S4E4 -- Ultraman Arizona 2023 Race Preview

Ultraman Arizona 2023 takes place from March 17 - 19.  I have returning to the podcast, race director, Jen McVeay, and the 515 announcer extraordinaire, Steve King to preview the athletes competing in this year's race. 

It is a smaller field with just 3 women and 19 men, but some great athletes will be vying to set the official race records in their respective age groups and overall, as last year’s race (the inaugural) had to cancel the swim due to poor water conditions.

Join us as we discuss the resumes of these Ultra athletes so you know who to follow through the race socials for updates.

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/ultramanarizona/
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/UltramanArizona

Also, as part of a double episode release this week, I have S4E5 also dropping simultaneously.  Check out my Athlete in Profile for UMAZ with Shane Duffy.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Ultraman Florida
• Ultraman Arizona
• Paris Brest Paris
• The Goldrush
• Boston Montreal Boston
• IM Canada
• IM Waco
• Rotary Club
• IM Switzerland
• RAAM
• IM Arizona
• IM St. George
• Siberman 515
• IM Cozumel
• Ironman World Championships
• 70.3 IM Victoria
• Monument Valley 50k Ultra Run
• Certified Piedmontese Beef 
• Slowtwitch Media
• Ultraman World Championships
• UMUK Wales
• El Plan
• IM Chattanooga
• IM Lake Placid
• Florida Extreme
• Boston Marathon
• HURT 100
• TRT 100 mile
• IM Sacramento
• LavaMan
• Alaska Man Extreme
• Grant Schennen Law

 Shout outs and mentions in this episode:

• Jeremy Howard  (S2E8)
• James Scanlan
• Aaron Felsheim
• Carlos Poggi
• Kiel Ormerod
• Sarah Bird
• Keri Mandell
• Chris Draper
• Cynthia Bartus
• Steve Thompson
• Mary Latza 
• Randy Latza 
• Karen Bonnett
• Pam Reed
• Vedant Nangare
• Billy Rickards
• Pierce Showe
• Jesse Itzler
• Mason Teuber
• Andy Mally
• Maksim Knyazev (S1 E4)  
• Mohammad Kotb
• Thomas Melburn
• Shane Peed
• Dede Griesbauer (S3E13)
• Eric Wynn 
• Juan “Chamba” Bautista Castilla Arroyo
• Steve Keller (S2E8) 
• Davide Proserpio
• Armando Armellini
• Rich Chudzik
• Zack Powell
• Joe Alfieri 
• Michael Kowalski
• Guillermo Tijerina  
• Adrian Delgado
• Amir Yunus
• Alana Yunus
• Roman Gratteri
• Baher Abdelgawad
• Kelly Mulvaney 
• Kyle Powers 
• Nick Turley 
• Juan Craveri 
• Shane Duffy (S4E5)
• Larry Ryan (that’s me)
• Mark Moody 
• Michael Mcguire
• Caroline Bloom (S2E3)
• Simon Shurey
• Adam Grant  
• Tim Cronk

Show Contributors:
Host : Larry Ryan
Contributing Raconteur : Steve King
Announcer : Mary Jo Dionne
Production : 5Five Enterprises
Music  :  Run by 331

For show notes and past guests, please visit the Podcast Website: https://515theultrapodcast.buzzsprout.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/515TheUltraPodcast
Insta : 515theultrapodcast
Email : 515Ultraman@gmail.com

Transcript

Larry 0:35

Starting next Friday. Stick around after for an athlete in profile with Australian Shane Duffy, who is attempting a 515 first.

Ultraman Florida review

Larry 0:47

I am so happy to have my first two guests back again for this episode of 515 the Ultra Podcast. We were all together just a couple episodes ago for the Ultraman Florida preview race. And today we get together again to preview Ultraman Arizona, which will be taking place on March the 17th through the 19th in the Valley of the Sun, Phoenix, Arizona. Welcome back to the show, The Voice of Ultraman, Mr. Steve King.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Thanks very much, Larry. Once again, happy to be here with you.

Larry 1:17

It's great to have you. And leading the three-ring circus that will be the Ultraman race is the race director of the event, Jen McVay. Hello, Jen.

SPEAKER_03 1:27

Hey Larry, good to see you again.

Larry 1:29

Nice seeing you guys again. This is actually the first time I've spoken to both of you since we did the preview for Florida. So I would like to hear from you guys what you thought of the race. Jen, maybe you can give us a few of the highlights from uh your perspective as the race director and the person who brings all these people together.

SPEAKER_03 1:48

Well, in my view, it was uh it was a great event. We had an amazing staff. Uh, I think we had like 15 alumni finishers on the staff. Four of those were Ultraman Florida champions. So that was pretty cool. Um and we had just a great group of athletes, uh really diverse group, some really fun crews, and and there were a lot of great stories that happened out there. Uh you know Jeremy Howard. Jeremy Howard ended up winning the whole thing. We had a really spectacular run record set. Steve can tell you a little bit about that. Uh, we had a dog uh lock the car keys in a vehicle on day three, so that was exciting. So it it turned out to be just a great event and um just really proud of all of our athletes that towed the line out there.

Larry 2:43

It looked like a great event from following it just on the on the social media. Steve, how about you? Do you want to share some of the interesting stories that unfolded or maybe some of your highlights?

SPEAKER_00 2:53

Sure. I mean, uh the highlights began almost straight away in the swim when we saw Jeremy taking off, and the gap just got wider and wider. He had a 40-minute lead just going off onto the bike alone. So it was incredible to see how things unfolded from that point because there was a gentleman in 22nd position out of the swim who made his way up by having uh the fastest bike ride on day two, and then the fastest run, as Jen alluded to, with a new record by 22 minutes with a 635. That was James Scanlon, who's actually going to be racing again in Arizona. And uh Erin or A.A. Ron Felsheim was the third place. So it was good to see him up there because uh you know, people come and they've helped others. It's good to see them getting out there on the road. We uh we had a good battle between an Ecuadorian Carlos Poggy and the Canadian Kyle Ormerod. There was only five seconds separated them at the end of the three days. And when you look at the women's field, and of course, sadly, uh there are always some people who don't quite make it. There were six people who didn't make it as official finishers. Um, but in the women's division, you may remember Sarah Byrd, who was unable to finish the run portion last year. I think she surprised herself by coming away with the win this year. So it's really nice to see that level of surprise and uh the number of uh people who are so, so honored to be part of the race at the awards. It was wonderful to hear the tributes they made, especially to Jen and her team, because she has uh she's an amazing race director, and with the support she has, it's a first-class team, and the organization was just exceptional as always.

