Forney and Waite Turn the Screws at BOLT

By Circ Toepel

It has been unseasonably if not sweltering hot at Branched Oak Lake just outside of Lincoln Nebraska but the weather took a break and dipped down into the mid-80's just for us.  The heat and high humidity did not seem to affect the EPC team as they came, they saw and they kicked butt.  It was all EPC all the way as Cody Waite and Co took control of the race from start to finish.

The point to point swim was a little longer than anticipated at 1300m but drew rave reviews and racers swam across the lake to the transition on the south side.  Once ashore, they grabbed their bikes and were off onto the rolling twisty singletrack making their way back around the lake to where they started the swim.  Ed Oliver just flat spanked everyone on the bike with a blistering 1:15:29, even holding off Cody and entered T2 just ahead of his coach.  Cody must be very proud of his team as they were all within a few seconds of each other in the three events.  Not wanting to give up all his training secrets Cody nipped them slightly and finished with a time of 2:12:33.  The EPC boys followed like machine gun fire, Luke Jay with the fastest run of 32:09 was up next with finish time of 2:15:07 then Jason Hilgers 2:15:18, Ed Oliver, 2:15:29 and Ricky Toliver, 2:16:35. After the race Cody said "The bike course was way more fun than I expected and would recommend this race to anyone within an 8 hour drive!"  I also heard Cody say "There are a lot of friggin' hills out there".   

Kathy Forney, competing in her first XTERRA, took the win for the overall women, surprising the field and even herself.  She said "It was fun being a participant instead of a spectator".  Becky Batizy led everyone except Michael Miller out of the water in 20:55.  7 minutes later, Kathy finished her swim.  From that point Kathy showed that she has learned a thing or two by watching Cody last year.  I am guessing she has gotten a few killer training tips too as she whipped off the bike in 1:36:53, then went on to run a 36:53 for a finish time of 2:44:45.  Kristine Gewin put up a strong fight for 2nd and finished 44 seconds later.

When your entire family is involved you know there is going to be a great post race party.   Jared's dad had several grills fired up turning some Nebraska cows into tasty burgers.  Did you expect anything less in the beef capital of America?  They did not have the famous worm eating contest from last year but there was plenty of fun and games as racers competed with the same intensity as out on the course.  Vince Koziol cranked off 137 pushups and was rewarded with a $20 gift certificate to Cycle Works.  There were a prodigious amount of prizes given away and those that stuck around were rewarded handsomely.  In addition to the XTERRA wetsuit and XTERRA shoes, several rounds of golf at the prestigious Woodland Hills Golf Club, more gift certificates for Cycle Works, the local bike shop and everything in between.   Many thanks to all the volunteers but especially to Jared's family for making this incredibly fun event happen.

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