By Karen Smyers
November, 20, 2008 -- For those who like to milk the fitness built up over the long season for an extra few weeks, November is a great time for a destination race. One race that fits the bill perfectly is the November 16 Olympic-distance Caribbean Classic on the U.S Virgin Island of St. Croix: the weather is warm, the scenery abundant and the atmosphere fun and relaxed. A pro prize of $10K brings in a few eager professionals, and good word of mouth is bringing in more amateurs each year, including many from the surrounding islands to vie for the Caribbean Championship title.
The island endured a lashing from a strong hurricane in October. The extra precipitation had the silver lining of leaving the island lush and green for race weekend. The island’s premiere hotel, The Buccaneer, goes out of its way to provide a great experience for all the athletes, hosting a welcome party and an awards buffet at the seaside restaurant in addition to providing the setting for the swim, run and transition area. More than one athlete (well, at least one) was indulging in the Paradise Punch at the welcome party in true destination-race style.
Race morning, the two-loop 1.5km swim looked to be smooth and peaceful from the shore, but once at the first buoy we learned how deceptive looks can be. The waves wreaked havoc with our rhythm and made seeing the next buoy a quest for perfect timing—only if you were atop a wave could you see anything but water. The peek-a-boo game threw last year’s winner Richie Cunningham, from Australia, and New Zealand’s Bryan Rhodes for a loop as they swam off-course and came in three minutes behind a trio of French athletes: Benjamin Sanson, Stephane Poulat and Sudrie Silvain.
The 40km bike course requires more gear changing than some Kansans may do in a lifetime. The undulating roads (and road surface for that matter) cause bike times to be slow and the energy consumption to be high. The run course consists of two hilly 5K loops on the seaside golf course, which further tests the legs and lungs.
Sanson blasted the bike course determined to make up for the broken seat post that took him out of last year’s race. He came off the bike with a two-minute lead on his two compatriots, but Poulat, who hones his run speed on the ITU circuit, unleashed an astounding run split of 33:39 over the 10km course to take the race by three minutes over Sanson. Silvain finished third, completing the French sweep.
In the women’s race, defending champion from Australia Mirinda Carfrae took a decisive lead on the swim over U.S. competitors Karen Smyers and Katya Meyers and never looked back (I waved a few times on the out and backs though). Carfrae built on her lead on the bike and sealed it with a run split that even caused fleet-footed RIchie Cunningham to get chicked. Cunningham was still aglow from his third-place finish at the 70.3 world championships a week prior, so he took it in stride.
Smyers held on for second and Meyers took the final place with prize money, relieved to get through it after battling the flu in the days leading up to the race.
Reginald Douglas from the Caribbean island of Nevis won the overall amateur race, and Kristie Decelles from New Hampshire was the first amateur woman. It should also be noted (in order to ensure my invitation for next year’s race) that Todd Newman, who hosted Smyers for the weekend, also took home one of the unique hand-painted plaques for first place in the 50-plus category.
It is rumored that the post-race luncheon was followed up with some live music and dancing at one of the island’s watering holes. That is the final trait of a good destination race: It should be easy enough to leave you with enough energy to enjoy the destination but hard enough to make you feel you have earned your Paradise Punch.
Full results can be found here.