Larry 4:31

Oh, that sounds great. That sounds great. Well, uh I

2023 Race Demographics

Larry 4:35

you haven't had much rest from uh pulling that event off, Jen, and we're we're right into Arizona here. Why don't you tell us a little bit about the the people that are coming to Arizona? Maybe start with our countries that are represented as we usually do, and a little breakdown of our age groups.

SPEAKER_03 4:52

Sure. We've got seven countries represented and nine states of the United States represented. Uh the countries that'll be represented this year are USA, of course, Australia, Egypt, England, India is represented, Italy, and then we've got one friend from Spain coming over to visit us. And then for our age groups, uh we have 19 men and three women racing with us. In our men's category, we've got two in the 20 to 29 uh age group, we've got five in the 30 to 39 age group, eight in the 40 to 49 men's age group, and four in the 50 to 59 men's age group. For the women, we've got three ladies racing with us. Two of them are in the 40 to 49 category, and then we've got one who is in the 60 to 69 category. We've got 14 first-time Ultraman racers, and we have eight alumni racers who have done an Ultraman in the past.

Larry 6:00

That's that's excellent. Uh, that sounds like a good spread-out field representing a lot of the age groups. So we'll see a lot of different uh tactics out there between the people that are out to to try and win it and the people that are out there to try and finish it. And with a couple of these young guys out there, maybe just out to get some experience and we'll see see how that all unfolds. Well, let's get into the to the ladies' uh action then. First of all, you with your three women that you have in the race, two of them I notice work as coaches.

Women’s field

Larry 6:30

Um, maybe you can tell us a little bit more about these people and introduce them to us, Jen.

SPEAKER_03 6:36

Sure. Uh, first in the women's 40 to 49 category, we've got Carrie Mandel. She is actually coached by one of our alumni, Chris Draper. And what's really cool about Carrie is she actually came down to Florida to train on the Ultraman Florida course. And she was there during our race week. So she stopped by the finish line and she got to meet some of our Ultraman Arizona staff already. So that was really nice to like start that relationship in person. Uh, it's much better in person than it is over email. Carrie is a yoga teacher and studio owner, and she is also one of those coaches that you mentioned. She's a trahlon and running coach. Then we've got Cynthia Bartis. She's another one of our alumni. She has done both Ultraman Florida and Ultraman World Championships. She is bringing with her a very experienced crew. Her husband, Steve, is going to be her crew chief. And then good friends Mary and Randy Lotza are going to be the building up the rest of her crew. And they are both Ultraman Florida alumni and very experienced crew members. So Cynthia should have a really good race with that pro crew out there. And then in our women's 60 to 69 category, we've got Karen Bonnet. She is our oldest and wisest Ultraman Arizona racer this year. She is 66 years old. So that is pretty impressive to still be racing at this distance for sure. And she's the other coach that you mentioned. She's a mental fitness and performance coach. And Steve can probably fill you in on a whole bunch of good stats about these ladies.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

Well, I think it's interesting. It's great to have uh Cynthia back, of course, because uh uh she is someone I would anticipate uh could set the fastest bike times out there. Remember, uh last year we had no swim, so it's going to be interesting to see how those sorts of times uh compared to what we've already seen. Uh Kerry has done four iron men. She's got a best of around 12 and a half hours. Uh Cynthia has done about 1020, I believe, uh, before for the iron distance, but she's got the Ultraman experience behind her and such a great crew. The latzers are part of that team as well as uh uh uh her husband, of course. And so I I think the other interesting thing about Karen, because if she finishes, she would be the most senior female ever to complete an Ultraman at 66, because the oldest is we've had a couple of women at uh 65 years of age, so that would be something. But I also think it's impressive to see who's on her crew, someone I'm really looking forward to uh seeing, and that is Pam Reed. Uh, Pam Reed has been a two-time overall champion, beating all the men as well at the bad wall to 135. A very impressive lady, and uh has won all sorts of awards, been on TV for what she's achieved. She's held records at 24 hours, 48 hours, six days. So uh my guess is she's on the team, not only to support, of course, the athlete, but maybe looking at uh being on the start line for an ultra man herself. So that's exciting stuff.

Larry 9:48

Yeah, and and looking at these women and their racing that they've done in the past, it looks like the the third day of the 84-kilometer double marathon could be really exciting between these three women with the different ultra-running marathons and and things that they've done together. I saw that um Carrie has done the World Marathon Challenge. Karen has done uh a number of big events, like some of them cycling, maybe we can get into those as well. But she also did the Western States 100-mile run, where she finished with just nine seconds left in the time to be able to finish that. Uh Steve, do you know any more about uh some of these other races maybe that they've done?

SPEAKER_00 10:29

Well, when you consider what it means, all three of these are very tough athletes. You look at Kerry, and uh when you mentioned the World Marathon Challenge, people don't necessarily realize what that means, but it means uh racing on seven continents, a marathon in seven days. So seven marathons, seven days, seven continents. So logistically, it's just amazing to be able to do that. But it just shows you that um these athletes are multi-day racers, that they've done things before that are multi-day. Uh Karen Burnett, uh talking about her in terms of some of the big rides she's done. She's done some 1200K events, which are Paris Breast Paris, uh, Gold Rush, uh, Boston, Montreal, Boston. And 1200Ks is the sort of the long distance of the Randon Ur. So you know she can sit on a bike for a long time and really push those gears. And we've even seen um uh Karen up at uh I Man Canada last year. So it's delightful to see people from around the world gathering once again in the central place and coming together to take on a brand new distance, Cynthia being the exception amongst the three.

Larry 11:35

Well,

Men 20-29

Larry 11:36

um let's let's move on to the men's category then. And I know the first two men are are kind of stepping in and representing the next generation of ultra athletes being at their young age that they are. The two of them are both competing for the winner of the 22-year-old category. One of them I met last summer, but uh maybe you can tell us a little bit about these guys, Jen.

SPEAKER_03 11:58

Sure. Uh the first one is Vidant Nangare. Uh Vidant actually uh raced in Canada last year, but he had a little bit of difficulty and didn't uh quite make it to the finish line on day two. So we're looking forward to having him race with us and hopefully get him across all three of those finish lines this year. He's gonna be crewed by his mom and his dad, and he is lucky that he is also gonna be crewed by one of our Ultraman Florida and Ultraman World Championships alumni, Billy Rickards.

Larry 12:28

Oh, that's a nice pickup.

SPEAKER_03 12:30

It's a very nice pickup, yeah. And Billy also is gonna paddle for him during the swim. Billy is super experienced uh at crewing and racing, so he's gonna bring a knowledge, a lot of knowledge to Vont um to help him get to that finish line every day. We've also got Pierce Show racing with us, and Pierce actually wins the youngest prize because he is 11 days younger than Vont. So it's gonna be interesting to see which one of these guys uh uh takes that age group category for the 20 to 29 age group. Steve, you want to chime in about these two kids?

