Athlete Race Recap: Bear Chase 10K & IRONMAN Chattanooga

This weekend, two Full Circle Endurance athletes were racing!

• The Bear Chase 10K - Lakewood, Colorado
• IRONMAN Chattanooga - Chattanooga, Tennessee

Bear Chase 10K

Jennifer Pearce ran The Bear Chase 10K in Lakewood, Colorado on Sunday, September 24, 2023!

The Bear Chase 10K is just one of the distances offered as part of this trail race weekend.  All races take place in Bear Creek Lake Park, which is a park that Jennifer absolutely loves and trains in almost all the time.  So for her, this was a wonderful chance to race with “home field advantage.”  The weather was absolutely perfect on race day and Jennifer felt strong throughout the entire run, finishing fourth in her age group.

Way to go, Jennifer!

IRONMAN Chattanooga

Paul looks strong coming into the finish line of IRONMAN Chattanooga!

Paul Elm had so much fun doing his first-ever IRONMAN two months ago at IRONMAN Lake Placid that he decided to do his second one at IRONMAN Chattanooga on Sunday, September 24, 2023!

Doing two IRONMANs in two months is no easy feat, but Paul worked really hard this year to be ready to take this on.  IRONMAN Chattanooga’s swim takes place in the Tennessee River and is point-to-point with the current in favor of the athletes.  This makes for very fast swim times (for instance, Paul finished the 2.4-mile swim 34 minutes faster than he did in Lake Placid).  The bike course at IRONMAN Chattanooga is actually 116 miles long (not the standard 112), but even so, Paul rode the course much faster than he rode in Lake Placid and had a very solid bike split.

The run proved to be the most challenging aspect of Paul’s day; the temperatures were high (in the mid-80s) and the run course doesn’t have a ton of shade.  Paul stuck to a run/walk strategy, which he (wisely) continued to modify as he moved through the race.  As a result, he was able to finish strong (and not in the medical tent like so many others did that day).

Paul has been exceptionally dedicated to his training since we started working together 18 months ago.  As a result of that consistency and dedication, he’s made significant progress in both his endurance and his strength when it comes to long-course triathlons, and I can’t wait to see where he goes next!  

Congratulations on a great race and season, Paul!