The Stud Ironman race has been a Long Beach tradition for over 30 years. Each summer, at the end of Junior Guards all the JGs plus tons of parents and other swimming enthusiasts gather at the beginning of the sand at 1st Place and race all the way to the end of the sand at 72nd Place on the Penisula. The race course is four miles of running and two miles of swimming and it is tough! Participants swim 13 buoys at each lifeguard tower plus all the way around the pier and run the distances in between. If you can complete the race in under two hours you are considered a "Stud Ironman". This year the conditions were perfect - the tide was two feet low and coming up, the water was warm, the sun was shining, and there were no currents. Once again Kevin recruited one of his Masters swimming friends, Sam to swim with one of the boys. Kelly jumped at the chance to swim with Sam. The boys looked strong and confident from the beginning of the race:
Wyatt was confident he could finish the race in under two hours and be a "Stud Ironman" but I did not think either of my boys had much of a chance. It is a really hard race. But they proved me wrong. Kelly crossed the finish line with a time of 1 hour 42 minutes:
And Wyatt finished with a time of 1 hour 46 minutes:
Ring that bell boys! You are STUD IRONMEN!
It was a great race and a lot of the boys friends completed the race in under 2 hours. Even more impressive were the kids like Wyatt's friends Sophia and Emily who were the last two JGs to finish the race with times of 3 hours and 20 minutes. Anyone who is 65 pounds and has enough heart to keep their little body moving for that long is a champion to me. 2009 was a great year for the Stud Ironman. I am so proud of Kelly and Wyatt.
The Stud Ironman race has been a Long Beach tradition for over 30 years. Each summer, at the end of Junior Guards all the JGs plus tons of parents and other swimming enthusiasts gather at the beginning of the sand at 1st Place and race all the way to the end of the sand at 72nd Place on the Penisula. The race course is four miles of running and two miles of swimming and it is tough! Participants swim 13 buoys at each lifeguard tower plus all the way around the pier and run the distances in between. If you can complete the race in under two hours you are considered a "Stud Ironman". This year the conditions were perfect - the tide was two feet low and coming up, the water was warm, the sun was shining, and there were no currents. Once again Kevin recruited one of his Masters swimming friends, Sam to swim with one of the boys. Kelly jumped at the chance to swim with Sam. The boys looked strong and confident from the beginning of the race:
4 comments:
Wow...great job!! Maybe Sabrina will join you next year!
Wow!! That is awesome. Way to go Wyatt and Kelly
Great job boys!
Great job boys. The pic of wyatt and kelly giving five and kevin watching makes me want to cry, they are all so happy. I love it. You boys are so amazing, I can't even run more than a mile. Love you all!
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