Coming off of a strong first half of his race season, Wattie Ink. athlete Guy Crawford and fellow pro/girlfriend Kate Bevilaqua hung up the racing flats for a short mid-season break. Where does one go to relax for a few weeks of rest and recovery? The Arctic Circle of course! Check out Guy’s latest blog “report” on his short vaca before getting back to a hard hitting training block in preparation for Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens:

Check out his blog HERE.

This weekend marked the inaugural run of the White Mountains Triathlon in Franconia Notch, NH. Wattie Ink. duo Diane and Chris Jackson were there to celebrate this grueling and stunning race course. Diane rocked this outrageously hilly course to take home 2nd in her age group.

Wattie Ink. duo Kristen and Al Wade put another XTERRA race on the books at the Torn Shirt Trail Tri in Brighton, MI. Kristen took 1st in her age group and 2nd place overall. This girl is dominating the off road podiums this season! Meanwhile, Al took 2nd in his age group and 5th overall. It’s a never a dull moment with these two, and in true badass fashion, Al came out of wisdom teeth surgery Wednesday and was back at it, balling hard on Sunday. BOOM!

On the west coast, Wattie Ink. OG Kevin Farley toed the line at the Reservoir Tri in Morgan Hill, CA. Rocking hard on this hilly course, Farley took home a 1st place age group finish.

In a last minute (great) decision, Patrick Brady showed up at the High Cliff Half in Sherwood, Wisconsin and rocked it all the way home to a 3rd place overall finish.

We may be coming up on some mid season breaks, but the Wattie’s are still rocking hard.

“What a great experience to race “at home” in Berlin in this inaugural Ironman 70.3. Battling the high winds on a pancake flat, exposed course was really challenging, and I was very happy to come out with the fastest bike split of the day. I really had to push myself mentally and physically to the finish line on the run. Although I was aiming higher, I was I was happy to secure a solid podium spot today,” says McBride of her solid race day.

Always looking to push harder and faster, this badass racer is happy with her day and is ready to continue to rock hard the rest of the season!

In addition to top Wattie Ink. pros Ben Hoffman, Heather Jackson and Erin Green rocking the podium at Ironman 70.3 Boise, there was a great turnout and great result for the Elite Team. SheriAnne Nelson continued her smoking hot season with a 3rd place AG finish and 13th overall (including pros). She scored a slot to Vegas but has (smartly) chosen to fully focus and prepare to ROCK Kona this year. Sarah Barkley, also having a killer race season, took 2nd in her AG and 3rd overall including the fastest AG bike split (by over 10 minutes) and the 2nd fastest run split. Dusty Nabor had a solid day starting with a strong swim as always- posting the 3rd fastest swim time in his AG. Finishing 9th, Dusty scored a rolldown slot of Vegas. Toby Baum also had a strong day throughout and took 10th in his highly competitive age group and also took home a slot to Vegas.

In the midwest, Ron Schmidt toed the line at Ironman 70.3 Kansas alongside Wattie Ink. pro Danielle Kehoe. Like a badass, Schmidt battled through a popped chain, lost nutrition and cramping not to mention the heat and rough course that Kansas boasts, to bring home 6th in his age group. Ashley Niles had a strong day- coming out of the water in 7th, working her way to 6th on the bike and ran her way to a 5th place AG finish, securing a slot to Vegas.

Slightly north of there at the Elkhart Lake Tri in Wisconsin, Jen Yanda continued her early season racing with great success taking 2nd in her age group. Patrick Brady, also on fire this year, took 4th overall.

On the East Coast we had a solid group of Watties pushing hard at Ironman 70.3 Eagleman. Roger Thrall posted a smoking 2:28 bike split in his super competitive age group. Mike Feldman had a solid day throughout as well as Robert Flanigan who cruised home for a 18th place AG finish. Jon Miles balled hard in his tough 40-44 AG.

Also on the east, badass couple Kristen and Al Wade brought their A game to the XTERRA East Championships in Richmond, VA. Alongside XTERRA rockstar and Wattie Ink. athlete Lesley Paterson, Kristen took 4th in her AG and 11th overall on this brutal and technical course. Al took home 5th in his AG, 15th overall and a nice tire burn on his chin. If that’s not badass I don’t know what is!

Amanda Lane rocked yet another race weekend at the Dragonfly Tri in Sardis, MS finishing 1st in her age group and 15th overall, posting a swim PR by almost 3 minutes.

Back on the west coast, Wattie Ink-ers Ashley Alderman and Jaclyn Embry both raced the Castaic Lake Tri in CA and took home 2nd and 5th in their age groups, respectively.

We love putting a busy and successful race weekend like this on the books! Getting in to the heart of race season, the entire Elite Team is looking strong, posting killer results and continuing to build endurance. ROCK THE W!

“Kansas 70.3 was such a blast. I absolutely loved the course, super rolling and hilly. The volunteer staff and race directors put on such a phenomenal event at a truly beautiful location. I highly recommend this race to others who like a challenge. Thank you again to all my wonderful sponsors who are making this journey possible, I couldn’t do it without you!” says Kehoe of this exciting finish.

