Name: Amy Kloner

Race and Date: 11global Cape Town – March 1st, 2009

Race Placement/Time: 1st Female – 2:12

Tell Us About Your Race: When my friend, Ryan Landy, encouraged me to participate in this race series that he started, I initially hesitated because olympic distance isn’t my specialty. But the opportunity to travel and race in South Africa was more than enough reason to get me out of my comfort zone. Cape Town is a beautiful setting for this very well-organized race. The swim was choppy and the water was very cold. I was 2:15 down from the leader after T1. I biked like a bat outta hell and caught her just as we rolled into transition, posting a 1:03 bike split. Both transitions were granny-slow for me, and she was 20sec ahead out of T2. My run was paced for what I normally try to race 70.3 (bummer), but I finally caught up before the 3rd mile, and won by 2:45. The run had some tough hills and got pretty hot, so I was happy to just hold on for the win! Final time was 2:12.
Everything about this race was top-notch, and it has been such an honor just to be here. Ryan set up a couple community projects for us before the race, which made our time here much more authentic and enjoyable. I feel so lucky to have experienced this. The win was definitely a bonus, but only a small part of a very cool trip.
Thank you to my coach, Matt Russ, for preparing me well for an early race and starting the season off right!