Team Sport Factory athletes Angela Meyer and Gerry Halphen locked in their Kona slots at Ironman Coeur d’Alene on June 21, 2009. Racing the Hawaii Ironman has been a dream for both Angela and Gerry, and after years of hard work, the right coaching, and a solid racing strategy, they made their dream a reality.  Both athletes were coached by Sport Factory Head Coach Matt Russ , who has coached  over a dozen athletes to Kona as well as many other World Championships.

Sport Factory Elite Team member, Angela Meyer, was confident in her training leading up to the race. However, Angela knows as well as anyone that anything can happen on race day.  In 2008, she posted one of the fastest female run times of the day, but two flat tires on the bike kept her out of the game.  She went into the 2009 race more determined than ever  . . . and left nothing to chance as she won the 25-29 age group with a 10:48:44 finish time.

Meyer attributes her strong performance on race day to her ability to stay focused.  “I did not win my AG because I was the strongest athlete; my mental toughness, laser focus mind and the passion in my heart won it. The body shut down around mile 60 on the bike course, leaving me no choice but to adapt and play the cards I was dealt. There is no such thing as perfect race. Instead of getting upset and emotional on the run course, I stayed focused and kept the positive thoughts following. When I made the last turn of the run course and saw my dad at the same time I saw the finish line, tears of exhaustion, pain and disappointment began to flow. Not the best finisher photo, but it captured what it took to make my dream of winning a Kona slot a reality. It was an awesome experience at an exquisite venue.  I achieved the unfathomable on 6/21/09 . . . at least I thought it was unfathomable until Matt Russ agreed to take me on as one of his athletes. None of this would have been possible without his guidance and brains.“

Sport Factory athlete, Gerry Halphen, finally locked in his Kona slot after nearly seven years of coming very close, but just missing.  After loosing his job, Coach Matt Russ did not want him to miss out on his dream, and followed through by coaching him free of charge for 18 months. 

Halphen’s time of 9:58:36 and 11th place finish in the 40-44 age group was enough to clinch it.  So what did he learn over the years?  Halphen attributes it to consistent pacing throughout the day.  “Pacing, pacing, pacing…even though my power was slightly lower than last year’s average, I managed to cut nine minutes off my bike split.  I did this through intense focus on having as even a bike as I could possibly muster.”

Congratulations to both Angela and Gerry on your stellar accomplishments!