SPEAKER_00 13:07

Well, yeah, I mean it's amazing at that age, although we've seen uh one person as young as 19 over the years, but uh to be 22 taking on these sort of challenges, very, very impressive. Um, I I think Pierce was the one who said, you know, he he does this um to celebrate uh his uh religion and uh uh his beliefs, and he he's done some extraordinary stuff for a young man, too. Uh 400 milers, uh, as well as running a 100 laps of a mile loop around his house. Now that tells you he's got what it takes up here as well as uh in his heart, you know, and can push. And so I'm fascinated to see how things unfold. He has done an Iron Man in Waco, Texas. Verdant, of course. We I have met him before because he was here. And I think for people to understand uh what happened for him, God knows how he even managed to get to Canada in the end. If he hadn't been for the Rotary Club, he managed to get a visa in in a day almost and get get up there. He made it literally. We were sitting down for the breakfast, and he he came into the hall, and uh the support from his family has been incredible. So uh it's a little scary on the one hand to have mum and dad as the crew, but they are his biggest supporters, and I think the addition of Billy Rickards is going to make a big difference. He raced Iron Man Switzerland, in fact, just the week before, literally the week before he came to do the event in Canada. So I certainly wish him well because I can see he's got a big future. He too likes uh long bike rides out there. So between these two guys, there's gonna be an interesting battle, but they know they've got all the others to contend with. It's not just uh Mano Emano, but um I always like it when we have people in each of these age categories.

SPEAKER_03 14:53

Yeah, I I also want to chime in because I forgot to mention this. Uh, Pierce actually was inspired by Jesse Itzler, who raced with us last year. And so uh shout out to Jesse for for giving that inspiration to these younger, younger folks who want to race.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

Yeah, absolutely. Because I think he was 19 when he uh saw that Jesse had signed up for an event, which was uh canceled that year, but here he is held true to that uh motivation and inspiration.

Larry 15:23

Yeah, and you know, you were talking about uh Vedant bringing his mom and dad for his crew, and and we've talked about that in the past, and sometimes husbands and wives and moms and dads are not necessarily the best people to bring for your crew because they don't want to see you in the pain and they might try and get you to pull the plug a little bit early or whatever. Uh, but he he between the time he was here in Canada and and now, he's also gone off and done a cycling race, which was a RAM qualifier. And and he said, I was talking with him that you know the parents were there to to help him out on that one. So they at least have some crewing experience in some of these uh long distance things with him now as well. All right,

Men 30-39

Larry 16:05

well, let's move on to the men 30 to 39. Who do we have racing in that category, Jen?

SPEAKER_03 16:11

Well, first we've got Mason Tuber. Uh Mason is also bringing a really experienced crew because his crew chief is Andy Malley. It's also his coach. Andy raced with us at Arizona last year, and he also just finished Ultraman Florida. So Andy has got uh all the experience it takes. He he has that knowledge of what it takes to get across those finish lines. So I'm sure Mason's going to be uh quite successful having Andy in his back pocket there.

SPEAKER_00 16:42

Well, he he's raced a few times, I think three times at the Iron Man distance and uh has a very decent time to his credit with 1142, which he raced in Arizona. That was uh two years ago. But he also that year raced at uh the World Championships when they were held in St. George and gutted it out. That was a tough day for a lot of people. So we know he's got uh uh the desire to get to the finish line of this one. As you said, he's got Andy on his squad. We also know that he can run distance, he's done 100K before, so that's important because of the mindset. Uh, but it is a first time for a lot of people. He's only got one marathon to his credit previously as well. But again, when you've got those back end after swim bike runs and you've got to put the three days together, it's really good to have someone who's uh contested this event before. Andy, as you know, knows the course, except for the uh number of swim loops. And I'm sure the swim has been changed. We'll find out more about that later on.

Larry 17:37

Now, and doing Iron Man Arizona, and some of the athletes have is that going to be any advantage to the people down in Arizona, Jen, as far as your course overlapping with the Iron Man course?

SPEAKER_03 17:48

Uh, our course only overlaps a tiny little bit um on the day two bike because uh our course is pretty far up north most of the time, but we do go south on the bike route um for that day two. So there's a little bit of the B-line highway in there for them. But otherwise, it's gonna be all new for those uh Iron Man Arizona folks who finished that. Next, we've got Maxim Kinezev. Max is actually the front runner to win Ultraman Arizona this year. He is crazy fast. Max is representing the USA, but he was actually born in Siberia. And I know Larry, you've got a few things to say about Max because I know he was actually on the podcast uh recently.

Larry 18:33

Uh yeah, well, back in the episode back in season one, yeah, he was he was on with me in episode four. So if you want to hear his athlete in profile, you can go back and listen to that one. At that time, he told me that he was gunning to set the world a record, and he only started racing very recently, like 2017 or something. He he did go on and do the Cyberman 515, where he was previously the record holder there, um, but that was beaten just last year. But uh maybe Steve, you can give us a little more on his race background.

SPEAKER_00 19:08

Well, yeah, he's got some really impressive times to his credit. I mean, probably Casumel the best with an 842. And that was 2021 when he also uh was looking at moving up to world championship status, which he managed in 2022 for both uh St. George and uh Kona. Uh did a 928 and a 911. So he's got the fastest credentials amongst anyone in the field. And as you had said, when he won the Cyberman or Cyberman, he did a 21-hour, 44-minute clocking there. And you break that down. I had to look the other day to see the splits. He did a 312 swim, which I believe we're going to see someone possibly if he does that sort of a swim uh here in or in Arizona, he could find himself some 30, 40 minutes down on uh one of the gentleman who we'll talk about in a while, who's done a 230 before for the swim. But a very strong biker did a 405 that uh first down the bike. Was 717 total, 748 was his bike speed. But again, any time under eight hours for a bike on day two is impressive, and then ran a sub-seven-hour clocking of 657 to wrap that up. He will really have to fly if he's looking for a world best, as you know that the time even at that event was taken down to I think uh 21 hours, five minutes. But he is still the second fastest person, and they get a good field of athletes there. There are a lot of people from Russia who like to do that event. There's a few internationals signed up for this year. Um, and of course, we're really pleased when you think of we got someone in the field from Alaska, so Alaska, Siberia, they want to get some sunshine in and get some racing in, obviously, uh amongst the best in the US and elsewhere. So we're we're thrilled that he's gonna be part of the action.

SPEAKER_03 20:59

I'm really interested to see what type of time Max puts in on day three, uh, because we do have a lot of climbing. Uh and this is definitely a very different climate, too. We don't know what the weather's gonna do yet. That's still up in the air.

Larry 21:14

Yeah. Yeah, it could it could be hot or it could be snowing.

SPEAKER_03 21:19

Totally, it could go either way at this point. The southwest is crazy right now.

