Bentley wins in the Philippines

Caledon’s Lisa Bentley claimed her 11th Ironman 70.3 win (to go along with 11 Ironman titles) at the inaugural Cobra 70.3 in Camarines Sur, Philippines. Bentley endured the severe heat to come from behind to earn her triumph (4:24:29). The Aussie pair of Gina Kehr (4:26:11), and Charlotte Paul (4:31:26), finished second and third.

“The heat and humidity were unbelievable – way hotter than any Kona conditions or any race I have ever competed in. I did not run very fast out of transition, but I was running faster than others and I moved into first place within the first kilometer,” explained Bentley. “From that stage on, it was survival for me and a lot of positive thinking. I literally was just running from corner to corner and reminding myself to be light and to run with quick turnover. It literally felt like running in an oven.”

The men’s race featured a final run battle between three big stars of the sport. In the end New Zealand’s Terenzo Bozzone (3:51:25) outlasted Australia’s Chris McCormack (3:52:18) and fellow Kiwi Cameron Brown (3:52:31) for the race win.

“Macca left transition at a crazy pace that I didn’t match. He gained a 30 sec lead, but was always in my sights,” said Bozzone. “At about  seven km I caught back up. We ran together for five km. Brownie was not too far behind and we were dying. I got a bit of a gap on Macca and didn’t want to slow as I knew Brownie was close and he looked like he was running fast. I made the last turn around at 15 km and was home bound, but I really started to struggle. I managed to hang on for the win, but my insides were cooking.”