Windsor Middle School teacher Bob Shebest picked a perfect time
to score his first major Ironman Triathlon victory on Saturday,
winning the 17th annual Full Vineman in 9:27:12.
The 32-year-old math and science teacher bested some 254
finishers, which included 196 men and 58 women, testing mind, body
and soul to conquer the grueling wine country course.
The Vineman has the distinction of being the oldest full Ironman
triathlon in the Continental United States. The race started at
Johnson¹s Beach in Guerneville and included a 2.4-mile swim,
112-mile bike ride and ended with a 26.2-mile marathon. The
marathon consisted of three loops of 8.7 miles, beginning and
ending at Windsor High School.
The hotly contested men¹s race had Shebest running alongside
35-year-old David Glover of Reston, Virginia during the first two
loops of the marathon run, but gained separation on the final loop
to score a four-minute victory. By finishing the race in under
9:35:00, the two bagged a share of a $2,000 bonus provided by race
sponsor Clif Bar.
³I ran with Glover for quite a while and we carried on a long
conversation,² said Shebest, who finished fourth at the Napa Valley
Marathon in March. ³By the third lap of the run I was starting to
get more confident and knew I had a chance to win.²
Rounding out the top five male finishers in the Full Vineman
were: Brandon Del Campo (29, Boulder, CO 9:43:21), Tim Sheeper (43,
Menlo Park, CA 9:52:49) and Charles McCarroll (27, San Jose, Ca
10:07:09).
Beatrix Blattmann, 33, of Edwards, CA captured first in the Full
Vineman women¹s race in a fast 10:32:00. In finishing under
10:35:00, Blattmann will also take home a share of the $2,000
bonus. The top five women also included: Autumn Ray (26, Galveston,
TX 10:57:47), Michelle Mills (34, Keizer, OR 11:22:15), Alena
Machova (31, Costa Mesa, CA 11:48:09) and Jennifer Fulton (33,
Bozeman, MT 11:57:06).
Also contested on Saturday were a Vineman Relay, Barb¹s Relay,
full and half Aqua-Bike events, and the sixth annual Barb¹s Race,
an all-women¹s competition that included a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile
bike and 13.1-mile run.
Top local athletes in the Half Vineman Relay were Healdsburg¹s
Tim Vallery (34, 14:14:29) and Bob O¹Hair (46, 14:41:03), Windsor¹s
Guadalupe Chavarria (49, 14:06:58) and Brian Tuohy of Sebastopol
(24, 15:08:35).
Rebecca Linkous, 43, of Windsor finished the Full Vineman Relay
in 11:05:56.
Top locals in the Half Vineman Aqua Bike were: Clint Hamblin,
25, of Bodega Bay in 1:53:06 and Healdsburg¹s Mark Togher, 31,
3:30:07.