Larry 21:25

I I can say that because today in Vancouver we're sitting with about uh 15 centimeters of snow. So it's it's headed down.

SPEAKER_03 21:34

Uh my family uh lives in Lake Arrowhead, California, and they are currently sitting under about six feet of snow from the last four days, and they're getting another foot of snow tomorrow. So yeah, I I can't have any sympathy for your for your tiny snow in Vancouver, Larry. I'm sorry.

Larry 21:53

Well, we'll worry about it when you get snow.

SPEAKER_03 21:55

Right. Yeah, that'll be a problem. So moving on, our next uh next in the men's category 30 to 39 is mohamed kapbi and mohamed is another one of our alumni from ultraman florida he will be representing the country of egypt again this year he was like i said a finisher uh back in 2022 at florida with a 30 hour five minute and 19 second clocking um that was his very first ultraman race he learned a lot there and he raced on a bike that was not very well fitted to him he also uh got injured at mile 20 of the run so we're hoping that this year he's gonna be completely healthy for the whole time he's on a well-fitted bike and so it'll be fun to watch and see what he can do Steve what else uh can you tell us about Mohammed well I like Mohammed I think I think it's great to see him uh coming back to take on another event i i also think you you know you've got someone with a passion for the sport and a passion for his family uh he's brought his times down from Iron Man to just over 13 hours to around I think sub-11 and a half hours he also last year did a double marathon so you you can tell he was building towards us and he did around eight and a half hours I believe for that as well.

SPEAKER_00 23:18

We actually saw him up here in uh British Columbia uh as well when he did the uh 70.3 Iron Man there and that was with a sub-six clocking but uh I think what's impressive too is he doesn't mind being open about some of the issues he's had to deal with over the years and that's including uh some uh trauma that he he suffered and has been working through and this is part of his uh health plan if you like as well to come out and bring the family along and uh he is dedicating his event to people who are sufferers from PTSD and uh looking at how to protect your brain not only from you know potential crashes on the bike but also in terms of good health uh and good self-management our next athlete in the 30 to 39 category is Thomas Melbourne uh Thomas feels like Ultraman shows him he is from Utah but he's been coming to the the Arizona area in the area of where the race is since he was a child and the Valley of the Sun has become a really special place for him.

SPEAKER_03 24:23

It's a place where he likes to go escape the cold of Utah and his best friend also lives there. His mom is his crew chief so that's another family member that's going to be there supporting him. Steve, what can you tell us about Thomas?

SPEAKER_00 24:38

Well he's gone from uh uh 70.3s up to I Man and uh in the same year in 2021 ended up uh doing the world championships in St. George did around uh 1313 as uh raced up to 50k as well as marathons and uh raced last year in Monument Valley. I think he's someone this will be a test for him uh a test to see you know the the strength of the character of the person as well as his physical body and I I think he he probably will surprise himself because he's probably not going to blast out of there like some people do like Jeremy who knows and has the confidence to be able to do so. This will be about pacing for him and uh to get through that. And I love the fact that his mother's willing to be the crew chief because uh that speaks a lot about their family values for sure I love seeing all the family members coming out to support our next athlete in the 30 to 39 category is Shane Pede.

SPEAKER_03 25:40

We have two Shane's racing with us this year. So this is Shane Pede and we've got Shane Duffy so we're gonna have to come up with nicknames for Pede I think Shane um is pretty cool because he's been a partner for Ultraman Florida and Ultraman Arizona.

SPEAKER_00 25:56

He um his company is certified Pede Montees beef and they send us so much good stuff for our athletes uh uh crews staff and volunteers he sends us beef jerky he sends us bill tongue and and everybody really enjoys that so we're really proud and happy to be partnering with Shane yeah I'm delighted it's always good to see sponsors getting involved uh whether it's him or Adam who's going to be part of the action on a on a team uh but Shane I'm uh thrilled because after 16 I'm in and nearly 20 at the 70.3 it's fitting that he would step up the distance and he's someone who could do very nicely because I I think he often races around 1115 to 11 and a half hours and he knows what this is all about. And I I think we're going to be uh pleasantly surprised because it sets the tone as well when someone who's willing to give input to such a magnificent event that he's now willing to put himself on that start line. So as as uh he may have some media following him he is a brand ambassador himself no doubt but uh we look forward to seeing uh each of the finishers in each of the three days coming to the line we know there are disappointments they're bound to be uh let's hope this is not one of them because uh even if it is I think he's the sort of guy who would come back time and time again once he's experienced this and that's what the uh being part of the Ultra family is all about and you hear that constantly in social media and in the speeches that people make at the end. So I'm hoping this year that everyone stays for their their breakfast and to to listen and hear stories and provide their own story. And let's hope that's a big story uh for Shane Pede.

SPEAKER_03 27:42

Definitely and and another thing about uh certified Pied Montees I'm not sure if you know this Steve but you uh will like this fact uh Didi Greasbauer is one of their brand ambassadors and and I know you're a big fan of Dee Dee.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

Absolutely wow that is that's

Men 40-49

SPEAKER_00 28:00

news to me. Thanks for letting me know that. Sure.

Larry 28:03

Now he lists Eric Wynne as a crew member and it says owner of Slow Twitch media.

SPEAKER_00 28:10

Wouldn't it be nice uh to have someone from Slow Twitch spoiler the event literally as opposed to just uh reading whatever's put up on social media this is going to be someone who can put it out there and experience it for themselves and hopefully draw more people to uh challenge themselves at these distances.

SPEAKER_03 28:29

Yeah I'm wondering if uh if Eric is a triathlete maybe we'll get him to race with us next year would be nice.

Larry 28:39

All right well let's jump into the men of 40 to 49 back in the women's division we said we had two coaches and the first two men up in this category are sharing a profession as well as they are both professors.

SPEAKER_03 28:53

So uh Jen, can you tell us about the men in the 40 to 49 sure our first is another one of our alumni Ultraman Florida alumni Ultraman World Championships alumni he's one of our good friends uh from Spain and that is Juan Chamba Bautista Castilla Arroyo he has done a lot of 515 distance races along with a few other crazy things.

SPEAKER_00 29:19

Steve tell us a little bit more about Chamba I've had the pleasure of meeting him in I think five different locations around the world including here in Canada but the first time was in 2014 at uh Ultraman UK in Wales. He is an exceptional runner uh so I I I love the idea that we could see another battle like we saw last year with Steve Keller and James Scanlon that is definitely possible with the caliber of athletes we have uh I could see him definitely uh being amongst the top three all being well and this is his first year I think he's actually 39 right now but this is his first year therefore racing in the masters category usually he has his family with him but I don't think that's the case this time he's got two friends that will be accompanying him he has a lot of sponsors and a lot of social media activity uh back in Spain but they call him Ultra Chamber as you're well aware and he will be wearing I'm quite sure his uh his very very bright pink kit along with his very very bright pink bike you can always spot him I love it and he likes to talk where when it comes to the uh the uh talk at the end of the event at the awards Jen uh I know you give a little extra time for people who don't necessarily speak English uh he has been known to speak for 20 minutes because he has a lot to say so I can see you edging up on the stage.

