Hoffman and Rollison win Ironman 70.3 Muncie
Hoogland places seventh, and Poulsen gets ninth.
American Ben Hoffman exited Prairie Creek Reservoir in third (26:08), then rode the top split of the day (2:01:11) to take a generous lead of a little over four minutes onto the run. His 1:18:31 half marathon secured the overall race win (3:48:14) and the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Muncie title (for 31 years the race was formerly known as the Muncie Endurathlon). Fellow American Mike Caiazzo, posted the top run split (1:16:07), to move from eighth to second (3:53:12), and Great Britain’s Rich Allen claimed third (3:54:18). Orilla’s Brent Poulsen ran 1:18:29 to move from 17th to ninth position (3:59:17).
On the women’s side, Great Britain’s Leanda Cave dominated early but fell apart during the run. Her top splits of 27:19 for the swim, and 2:14:34 for the bike gave her a hefty 4 and a half-minute lead over her closest rivals. Regardless, American Melissa Rollison ran her down (1:19:19) for the win in 4:08:48. Kelly Williamson did the same thanks to a 1:20:21 run to get second (4:12:19), and Cave held on for third (4:12:35). Ottawa’s Tenille Hoogland faded slightly during the run to finish seventh (4:24:30), and Victoria’s Melanie McQuaid took a break from the off-road world to close out the top ten women (4:43:57).
Top 10 Men
1 Hoffman, Ben 3:48:14
2 Caiazzo, Mike 3:53:12
3 Allen, Rich 3:54:18
4 Umphenour, Joe 3:55:12
5 Bretscher, Daniel 3:55:36
6 Abel, Torsten 3:56:40
7 McDaniel, Joe 3:57:08
8 McKenzie, Luke 3:57:47
9 Poulsen, Brent (CAN)Â 3:59:17
10 Krylov, Stanislav 3:59:55
Top 10 Women
1 Rollison, Melissa 4:08:48
2 Williamson, Kelly 4:12:19
3 Cave, Leanda 4:12:35
4 Shapiro, Margaret 4:18:20
5 Griesbauer, Dede 4:20:55
6 Meyers, Jessica 4:22:35
7 Hoogland, Tenille (CAN)Â 4:24:30
8 Sym, Christie 4:25:54
9 Oldfield, Madeleine 4:32:51
10 McQuaid, Melanie (CAN)Â 4:43:57