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Wertheim makes it four at Tri

Phil Sandoval
Post Independent Photo/Kelley Cox Leslie Fotopulos was the fastest woman in the 2004 Tri-Glenwood Triathlon Sunday.
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Charlie Wertheim wore number 300 – the highest and last number issued for Tri-Glenwood Triathlon competitors. But it wasn’t a jinx for the Glenwood Springs resident.After all the numbers were crunched for the 300-plus participants in the 20th year of the annual event, Wertheim came out on top.”He’s just like Lance Armstrong,” Scott Marr said of his friend and race rival. “In this race, everyone else is going for second.”

On a cool, dry Sunday morning, Wertheim earned his fourth straight Tri-Glenwood Triathlon title and fifth overall.His combined time of 1 hour, 20 minutes, 46 seconds bettered Marr, who finished second for the second consecutive year, with a time of 1:23:30. “It was the number they gave me,” Wertheim said of bib No. 300 after concluding the 5-mile run portion of the annual event, which began early Sunday morning with a 825-meter swim at the Hot Springs Pool and was followed by a 15-mile bike trip from downtown Glenwood to Canyon Creek and back. “I thought I had a good race. I was happy about that,” said Wertheim, who was concerned about a challenge from Marr.

“Scott knows a little more now (about the race), so he was a little faster this year,” Wertheim explained. “I was just hoping to finish ahead of him on the bike and maybe I’d have a chance.”Marr, also of Glenwood, saw the cycling portion as the race’s swing point. “(Charlie) blew me away at the Strawberry Days (Shortcut), so I had to beat him on the bike, because I can’t beat him in the run,” Marr said.But Wertheim kept putting space between himself and Marr throughout the race.



Tri-Glenwood: see page 16After gaining a 22-second advantage in the swim, Wertheim finished the cycling portion in 37:02, then ran the 5-mile course in a race-best 30:43.On the women’s side, winner Leslie Fotopulos used the swim to distance herself from the field.

The Littleton resident swam a women’s-best 12:35 to open a lead of more than two minutes over eventual runner-up Michele Jensen and third-place finisher Heidi Vosbeck of New Castle.Vosbeck turned in the fastest time in the run among the top 10 women’s finishers in 34:45.In the team race, the Glenwood Springs Post Independent posted the fastest overall time of 1:27.04 to win the men’s division. Vanilla Thunder won the coed division and the Teacher’s Trio took the women’s division. For more results see Scoreboard on page 16. Complete race results will be available within a few days at http://www.triglenwood.com.For more results see Scoreboard on page 16. Complete race results will be available within a few days at http://www.triglenwood.com.


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