SPEAKER_03 30:49

Oh I will be scooting up next to him because we have a little bit fewer athletes everyone's gonna have probably an extra minute and and those that don't speak English will have an extra minute on top of that so that their translators can have time to translate but I will still I'm quite sure be sneaking up next to him and you know edging his shoulder a little bit.

Larry 31:10

Yeah and and for people that haven't been to an award ceremony with you Jen uh that that's exactly how you do it. You just slowly just keep walking sideways until you're standing next to the person to give him the hook.

SPEAKER_03 31:23

Yep exactly our next athlete in the 40 to 49 category is coming from Italy. He was born in Milan and that is David Proserpio and I love the reason he chose Ultraman Arizona is because he makes a lot of bad decisions which I just thought was hilarious. Steve, what can you tell us about David?

SPEAKER_00 31:50

Well in terms of his resume he hasn't got a strong resume in terms of uh how long he's been in the sport I think since about 2018 uh but he has done four events at the 70.3 distance uh one in Europe and the rest have been in the U.S. I believe and uh he's had two races at the Iron Distance so one in Florida one in California. He has got a PR that's impressive 1057 also a good marathon as well I believe he's done around 317 that could translate very well on the run on day three um and I know he's gone sub five hours for the 70.3 distance so could be quite formidable depends on the training and obviously the weather conditions that we're going to experience there. But it's great to have another Italian Armando of course we'll be delighted with that I hope he's going to be joining us because El Plan is going to be in action one way, shape or form yes Armando is definitely going to be there.

SPEAKER_03 32:48

He is going to be uh working on the staff again as he did at Ultraman Florida and and it'll be fun uh to have two Italians in the mix and definitely fun to um to have the the owner of El Plan actually there to see El Plan taking place.

Larry 33:07

We'll talk a little bit of El Plan.

SPEAKER_03 33:11

The architect of El Plan yes our next athlete in the 40 to 49 category is actually coached by our deputy assistant race director Jeremy Howard who also just happened to win Ultraman Florida this year. And that is what tricks fix fix gosh I know I I mean I I thought people are gonna look at this and go wait a second that's one of the race director's best friends but I actually stayed very far away from everything. I didn't I wasn't out there on the course at all I saw nothing um I didn't see Jeremy at all unless it was right before the start and right at the finish every day. So it was definitely not fixed. He has some serious talent out there anyway this next guy is actually coached by Jeremy and that is Rich Chudzik. And what's interesting about Rich is he just recently learned to swim around August of 2021 and hopped on a bike about that same time.

SPEAKER_00 34:19

So he's very very young in the triathlon world well as you said he did his very first triathlon in July of last year and I find that quite amazing that here he is in less than a year he's taking on this magnificent challenge and that includes a 10K swim. So when uh as you know we we had a gentleman Zach Powell the young Canadian in Florida who taught himself to swim just about two or three years ago and he came out to swim amongst the top five. So uh this obviously is a very strong guy. I mean you look at what he has achieved and I'm sure you're going to talk maybe about uh some of his um background uh resume in terms of uh being an Army ranger etc so you know he's got the headspace but he's a busy man is a father of four as well he owns a major company and uh the fact that he's put the time in and is coached by Jeremy you know he's serious and he's serious in wanting to get a sub 11 hours or break into the 11 hour mark for an IMA after doing a couple of 13 hour ones at Chattanooga and I Man Lake Placid. So I think for this guy, you know, he's someone we're going to be very pleased to see him um come through each and every day and see how he applies the learning that he's uh acquired over the years of his distinguished service. He's got a bronze star, a purple heart and a very impressive academic background as well.

SPEAKER_03 35:42

Yeah he graduated from Duke uh with an MBA and he graduated from Cornell with a master's of engineering. So the guy definitely has the brains so now we've just got to see if his body will follow that lead.

Larry 35:57

Yeah yeah and and I also noticed that although he's just started to to swim that he's bringing along a crew member who's from the Naval Academy and he actually went to West Point. So they they have a little fun going back and forth from what they say as well. So it could be a fun crew to to be watching out there on the race course.

SPEAKER_03 36:19

I would agree I I'm glad we're we're out of football season right now and and it's not the uh army navy weekend because that would be wild to watch those two for sure our next athlete in the 40 to 49 category is Michael Kowalski he's another one of our locals from Mesa Arizona and my favorite fact about Michael uh not only does he send me awesome emails uh he's one of the biggest supporters of the staff and I love that um but he is a didgeridoo player so I love these fun facts that we find out about these guys.

SPEAKER_00 36:56

Well he's someone who's done nearly 10 I men I think nine to his credit so far, 15 at the half distance he's got eight uh ultra runs to his credit so he knows about putting in the distance and he will often do around uh 10 and a half hours for the Iron Man distance and I think he's done like a 502 uh for the 70.3 all of those were in Arizona so he's very familiar with the territory and uh certainly hope that he's able to cover the ground in a manner that's befitting someone who obviously loves the sport and loves to do ultras and this will be another great thing to add to someone's uh resume because it's always nice to see a local I think he's out of Mesa in Arizona so yeah again it it it's the sort of support you want and it's nice to know you're one of the originals even though the event was held last year when you think about uh the combination of uh just bike and uh and run last year to know that you may be the first local ever to have completed all three sections let's hope that happens yeah um I I think the the other thing that stood out in the information that I got about him was that he says that he uses the the training like like so many of the other endurance athletes as a way to just not only keep them centered physically but also mentally and emotionally and and it's really part of that whole mental health thing maybe like Mohammed um and and so many of the the ultra athletes that that either uh use the the exercise for their for their medicine or or or use it as a way to you know cope in some situations.

Larry 38:37

So um it comes out often in these things and uh you know we've had many guests come on and talk about that as well. So uh it's great that there's something like this that brings the people together that they can share in these moments and and have those ohana experiences um for for people that that need to use this exercise for for some medicine out there.

