150 women enjoy weather, competition for great cause
Competition, camaraderie and caring won the day at the inaugural Sonoma Women’s Triathlon in Healdsburg on Saturday, July 21, as 105 women tested the limits of mind and body — all for a great cause.
Formerly known as Barb’s Tri, the event offered athletes a variety of triathlon race distances, including an Olympic distance (1,500 meter swim, 24.9 mile bike, 6.2 mile run), a Sprint distance (750 meter swim, 25.1 mile bike, 3.1 mile run) and an Olympic Relay (1,500 meter swim, 24.9 mile bike, 6.2 mile run). All races began and finished at Veteran’s Memorial Beach.
After logging a long day, Race Director Adam Ray put the event in perspective.
“The Sonoma Women’s Tri was another chapter in Healdsburg becoming center for athletic performance and personal inspiration in Northern California,” Ray said. “We welcomed many new women into the sport of triathlon on Saturday, hosted a great competitive race for the more experienced ones and raised over $10,000 for cancer patients in Sonoma along the way. Can’t beat it,” he added.
As part of their registration, competing athletes were required to make a pledge, with the proceeds going to benefit the Sutter Institute for Health and Healing in Santa Rosa. The organization offers physical, emotional and spiritual care and comfort for cancer patients to relieve the effects of their treatment.
Race winners
Leading the way in the Olympic Distance race was 44-year-old Stacey Murphy of Oakland, who crossed the finish line in a blistering 2:23:39, some 20 minutes ahead of second place finisher Brenna Broadnax of San Jose (2:43:24). Rounding out the top five were Hayward’s Jessica Hickel (2:44:48), Kerry Gesell of Santa Rosa (2:47:00) and Petaluma’s Elva Guttonmessen (2:47:59).
Windsor athlete victorious
Windsor’s Karen Chequer-Pfeiffer was the top finisher in the Sprint distance race, negotiating the course in a fast 1:13:43. The top five athletes included Greenbrea’s Sheri Tracy (1:17:10), Nicci Van Dyke of Oakland (1:19:27), Lori Schutz of Redwood Valley (1:19:39) and Sabrina Bruckner of Morgan Hill (1:22:49).
Other local finishers in the Sprint distance race (in no particular order) were Windsor’s Breanne Brush (1:35:35), Nataleigh Johnson (1:43:03),Tina Southard (1:59:02) and Laura Roberts (2:15:16), Healdsburg’s Randi Hardesty (1:35:54) and Renee Brassington (1:36:35), Forestville’s Maddison Clara (1:28:04), Barbara Farrell (2:00:33) and Barbra Friedman (2:17:53) and Sebastopol’s Hanna Lamb (1:41:59) and Sandra Stewart (1:58:22).
Local relay team takes first
Among the highlights for local athletes came in the Olympic Relay event, which was won by the team aptly named Splash-Flash-Dash. The group consisted of Healdsburg residents Julie Gross, Shannon Hausman and Lorna Hayman, who negotiated the course in a winning time of 2:51:02.
Other top finishing teams in the Olympic Relay were Team T.O. (Elizabeth Norman, Liz Black, Ann Moorman, 3:13:08), East Coast Mamas (Devon Jameson, Vanessa Holzman, 3:15:54) and Birth Buddies & Babe (Christina Brownson, Gurpreet Kaira, Irene, 3:16:31).
