2010 Florida Ironman Triathlon another great event!
Panama City Beach hosted another epic endurance event this past Saturday, the Ironman Florida 2010. Top athletes from all over the world descended upon the sugar white sand beaches of Panama City Beach to compete in the prestigious Ironman Triathlon series. A total of 2,478 athletes showed up fit and ready to begin their journey on a cool Saturday morning with the professional athletes starting at 6:50am and the armatures starting promptly at 7am.
It is an amazing sight to see 2,500 athletes run for the water at the same time to swim 2.4 miles and then rush over to the transition area to get geared up to bike 112 miles and then run a full marathon of 26.2 miles. This years race was like most races in the past with a cold front coming through days before the event and offered a chilly morning of 42 degrees when they entered the water. The cold weather did not deter spectators and friends and family members of the athletes from coming out and showing their support. I would estimate about 6,000 to 7,000 spectators were present at the start of the race with all of them standing in our sugary white sand beaches watching one of the most amazing fall sunrises!
James Cunnama set the fastest time to win the event overall with a time of 8:15:29 and Jessica Jacobs was the fastest female with an blazing fast time of 9:07:49. Top pro athletes were not the only ones making a showing. We had several local triathletes set some amazing times…Panama City native, Trappe finished the triathlon in 11 hours, 7 minutes, 5 seconds to record the best time of the 20 local competitors. Her time, which was 12 minutes faster than her finish in 2009 when she also finished first among the local crop of competitors, placed her third overall in the women’s 18-24 age group.
Trappe completed the swim in 1:06:32, less than 2 minutes slower than Ironman Florida champion Jessica Jacobs’ 1:04:37. Trappe cruised through the bike course in 5:26:51 and ended the marathon portion of the race in 4:24:10.
Kent Nonaka of Panama City Beach was the top male finisher from the area, completing the race in 11:33:08. His commendable effort included a swim of 1:10:24, bike of 5:16:32 and run of 4:46:56.
Those who believe youth is wasted on the young haven’t met some of the local triathletes competing in Saturday’s race. A number of local triathletes posted times that belied their age.
Barbara Smith of Panama City and James Graner of Lynn Haven both cracked the 12-hour barrier. Competing in the women’s 50-54 age group, Smith finished the race in 11:58:55, the second fastest time of any local woman. Graner sneaked in under that milestone by one second, finishing in 11:59:59 in the men’s 50-54 division and was second to Nonaka among local male finishers. The area’s oldest participant, Norton Schlachter of Santa Rosa Beach, posted a solid time of 13:50:18 in the men’s 60-64 age group.
The locals had a awesome showing at this years Ironman Florida! Full Results for 2010 Ironman Florida in Panama City Beach.
Local men’s finishers
* Kent Nonaka, Panama City Beach (45-49) 11:33:08
* James Graner, Lynn Haven (50-54) 11:59:59
* Joe Fritz, Panama City Beach (55-59) 12:11:23
* Cal Partlow, Ft. Walton Beach (45-49) 12:33:56
* Ronald Branham, Panama City Beach (45-49) 12:56:41
* Stephen Smith, Panama City (50-54) 13:10:58
* David Early, Panama City (40-44) 13:17:13
* Jeffrey Ellis, Santa Rosa Beach (45-49) 13:42:30
* Norton Schlachter, Santa Rosa Beach (60-64) 13:50:18
* James Ripple, Panama City Beach (30-34) 14:14:45
* Tony Bennett, Panama City (45-49) 14:31:10
* Dan Ader, Panama City (35-39) 14:37:19
* Dylan Floyd, Panama City (25-29) 14:44:54
* Christopher Dorris, Panama City Beach (35-39) 15:37:14
* Terry Butler, Panama City Beach (45-49) 16:16:22
Local women’s finishers
* Cari Trappe, Panama City (18-24) 11:07:05
* Barbara Smith, Panama City (50-54) 11:58:55
* Carla Dorsch, Panama City Beach (30-34) 12:48:23
* Chloe Elfrink, Panama City Beach (30-34) 12:56:18
* Christina Delameter, Marianna (35-39) 13:35:53
* Erica Hayes, Panama City (25-29) 14:16:28
* Bobbie McClain, Panama City Beach (25-29) 15:40:54
* Lori Hast, Lynn Haven (40-44) 16:09:58
Here are some great pictures and video of the start of Ironman Florida 2010. After the start, I was volunteering at the transition area so I had to put the camera away…