SPEAKER_03 38:59

Yeah for sure and and it's not only good for the athletes it's it's great for the volunteers and the crews and the staff like we love getting all those hugs on during race week and on race weekend and and that fuels us until the next big event when we can all come together again. So our next athlete in the 40 to 49 uh men's age group is another one of our alumni we've got quite a few alumni racing with us this is an alumni from Ultraman Florida this is Guillermo Tijarina and we love this guy he has such a great sense of humor um he's always good for making us laugh and we're super happy to have him racing with us uh in Arizona he is going to be crewed uh by one of his best friends Adrian Delgado uh who happens to be apparently the world's best Sherpa he has followed uh him crewing him from as far north as Alaska and as far south as Patagonia so that's a pretty dedicated friend and crew member right there. Steve, what can you tell us about his resume? Well I like the fact that we got a couple of Texans uh with us Guillermo is one of those because they do things very big in Texas and so we're thrilled that he's come back to a start line for his second uh old man and second location he's got five IM races to his credit he's done some extreme races as well before and uh the last time we saw him was at Old Man Florida and that was in 2020 COVID hit and now he's back in action and I certainly look forward to seeing him once again definitely our next athlete in the 40 to 49 men's category is another uh pretty fun one this is Amir Yunus now Amir always sends me the best replies to my emails because the excitement that he has for racing is beyond anybody else he gets so excited with every email email I send him I always get back an email that says yay with lots of exclamation marks and we're just as excited to have him as he is to be racing with us.

SPEAKER_00 41:10

Well I'm impressed he is the other Texan I was referring to as well so yeah this is a gentleman I would anticipate could be uh well up there on the swim because he's done a 10K swim before in fact a few of them and he's done around two and a half hours he's done anywhere from 10 to 20 miles and I know he was going to be doing a 20 mile plus in Lake Tahoe as well. But he has done uh some uh different events not only uh swimming but he's done that uh three-day Florida extreme event that's over 300 miles and that was three years ago and that will put him in very good stead he's uh raced in Boston marathon and I think his PR is around 303.

SPEAKER_03 41:48

So again that could translate to a uh seven to eight hour double marathon on day three we have to wait and see and he's another one bringing the family to crew he's he's bringing the wife and uh a young daughter along Alana with him as well yeah I and I think it's gonna be really fun to watch some of these guys battle it out on day three because that day three run I think is going to be a a pretty fast one and and there's not any one runner that that is going to be way out in front i i mean we know James we know what James can do but it'll be fun to see uh what Max can do what Amir can do what Chamba can do so I think we're gonna have a day three battle out there on that run. And our next men's 40 to 49 age grouper is another one of our alumni Roman Gratteri. Roman raced uh Ultraman Florida with us previously and he lives in Phoenix now so this is home turf for him so he's got a little bit of an advantage going on there. Roman recently finished the HERT100 trail run out here in Hawaii where I live and it was really good to see him out here.

SPEAKER_00 42:59

Well as you mentioned it's good to see someone else who's a bit of a local there out of Phoenix probably the closest person to the race site uh four times at the Iron Distance four times at the 70.3 raced uh before at Ultraman Florida so knows the course and uh I I think that does so much uh for athletes uh knowing what it's about to go over three days he doesn't know this particular course but he lives close enough that I'm sure he's done major sections of it he's usually anywhere from 11 to 13 hours at the iron distance and uh as you mentioned if you're doing the HERT 100 that's known because it's a toughie. It's not just an acronym for its own sake it really is a toughie. And uh I think he's done quite a few marathons and 50Ks as well as uh I I think the TRT 100 MILA before so we know this gentleman has what it takes and um being on his home ground that can be a big incentive with uh family and friends all around you as well.

SPEAKER_03 44:01

Definitely. And to finish Hurt on your first time out, this was his first attempt. And it's pretty rare to have those newbies coming in and finishing on the first attempt because Hurt has a very low finishing rate. It's under 50%. So pretty impressive that Roman could battle that out and finish that race on the first try. Our next age grouper in the 40 to 49 age group is Bahir Abdelgawad. He'll be representing the United States, but he was actually from Cairo, Egypt. And he's got um a fun crew that we've put together for him. And that includes Kelly Mulvaney and Kyle Powers, who are both uh locals in the area. And also another uh local from down in Tucson is Nick Turley. Nick actually crewed for the Juan and only Juan Craveri last year. So Nick's got some crewing experience, and but Kelly is a coach and has a lot of experience, and Kyle is another triathlete, so he's got a really experienced crew, and that'll be fun to watch.

Larry 45:07

Are are those gentlemen coming to preview the course? Do you think, Jen? Are they also looking to race this in the future?

SPEAKER_03 45:15

Um, I think at least two of them might be. Uh, I know for sure that one of them is.

Larry 45:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 45:23

Uh, but I don't want to speculate or name names.

Larry 45:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 45:29

Uh Steve, tell us a little bit more about Bahair.

SPEAKER_00 45:33

Well, in terms of background, he's got uh 10 I men to his credit, 11 at the 70.3. He's done 4100 milers as well. Uh we we know he's a run around 415 uh in terms of uh back end of an IM for the uh marathon distance. And uh he had a very good swim like everyone did in Sacramento, but his usual swim times are out of 1.15. His usual finishing time for iron distance is anywhere from 12 to 13 hours. I think it's great for him to have a fellow Egyptian there as well, because again, if you if you look at the history of the event, there's only one Egyptian who's uh finished this event before. And so I think it will be good for those two guys to have a maybe a personal matchup out there.

Larry 46:17

Yeah, and and I noticed that he said he's also a big golfer, so hopefully he brings some golf clubs with him when he's in Phoenix because there'll be no shortage of places to go golf there.

SPEAKER_03 46:28

Oh, for sure. There's so many good courses out there. Uh, it wouldn't surprise me if he's bringing his clubs because I think he is driving out, so that might be motivation.

Larry 46:38

All right. Well, let's move on to the last age group uh for this year's race, then. And it has some savvy veterans in the field and uh some good experience by both the racers and their crews. So uh maybe even uh maybe even a favorite in this field. Let's uh move on to the

Men 50-59

Larry 46:55

men's 50 to 59.

SPEAKER_03 46:57

Well, our first in the 50 to 59 age group, uh actually, our first two that I'm gonna mention are are special because both of them just finished Ultraman Florida, and both of them are now racing Ultraman Arizona. The first is Shane Duffy. Now, Shane um is kind of special because this is gonna be his fourth Ultraman race in a row, his fifth 515 in a row. Um, Larry is going to be his crew chief out there in Arizona, and Shane definitely is uh is one of our favorites. I'm not allowed to have favorites, but I might have told him he's a favorite.

Larry 47:37

A favorite of you, a favorite of me.

SPEAKER_03 47:40

Yes. Um, and he goes around and tells everybody I'm Jen's favorite. I'm Jen's favorite. I'm like, you're gonna you're gonna get me in trouble. Uh but what's really cool about Shane is uh if he does complete Ultraman Arizona, which I'm very confident that he will, he will be the first to have completed four Ultraman branded races in a row. And Armando Armelini um is the architect of El Plan. And because Armando was attempting to do this last year, came up ever so short in Hawaii, but he passed on his Trust El Plan shirt to Shane, literally stripped it off of his body and gave it to Shane. And it was really just a very moving and touching gesture. And Shane carries that shirt with him to every event now, and it's pretty awesome to see him show up on day three wearing that shirt and then finishing day three wearing that shirt. So this is gonna be really, really special. Um, so we've got our fingers crossed that everything goes super smooth out there. I'm sure you're gonna take good care of him, Larry.

