased hard for the first 2 miles but my feet were still numb from the swim. I finally managed to warm up around 3 miles and that is when someone told me I was 5 minutes behind Lieto. In the end, I was still happy to manage 4th place.

May 4, 2008: Ironman 70.3 Triathlon, St. Croix, Virgin Islands
The new bike was great, even in the hills. It got me up the beast the quickest to win the bike prime. Once again, Crowie pulled out a phenomenal run to pull back the two break away riders and win. I tried to go with him the first couple of miles. Averaging 5:30's for the first 2 miles was a little quick for me on that course. I managed to run down one of the guys to finish 3rd.

April 27, 2008: St. Anthony's Triathlon, Tampa, FL
5th place on my new bike - 1:50.39. Next week, I'm off to St. Croix to compete in the 70.3 Ironman triathlon.

March 29, 2008: Ironman 70.3 Triathlon, California
I finished my first triathlon of the season with a 5th place in a time of 4:05:38.

Richie Cunningham Professional Triathlete

Richie Cunningham
Professional Triathlete