Silverman

[mattbikeboy]

I had the assignment to shoot the Silverman Triathlon today. The Silverman is normally one of the toughest Ironman Triathlons in the nation, today was even more so -- for the competitors. The first wave full distance athletes went off and as the half distance athletes were lining up in the water -- the weather broke. We had 30 mph winds (while the full folks were still in the water), dust storms, lightning, thunder and rain! It was doubtful that the half distance athletes were even going to swim today. Luckily, the organizers spotted a break in the radar and got the half guys and girls off an hour later than scheduled.

The full distance bike ride was deluged with rain and gusty winds for the first 50 miles -- and then it broke for good. The short riders had a relatively pleasant race with no major weather problems once they hit the course.

As a photojournalist I clocked nearly 150 miles in my truck getting photos. It did get cold this afternoon once the sky cleared and I went home after the individual winners of the short and long courses came in. I guess I should have stayed for the long course women's winner and the long course relay -- but I was cold and beat by 5:00 pm.

Here is one of the shots:


mbb