Larry 48:50

Yeah. Well, as it turns out, I was interviewing Shane as the athlete in profile for your Ultraman Arizona race, which will be right after this preview. Uh, I was doing that a f you know a number of weeks ago now, and that's when I found out that he didn't have a crew yet. So it lined up well with my uh holiday of uh spring break as a teacher. So I just decided, hey, I'll come down and help you out, Shane. And uh, and that's how it happened. And uh I'm I'm happy to be a part of his team and and to be a part of hopefully this historic event, not only for for the for the racing community of 515, but more so for him and his own personal challenge that he's taking on.

SPEAKER_03 49:32

Yeah, it's gonna be awesome to see him race again. Uh, Steve, tell us about his resume.

SPEAKER_00 49:38

Well, you've mentioned uh obviously uh what he's attempting to do and what he has done already. And I think it's it's impressive when you think he is Australian and he's raced in Australia at these distances a number of times already. And the logistics of putting something like this together is quite phenomenal. The change in teams, you know, uh being by yourself for a while in between events as well, and having to think it through and uh being away from family for quite a long period of time. So he's got lots of projects on the go. He's got quite the background in other sports. He was a tremendous soccer coach and player, as well as a record-breaking fisherman over the years. So I think he's got the pedigree, and then he can throw in some surprises. When he's having a good day, as he did on the second day in Florida, he took the lead for a while there on the bike course. So uh he he throws things to the wind a number of times, and why not? Uh give it all you've got while you're out there and doing this extreme challenge because he's going to look back and hopefully be a very happy camper. He's also got Mark Moody on the team. And Mark is a fun guy as well. He dresses up at the different events, and uh, we saw him here evening in Canada as well as there in uh Florida. So I really look forward to seeing the plan come together uh because it's a tribute to Armando, as well as, as you said, he he actually completed all those courses, but just was 10 minutes shy in total time. And uh for this man, I certainly hope he achieves something no one else has ever done.

SPEAKER_03 51:08

Definitely gonna be fun to watch. And I definitely want to see if Mark's gonna be bringing any new outfits, and I'm interested to see if he'll be getting Larry to wear any of these outfits too.

Larry 51:20

That's a given. I'll be happy to do so. Happy to do so. And and like I said, stay tuned after this preview because uh I do have a conversation with Shane and you can hear all about all of those things.

SPEAKER_03 51:33

And our next in the 50 to 59 category already mentioned James Scanlon, who just raced with us at Ultraman Florida. He also raced both Ultraman Florida and Ultraman Arizona last year. So he's doing the double again this year. And Steve, I know you've got a lot of good stats about James.

SPEAKER_00 51:51

Well, yeah, I mean, how impressive is that? Because when he raced in Florida just a couple of weeks ago, basically, he had uh just come off doing a 50 miler, which he won and set a personal best for the course just over, I think, six hours, three minutes. So for him then to come to Florida and move up from 22nd place out of the uh swim to come second overall and blow away that run record with a 635. That was 22 minutes ahead of anyone else. No one else had gone, only one other person had gone sub-seven hours, and that's the record he broke. It's very, very impressive. As you know, swimming is uh the the least competent uh in terms of times for him in positions. He has to really hang up in there because he can't afford to give away uh too much time when it comes to the bike and run accommodation. But he surprised us all in Florida too by being the fastest cyclist on day two. So lots of improvements for this man, and he wants it badly. He's done lots of double centuries uh and rides. He won a 140.6 event. There were only eight competitors who will let you know that, but he came away with a victory, and he's 53 years of age. So I look forward to more impressive uh racing on his resume at the end of Ultraman Arizona for sure.

SPEAKER_03 53:13

Our next 50 to 59 age grouper in the men's category is Michael Maguire. So we've got two Shane's, we've got two Michaels. I wish these people would all just get regular names so that I have all different names out there.

Larry 53:27

I think they are regular. I think that's the issue and why you have duplicates.

SPEAKER_03 53:30

That's the right, yeah. They are regular, that's true. I need them to get irregular names. So Michael Maguire actually comes to us from Homer, Alaska, uh, which is one of my favorite places in the entire world. And I'm pretty sure Michael might be our very first Alaska participant. Steve can can fill us in because I know he's got all those stats.

Larry 53:53

So so hold on, wait a second. We we we have a we have a Homer and a Duffman in the race. We do.

SPEAKER_03 54:03

And one thing, one thing that's really cool about Michael McGuire. Um, the reason he chose this event was because of the of the Ohana and the Aloha. He actually met Jeremy Howard and another alumni of ours, Caroline Bloom, on the big island after he did an extreme tryout there. And um, this was while we were all out there for Ultraman Worlds that planted the Ultraman seed into his brain. And so it's nice to see that he's gonna be out here racing with us. Something um really interesting um and disturbing that happened to him, he was hit by a car back in 2021 and damaged his bike, damaged his body, did Iron Man Arizona two days later, and actually finished in a 1309. So he definitely has the mindset to get things done even when his body is in pain.

SPEAKER_00 54:58

Well, as you've mentioned, this is someone who likes challenges and uh certainly can do very well in the cold uh racing with temperatures minus 20 to minus 30 with windchelb factor and being out there for over 17 hours in doing such an event. But I actually think he is probably looking to do the world championships, the ultraman world championships, because he obviously loves the big island, not only meeting Jeremy and Carolyn there, uh, but the fact that he's done the uh lava man Olympic distance here on five different occasions. He's done some winter bike racing up to 100 miles as well. And again, in those sort of temperatures, that is extreme. So I'm not sure uh that he's not one of these people. I believe he probably is one of these people that can race in both extremes. So serious uh temperatures like the swim temperature of last year and the conditions there for a while at the end of the swim, which it took most athletes quite a while to recover before they were able to start the bike event, uh, but also the heat, which is perfect when you look at uh do it doing an Ultraman in Arizona, being able to contest uh uh both those extremes. And I think he's gonna be someone who's uh when you mentioned about barista championships in 1998 and uh looking at becoming a gelato world championship competitor as well. And you go, this is a guy with a lot of ideas, and I think he's also looking at being the race director for the event up there in Alaska. Uh, so it's good for him to contest these events so he knows exactly what he's doing, and uh, we'll put on an Alaska man, which he's completed and finished himself.

Larry 56:33

Yeah, and uh I I saw on his uh information as well that he he says that he likes to host full moon drum ceremony. So maybe you got something to talk to him about there, Steve.

