In Ironman Arizona’s brutal winds and blistering heat, Rachel Ross felt right at home. The mother of three from Honolulu put home town heat training to good use, placing first overall age group woman by approximately 30 minutes. Her coach Paul Regensburg says, “Rachel had a tough time in the swim at Oceanside 70.3 a couple weeks ago, and she did a great job overcoming some pre-race swim fears to post a personal best Ironman swim. She showed her expertise in the heat on the bike and run, and demonstrated that she is one of the premier amateur Ironman athletes in the world”.  

Linsey Corbin, the second year pro from Missoula Montana, had never broke 10 hours before. She did so in Arizona with style, posting a world class 9:34 in tough conditions for 5th place, 2 minutes off the podium. This is time that has won the Ironman outright in the past. “Linsey could have chosen a remote Ironman and won outright, but she opted to toe the line with the heavy hitters of Ironman -  Michellie Jones, Heather Gollnick, Erica Csomor. I commend her for that,” said her coach Lance Watson. “She was in the mix all day long, and this experience will be invaluable for her long term development. Linsey will win many Ironman races before her career is over”