Brent McMahon ran a smokin' half-marathon time of one hour, 13 minutes and 20 seconds to win Ironman 70.3 St. George in Utah on Saturday.
McMahon's overall time was 3:51:10, over two minutes ahead of the second place finisher, Kevin Collington (U.S.A).
It's a significant win for the Victoria-based triathlete and two-time Olympian, proving he has the capabilities of winning long distance races. McMahon has traditionally competed on the International Triathlon Union's world circuit, which is Olympic distanced (1,500-metre swim, 40km bike, 10km run). Ironman 70.3 races are a 1.9km, 90km bike and 21.1km run, half the distances of the famous Ironman race, and take almost four hours to complete.
McMahon was well behind the lead group coming out of the swim. His bike time also lagged but his run outpaced everyone as he caught and surpassed the field leaders.
Canada's next best finish in the race was Trevor Wurtele of Kelowna in 10th (03:57:55). Trevor's partner Heather finished third among woman (the top Canadian woman) with a time of 4:20:26. The Wurteles once courted as mountain biking partners during their time studying at UVic.
McMahon is a regular on the local scene having competed in the relay of the Subaru Western Triathlon series half-Ironman at Elk Lake. That race is coming up on June 16. The first Tri-Series race is May 26 at Shawnigan Lake.