This breakout race for Danielle is just the beginning of what is becoming a very successful 2013 season.

The lack of a swim opened the door for pro Shonny Vanlandingham- arguably the best mountain biker in the sport- but Paterson’s sheer power and blistering run splits couldn’t be stopped. Flying through the first run leg, she led on to the bike to then have Vanlandingham pass her on lap 2 of the bike. Doing her best to not let the gap open too much she was quickly able to regain her lead about a mile in to the run. Taking the win by nearly 3 minutes, the Scottish Rocket’s incomparable endurance and focus has yet to be bested.

We can’t get enough of Lesley’s impressive drive and exciting fitness this season. With a slew of wet and wild conditions at races this season, Lesley takes no matter what is thrown her way!

photo by David Meadows

“I was really excited to hold on for 2^nd place given the lingering fatigue from Quassy six days earlier. It was an extremely hot and super windy day out there- not an easy one to go in to tired. I knew Liz Lyles would be coming hard on the run and I didn’t have any jump left to try and hang on,” says Jackson of her race. “I couldn’t be happier with the first half of 2013 and am looking forward to taking a mini break right now to recharge for my Vegas prep.”

Also topping the podium for the Wattie Ink. ladies was first year pro Erin Green. Wattie Ink. Elite Team member-turned-Pro took 4^th in her second race since her debut. Her speedy run split brought her in for a podium finish in her hometown of Boise.

In the men’s race, Wattie Ink. rockstar Ben Hoffman had a strong day and came through for a 4th place podium finish. Taking the win in 2011, Ben knows this course well and knows how tough and unpredictable the conditions can be in Boise. A stark contrast to the freezing temps last year, the brutal heat matched with a midday start kept this stacked men’s field on their toes. With a little gap to make up coming out of the swim, the Hoff went to work on the bike, grinding away in what was an incredibly tough men’s field. Coming in to T2 in 5^th, Ben had strong legs on the run and continued to make up even more time. His blistering 1:16 run split was enough to bring him in for a 4^th place finish.

photo by David Meadows

“Boise is one of my all-time favorite races, and I able to add to a string of solid finishes there with my 4^th over the weekend. I’m in the midst of my Ironman build for Coeur d’Alene, so after a mediocre swim, I was happy to ride and run myself back into the mix. Congrats to everyone who got it done on a hot and windy day out there!” says Ben of his solid finish.

This just race adds to the strong and consistent year Ben is having.

Denise Hiller with her comeback race after battling injury for the last 11 months, took an impressive 3th place in her AG. Adam Furlong also had an impressive race taking 3rd in his extremely competitive age group and 12th overall. His speedy bike (4th fastest overall) and run split kept him competitive. Chris Hague pushed hard in the brutal New England heat but encountered 2 flats during the bike. Even with a few set backs he was able to bring home an 8th place AG finish.

On Sunday for the Quassy Half, East coaster Robin Asbury rocked hard and came through for an impressive 4th place finish in her age group. Caldwell Clarke continued his U-39 Clydesdale domination taking 1st in his division. Not only is this Caldwell’s 3d win in a row, its his 2nd Rev3 win this season qualifying him to the Age Group Championships in Knoxville next year. BOOM! Puerto Rico resident (aka she knows how to ball out in the heat), Lizzie Nyitray, posted some slick spits including cruising 3rd out of the water in her AG and the 2nd fastest bike split to take 7th in her age group.

A little Eurostar is just what the doctor ordered for Caldwell Clarke

Scott Johnson looking badass out of the water at Quassy

Across the way in Hawaii, a number of Wattie’s brought the heat to Ironman 70.3 Hawaii. Dillon Hollinger continued his hot season taking 4th in his AG setting a new PR by almost 10 minutes!  Taking his Reynolds 72/90 wheels on their maiden race voyage his turned out the 2nd fastest bike split. Super family Tawnie, Mickey and their (Wattie Ink. honorary member son) Jake McDonald all dominated their races, each scoring a slot to World Championships. Tawnie took 3rd in her AG with a slot of Vegas, Jake took 6th also grabbing a Vegas slot and Mickey took 3rd in his AG scoring a slot to Kona.

In between the Atlantic and the Pacific we had Patrick Brady and Andrew Porn racing the Lake Mills Sprint Tri in Wisconsin giving us 2 Watties in the top 5! Patrick took 2nd with Andrew right behind taking 4th. Also in Wisco, Jen Yanda started her season with a bang at the Aurora Bay Care Oly tri scoring an age group victory and 2nd place overall. Catherine Demet raced Leon’s Fastest Tri in Indiana and took 6th in her AG.

Andrew Porn exiting the swim in his custom BlueSeventy Helix

The Elite Team posting huge results as the season continues to heat up! With another jam-packed race weekend just days away there’s no stopping this crew!