PROVO — The idea of winning the Utah Half-Ironman never crossed the mind of Canada native Lisa Bentley.
"I came to this race for the passion of my sport," she said. "I just wanted to race here for fun and have a good time."
But Bentley had more than a good time on Saturday as she captured the Women's title of the Utah Half-Ironman with an over all time of four hours, 23 minutes and 17 seconds.
Winning the event was not easy for Bentley as she trailed Monica Caplan of Boulder, Colo., by more than eight minutes after the swim and bike portion of the race. During the 13.1 mile run Bentley caught Caplan at mile 10 to earn the win.
"I really didn't think about winning," Bentley said. "Winning was just a bonus. I find it easier to get into a good rhythm by running fast. My running is feeling pretty good at the moment."
The run has always been Bentley's strongest portion of the Ironman competition. In past events she has made up as much as 12-13 minutes in the run.
"Lisa is a great runner and running is definitely my weakness," Caplan said.
The men's champion of the Half-Ironman was Cameron Brown of New Zealand.
Bjorn Andersson (Sweden) had led the entire race until Brown caught him with less than 600 meters left in the run.
"I am extremely disappointed to be passed by so late," Andersson said.
"But I got beat by a better athlete. I was really tired the last two miles."
Brown is no stranger to Ironman events. For three straight years he has finished first in Ironman New Zealand. In 2001 he finished second the World Championships.
"Running is definitely my strong suit," Brown said. "There are always places I can improve in. This gave me a race to see how my training was going."
While Brown and Bentley and many of the pro athletes left happy about there performances there were also many that left feeling bitter about the competition.
For the second straight year the swim portion of the race was canceled because of high winds. This year only the 50 pro status triathletes were allowed to do the swim because of 15 miles-per-hourwinds at Utah Lake. The swim was canceled last year because of wind gusts of up to 40 mph.
The decision to only allow the pros to swim left over 700 athletes in age groups upset about the decision.
"It's a complete bummer," Ed Lauder of Salt Lake said. "It's a shame because part of the triathlon is the swim. That is what makes it epic. We've trained, and we're good swimmers. We may not be as fast as the pros but we are certainly as strong. I think it was doable."
As soon as the swim was canceled many of the age group athletes left saying they would never come back to Utah if the event returns. Next week North America Ironman President Graham Fraser will meet with Provo city officials to discuss the future of the race. Fraser made the final call to only allow the pro's swim.
"No one is going to come here," Murray Mccutcheom of Vancouver, Canada said. "I don't think people want to get bitten three times."
While many athletes understood the decision, they still wished they would have had the option to swim saying the waves at Utah Lake were nothing compared to previous places they have swam in.
"I do appreciate them looking out for our safety especially after last year," Courtney Flake of Austin, Texas said. "I think they were being over cautious this year. I bet you they won't have this next year. I feel like they should have given us the option."
Even though the pros finished the swim many still struggled in the event and agreed with the decision to cancel the swim for the age group level athletes.
"It was quite scary out there," Brown said on the swim. "You couldn't see a lot of the time. It was the right decision to cancel the swim for the age groupers."
The first athlete from Utah to cross the finish line was 25-year old BJ Christensen. Christensen just finished his eligibility running track at the University of Utah and finished the race in just under five hours. Brad Anderson was the second Utah native to finish the race. Over 200 athletes from Utah competed in the Utah Half-Ironman.
Final Results
Men
1- Cameron Brown (New Zealand) 3:57:15
2- Bjorn Andersson (Sweden) 3:57:21
3- Michael Lovato (Boulder, Co.) 3:57:32
4- Tony DeBoom (Boulder, Co.) 3:58:40
5- Craig Alexander (Carlsbad, Ca.) 3:59:27
6- Raynard Tissink (South Africa) 4:03:31
7- Peter Reid (Canada) 4:05:27
8- Matt Seeley (Montana) 4:07:21
9- Matthew Clark (Australia) 4:14:23
10- Thaddeus Reichley (Aspen, Co.) 4:15:01
Women
1- Lisa Bentley (Canada) 4:23:17
2- Monica Caplan (Boulder, Co.) 4:27:33
3- Heather Fuhr (Encinitas, Ca.) 4:32:45
4- Joanna Lawn (New Zealand) 4:36:57
5- Jenny Tobin (Boise, Id.) 4:38:55
6- Mary Uhl (Santa Fe, NM) 4:40:33
7- Lynley Allison (New Zealand) 4:41:09
8- Dolly Ginter (Irvine, Ca.) 4:43:55
9- Amanda Gillam (Boulder, Co.) 4:47:09
10- Rhonda Guzda (Canada) 4:58:34