September 28, 2005

Brad Hooper, Saint Martin’s Head Cross Country and Track Coach, crossed the finish line after Sunday's U.S. Half Triathlon Championships wondering where everyone was.

“I was looking around, and where I could see the aid and massage stations, there were not that many people around,” Hooper said. “I was like, ‘Wow, I think I did pretty well!’”

Hooper continued, “My goal was to break the top 100 overall and top 50 if I had a really good day. I also wanted for my own satisfaction to be in the top 100 in two different U.S. Championships. A few years ago, I placed 83rd in the USA Cross Country Championships, and I was looking for my second top 100 finish in the triathlon.”

Hooper exceeded his own expectations by a long shot, finishing 35th overall and fifth in the 35-39 age group by completing the event in a time of 4 hours and 54 minutes.

“It was a hard course—I didn't realize that it was going to be so hilly,” Hooper said. “I told myself that I was going to go as hard as I could. I got out of the water in extremely good position, so I was excited.”

The Half Ironman was held outside Kansas City, Mo. The competitors had to endure the heat and humidity while completing a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run. Hooper qualified for the race by recording a time of 4 hours and 52 minutes at the Troika Half Ironman in Spokane, beating the qualifying time of 5 hours and 15 minutes.

Hooper said his toughest leg was the bike ride, but after “holding his own,” he was able to really make his move on the run, despite the conditions. “It worked to my advantage,” he said. “I could see a lot of guys overheating and suffering from the hills. I was thinking if I could run through the pain I would beat a lot of those guys. I passed 34 guys on the run. I was able to maintain and get through it.”

Hooper was still flying high after the race, and is now setting his sights on a Full Ironman Triathlon sometime in the future. “It helps to have the support of my wife on this,” he said. “It's kind of fun, though. For the amount of training some of the top guys do, and I have two jobs and three girls, I'm still floating.”