Anchorage Daily News

Young Will Ross pushed Ironman World Championship veteran Jens Beck to the limit on Saturday before Beck pulled away on the run to win the Xterra Hammerman Triathlon at Kincaid Park.

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Although Beck handily won the swim leg, Ross, a powerful 19-year-old biker, won that split by nearly three minutes to grab a narrow lead heading into the final leg. Not until 1.5 miles into the 4-mile run did Beck seize back the lead, this time for good.

His time of 1 hour, 29 minutes, 2 seconds edged Ross by 55 seconds. Andy Duenow, 43, was third in 1:35.

"He slaughtered us on the bike," Duenow said of Ross.

And that's not all.

"Will has never put together a run like that, either," Duenow added. "He's finally figuring things out. He has just a ton of potential."

Duenow should know. Last year Ross passed Duenow in the final half mile to win by eight seconds.

"I think I raced just as well as last year, if not better," said Ross, a Service High graduate now attending Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo.

But he knew running was the portion of his triathlon that needed work.

How much run training so far this summer?

"None," he said.

In the women's race, Shannon Donley, 36, won for the third consecutive year -- and her third-straight year on a borrowed mountain bike.

She was more than four minutes ahead of runner-up Laura Norton-Cruz. Heather Best of Fairbanks was third, another three minutes back.

Some 120 racers started on a course that race organizers lengthened this year.

Duenow, who doubles as co-race director, described the new Hammerman course as "bigger and badder." Organizers lengthened the bike course by a half-mile and included about 3 1/2 miles of single-track pedaling. They also lengthened the swim and added about a mile to the run.

"We figured it's about 15-20 minutes longer," Duenow said.

The new distances: half-mile swim, 11.7-mile mountain bike ride and 4-mile run.

Ross liked the new look, particularly the single-track riding.

"The more technical it is, the better it is for me," he said.

Cool weather doesn't hurt, either. Ross may have been the only person in Anchorage on Saturday morning rooting for clouds and more rain.

"If it's over 65 degrees," he said, "I don't run well."

He got his wish. The sun didn't peak through until the awards ceremony Saturday afternoon.

Xterra Hammerman Triathlon

Men's Triathlon -- Top 20

1) Jens Beck, 1:29:02; 2) Will Ross, 1:29:57; 3) Andrew Duenow, 1:35:00; 4) Jason Lamoreaux, 1:35:54; 5) Luke Kaskaddon, 1:36:02; 6) Adam Miller, 1:39:17; 7) Todd Borke, 1:41:06; 8) Justin Nash, 1:42:58; 9) Mike Vania, 1:45:14; 10) Christopher Hall, 1:45:43; 11) William Beveridge, 1:48:40; 12) Michael Wheatall, 1:50:32; 13) Justin Voss, 1:50:56; 14) David Summerville, 1:52:55; 15) Adam Looney, 1:53:09; 16) Lee Hall, 1:53:31; 17) Audun Mikkelson, 1:54:33; 18) Justin Shine, 2:01:14; 19) Joshua Arvidson, 2:02:09; 20) Keith McIlvoy, 2:03:41.

Women's Triathlon -- Top 20

1) Shannon Donley 1:49:21; 2) Laura Norton-Cruz, 1:53:38; 3) Heather Best, 1:56:47; 4) Suzanne Wheatall, 2:09:11; 5) Danelle Winn, 2:11:26; 6) Lauren Spinelli, 2:13:30; 7) Kelly Van Hoek, 2:14:27; 8) Evi Emmenegger, 2:15:23; 9) Courtney Lebling, 2:21:26; 10) Jamie Bursell, 2:22:05; 11) Jody Barton, 2:22:28; 12) Tamra Kornfield, 2:26:14; 13) Nancy Meade, 2:28:07; 14) Tekla Seavey, 2:28:58; 15) Erica Kappel, 2:33:07; 16) Sondra Winters, 2:34:09; 17) Jen Dulz, 2:42:22; 18) Rose Theisen, 2:42:31; 19) Alane Hughes, 2:42:40; 20) Helen Aye, 2:47:43.

Women's Duathlon

1) Natalie Dawson, 1:53:53; 2) Kimberly Borke, 2:04:27; 3) Victoria Clark, 2:19:26; 4) Elle Fuller, 2:19:38; 5) Alina Rubeo, 2:22:17; 6) Tanya Rigdon, 2:30:41; 7) Christa Besing, 2:33:59; 8) Jamie Norris, 2:36:06; 9) Barb Adams, 2:54:45; 10) Juanita Fuller, 2:59:15; 11) Carlie Holmberg, 3:35:40.

Men's Duathlon

1) Guy Schwartz, 2:02:28; 2) Carl Smith, 2:03:21; 3) Edward Gross, 2:03:35; 4) Jay Wright, 2:06:48; 5) Wade Gunter, 2:06:58; 6) Michael Bakker, 2:07:13; 7) Bradley Stevens, 2:12:48; 8) Doug McManus, 2:38:23; 9) Tucker Minnick, 2:40:45.

Women Triathlon Teams

1) BYU Women of Three, 1:50:21; 2) Hammer Hotties, 1:54:11; 3) Splash, Spin, Dash, 2:06:26; 4) JAG, 2:33:38; 5) Self Proclaimed Supermodels 2:42:53; 6) Soul Survivors, 3:09:45.

Men Triathlon Teams

1) Tri Hard -- Party Harder, 1:43:10; 2) Service Sophomores, 2:09:59.

Coed Triathlon Teams

1) Fun to Tri, 1:54:42; 2) Team HDR 2:00:09; 3) Team Hammered, 2:09:40; 4) Two Hares & a Tortoise, 2:26:30; 5) Dutchess & Her Flying Dutchmen, 2:55:26.

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