SPEAKER_00 56:43

I look forward to that if that's the case, indeed. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 56:47

He also hosts the coolest non-race race run in Alaska, but he can't tell us anything about it because it's still a secret. So I'm gonna try to pull that information out of him once he gets down to Arizona.

SPEAKER_00 57:03

Well, tell him to put it on the super secret Facebook page, then.

SPEAKER_03 57:06

Oh, yes, that's a good idea. You're not supposed to talk about the super secret page, Steve, because it's a super secret. Our final athlete, uh, last but certainly not least, is one of our favorites. Uh, he is an alumni of both Ultraman Florida and Ultraman World Championships. He has crewed for many. He comes out and supports. He was on our staff for Florida this year, so he got to see it from behind the scenes. And that is Simon Shuri. Um, now Simon had signed up for our original back in 2020, uh, but but then we had the COVID delay, and then he had to defer. So we're glad he's finally racing with us. Now, his his uh crew has changed slightly, unfortunately, in the past uh few days. Adam Grant was supposed to be his crew chief. Adam is another one of our awesome partners. Uh, his law firm, Grant Shannon, is one of our partners. We love them. We love Adam, but unfortunately, Adam can't make the trip. So we're super bummed about that. So he has a new crew. Um, but one of the crew members is Tim Kronk, who is another one of our alumni. And it's funny because Tim has crewed for Simon before. And so he's got some experience there. He knows what Simon is like as an athlete.

SPEAKER_00 58:31

Well, I like the fact that he joined us in Florida as part of the staff. He he really was on the ball and uh ran all over the place. In fact, ran in with the last couple of people there to support them. And so he he knows what it's about because, as you said, he's done Florida, he's done the World Championships. He also, you know, when he did uh Kona this last year at the World Iron Man Championships, he got married the very next day. So that takes a lot of guts to organize something and a lot of confidence, and he's not lacking in that. He's known as Limey because of his English background. Uh, but I tell you, he he was telling me about the sunburn he had after doing uh the Conery event there, and there he was on the beach getting married. So you can only imagine he knows how to suffer, but he loves to suffer. You know, that's what this is about to some degree. And having someone like uh Tim Cronk on his team once again, Tim is still the record holder for the men's 50-59 division in Old Man, Florida, did that uh 24-27 in 2017. And so Simon has got a dozen I men to his credit. He's gone inside 12 hours, and I like the fact that he's now joining us once again as a racer because he loves the Ohana. And uh, we're delighted to see. I think at 54, he is the most senior athlete in the field in the men's division.

SPEAKER_03 59:53

He is for sure. Um, so that wraps up all of our athletes for Ultra Man Arizona.

Final thoughts

SPEAKER_03 1:00:00

We're really excited to see everybody. Um, everybody's getting um extra excited in the super secret group that shall not be named any longer. And uh people are a little bit worried about the swim temperatures. There is a cold snap running through right now. Uh, California just got hit with it and now it's moving over to Arizona. That's gonna drop our water temperature just a bit, but we're pretty confident that the water is gonna warm up um back to its normal and hopefully, you know, be at a at a nice tepid 59 to 60 degrees before race day. So looking forward to to the weather improving for us.

Larry 1:00:39

Yeah, of course, you didn't have uh the race swim last year. Well, you started the swim but had to pull the racers out due to the conditions last year. So it'll be it'll be nice to have the the full event, hopefully, this year, where where people can go out and set those records and and challenge the full event, that's which is really what they want to do. Jen, do you have any other changes to the course uh from what you ran in the inaugural race last year for people that might have known the course, or is it gonna be the exact same?

SPEAKER_03 1:01:08

Uh it's gonna be slightly different. Um, our day one course starts at Lake Pleasant, and this year it's gonna finish at Cave Creek Regional Park. Last year we finished also at Lake Pleasant, just in a different area. So this year, um all three days are gonna finish in the same location, Cave Creek Regional Park. That's gonna make it easier on the crews to know exactly where they're going. Um, and we've removed some of the um trickier turns and tried to find more um open roads for them that are that are way more fun to ride. So we've we've made that change to the day one course. We've also um we've taken my favorite section out of the day two course and moved it over to the day one course, which is uh it's a no-feed zone out in back. You should definitely go drive it, Larry, because you need to see it. It's it's a beautiful area, and uh, but it's very windy, very hilly. Um, the athletes have a love-hate relationship with that section. So that has moved over to day one. Um, day two is very close to the same. Uh, we changed up the mileage since we took that section out. Uh, we added a little bit in somewhere else. Uh, but again, they're gonna be going all the way down south, doing the big loop uh near Swarrow Lake out there, uh, do a little bit of the Iron Man bike course and then head back up and get some really good climbing in for day two. Um, and day three remains very, very close to the same. We still have the same really horrible hill because they the athletes loved it. And I was actually gonna take it out, and the alumni were like, no, you have to leave it in. That's like the best part. So I left it in.

Larry 1:02:58

And and what is the best way for people to follow your race, Jen?

SPEAKER_03 1:03:01

The best way is to follow us on Instagram because uh we'll be posting there, but also we repost when athletes and crews uh post their stories. If they tag us in their stories, we can quickly repost that. So that way uh the world is going to be able to see what all the crews are posting about their athletes. So uh definitely Instagram, Facebook is the secondary one. Those are the best two ways to follow us.

Larry 1:03:28

Excellent, excellent. And Steve, is there anything else that you haven't shared yet that you're looking forward to for this year's race?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:34

Well, I'm looking forward to seeing some records broken and made for the first time. I mean, so hopefully the swim will be a big part of that. Uh, but also we're definitely going to crown new champions and new age group champions. And hopefully it will be great to see everyone successfully make it to the finish line. You know, it's always sad uh for everybody to um uh not make it in time after all the hard work, the sweat equity, the cost, and everything. However, what was great in Florida was to see the two people who came back who weren't able to successfully complete it uh the previous year, last year, come back and one of them win for the women, and the other gentleman was a delighted honor uh winner in terms of uh the gate, getting the Gator Award be uh for being the final champion to make it in time with sub-12 hours each and every day. So, again, for those people who may not make it, we want to see them back on a start line again. But I am hopeful it would be lovely to be at a race where everyone comes away with a big smile because they've achieved their goal of sub-12 hour finishes each and every one of the three days.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:41

I would love to see that. I don't think that has ever happened, and and I would love that to happen to Ultramar in Arizona this year. Fingers crossed, you betcha.

Larry 1:04:52

Well, again, thank you both for joining me for the preview of of the race. And listeners, remember to just stay tuned here. We're not done. We still have our interview with the Duff Man coming up next. So uh stay tuned for that. All right, thanks again, guys. Thanks, Larry. Hey listener, after checking the length of both pieces of this episode, I decided to break them into two pieces. So now I would like you to go to the body.