Chicago--The 2010 marathon promises to be the most competitive in the 33-year history... victory by either could seal the WMM title and a $1 million season prize
Rebecca overcame a major injury this year. Laurel is a cancer survivor.
"We race to win," said Laurel, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma at 23. "We also race to inspire people. We have worked really hard and overcome a lot to get to this point. We want to show that if you focus and fight, anything is possible."
Rebecca, 35, sits atop the Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series' pro women's standings with 25,000 points, heading into the Series' final event. Laurel, younger by five minutes, is fourth with 23,000 points.
Filip Ospaly (31,000 points) surged to the top in the men's standings with a fifth-place finish Sunday in Los Angeles. David Thompson (29,000) fell to second, followed closely by U.S. Olympian Matt Reed (25,000 points), the defending U.S. Open Triathlon men's champion.
The twins, along with defending women's champion Lisa Norden of Sweden and Reed of Boulder, Colo., will be among approximately 30 of the world's top triathletes competing here. They'll be racing on a new course featuring a 1.5K swim at Lake Ray Hubbard, a 40K bike ride through Rockwall and a 10K run that starts and ends at The Harbor in Rockwall.
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The pros will be racing for a share of the $92,000 prize purse. The overall men's and women's winners each earn $20,000. The Series titles are up for grabs with double series points at stake. The top three series finishers will share $68,000 in bonus prize money. The Series winners each receive $20,000 and a Toyota Prius.
About 1,500 local and regional triathletes will join the pros on the same course. There's also a sprint race.
For Rebecca, she said she's excited to race injury-free. Last October at the LA Triathlon, she tore her plantar fascia, the connective tissue that supports the arch of the foot. She resumed running after a nine-month layoff in time for the series' second event, the Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis in July.
"I feel like I'm pretty much healed up and in good shape for the first time all year," she said. "I'm excited about the possibility of winning the whole series, but mostly the possibility of racing full-strength."
Laurel, now in her third professional season, has had a breakthrough year.
"I have improved a lot since last year," said Laurel, who took time off from her photo editor job to train through the winter. "I surprised a lot of people."
The sisters both live in New York City, where they complete three-a-day workouts together. They've had impressive series results, especially in New York where Rebecca won and Laurel was second.
Last weekend, they raced in a triathlon relay to support the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. Laurel is the first cancer survivor to become a professional triathlete, she said.
Thousands racing at Chicago on Sunday: Amanda Comrie, 22, of Dallas will be among hundreds of Texans running Sunday's sold-out Bank of America Chicago Marathon. The race registered 45,000 runners, representing all 50 states and 100 countries. Comrie, who hopes to run a sub-four-hour time, will be running with six college friends.
Olympian Ryan Hall to be in Dallas: The public is invited to run and visit with U.S. Olympian Ryan Hall and his wife, Sara, a professional 1,500- to 5,000-meter specialist. The meet-and-greet will be at Luke's Locker, 3607 Oak Lawn, 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14. The evening will begin with a social run followed by a presentation about The Hall Steps Foundation, a nonprofit established to end world poverty. Then there will be a question-and-answer session.
Ironman participants
Name Age City How gained entry
Qualifiers
Patrick Schuster 38 Arlington Ironman Florida
Chris Moody 42 Frisco Eagleman 70.3
Andrew Work 43 Dallas Ford Ironman Arizona
Ahmed Zaher 46 Dallas Ironman St. Croix 70.3
Kelly Luttmer 47 Coppell Ironman Louisville
Della Irby 49 Lewisville Buffalo Springs 70.3
Tom Rodgers 50 Arlington Ironman Florida
Ironman Lottery Winners
Clay Scheitzach 35 Dallas Lottery
James Gracey 38 Fort Worth Lottery
Marc Johnson 39 Frisco Lottery
(source:dallasnews.com)
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