EPC by WRC Dominates The Midwest!

XTERRA B.O.L.T. Winners Cody and Kathy!

Last Saturday was the second annual XTERRA B.O.L.T. triathlon outside of Lincoln Nebraska. Nine members of the EPC by WRC Tri Team made the seven hour drive east to contest the event. The day-before pre-ride of the bike course was in the sweltering late afternoon heat and humidity. After the ride and a quick jump in the lake to cool off (well the water temp was a balmy 86 degrees so not exactly cooling off) we headed back to town to packet pick-up at the local bike shop Cycle Works. Coach Cody provided a pre-race clinic for the competitors at packet pickup from 6-6:30. Then the group headed off to dinner and then found their hotel, cleaned up, prepped their race gear all before hitting the sack.

The next days alarm came quick and it was go-time before we knew it. The temperatures had dropped a bit by morning but it was still warm and muggy. The race went off at 9:00 am. The point-to-point 1300m swim went across a big section of the lake. EPC'er Mike Miller was first out of the water and onto the bike. Everyone else was in hot pursuit. The bike course consisted of two fast, twisting singletrack sections with repeated short power climbs separated by a 2 mile section on pavement in the middle. Ed Oliver dominated the bike and reached the pavement first followed 20 seconds later by Cody and the rest more than 2 minutes behind them. Cody closed the gap on the road and the EPC duo flew through the remaining 5 miles of trail in tandem.

Off the bike Cody took the lead and never looked back. Luke Jay put down the fastest run of the day to take second. Jason Hilgers rode and ran well to hang onto Luke and finish third a few seconds after. Ed dropped to fouth place with Rickey Tolliver rounding out the top five and Mike Miller hanging on for 6th. Yes, that's EPC by WRC racers taking the the top 6! But wait...

Not to be out done by the boys, the EPC by WRC girls had a battle of their own for the lead. Coming out on top after an aggressive performance on the bike and a steady run pace was Kathy Tank Forney (first Xterra race ever!) followed 40 seconds later by current Mountain Regional points leader Kristine Gewin. Sandi Garcia came in 6th place while winning her age-group. Boo ya!

Total domination was the feeling of the day!

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