BLYTHEWOOD – Bill Wiseman, 61, of Blythewood finished 9th in his age group in the Ironman 70.3 competition in St. George, Utah on May 1, qualifying him for a slot in the World Championships for Ironman 70.3 distance, to also be held in St. George on virtually the same course. The World Championships will be held Sept. 18, 2021.
It was Wiseman’s 40th half Ironman distance event since 2003, and his 7th qualification for 70.3 World Championships since 2010. He’s competed in hundreds of triathlons of varying distances, including 10 full Ironman races.
Wiseman completed the St. George course in 5:36 and has a goal to complete the World Championship race in 5:15. The half Ironman distances are: 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run.
The St. George competition began with a cold swim in Sand Hollow Lake where the water temperature was in the low 50’s.
The bike course followed generally rolling hills, with one signature climb of over 1,000 feet over 4 miles up Snow Canyon. Wiseman finished 3rd in his age group on bike, his strength.
The difficult run course consisted of nearly 1,200 feet of elevation change over the 13.1 mile course. Wiseman will train on many more hills in preparation for the World Championship race.
One of Wiseman’s training partners also qualified for the World Championships and the two will be training together over the summer to be in best possible shape for the September event.
