Michael Lovato

By Will Woodbery, Staff Writer

Jessica Jacobs isn’t kidding when she says she enjoys competing in hilly triathlon courses.

“Anybody can ride up a flat street,” said the 32-year-old resident of Birmingham, Ala. “I’ve always trained on hilly terrain to become a more powerful cyclist. Getting out there really helped me out a lot. I love the hills. That’s what I excel at.”

It was evident Sunday, as Jacobs, a native of Green Bay, Wis., placed first overall among females in the Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon with a time of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 21 seconds.

“You’re always very fortunate when you take first,” said Jacobs, who was competing in Chattanooga for the first time to prepare for the Wisconsin Ironman. “It was a great race.”

Kirsten Sass placed second in 2:16.46, followed by Hallie Blunck in 2:17.52; Margaret Finley in 2:20.24 and Hayley Peirsol in 2:21.10.

The course centered around the transition area and finish line at Ross’s Landing. It featured a 1.5-kilometer swim down the Tennessee River, a 40K bike ride that stretched on U.S. 27 from downtown to Highway 153 and back, and a 10K run down the Tennessee Riverwalk.

Michael Lovato, the men’s overall winner in 1:58.38, said he prepared heavily for what he called “one of the more challenging races” in which he’s competed.

“I definitely trained a little bit more to make sure I was ready for the hills,” said Lovato, a top-10 finisher in last year’s Hawaii Ironman.

Eventually, though, he found his groove.

“A lot of times you get out in the run, and even though it’s hilly, you just get into a rhythm and you just go straight,” he said.

In addition to the geography of the course, competitors had to deal with heavy downpours throughout the morning. The weather had a particular effect on the bicycle portion of the race.

“(The bike course) is not only hilly, but then we had to add the rain into it,” said Craig Evans, the overall male runner up with a time of 2:01.06. “It became a really, really difficult bike course.

“I figured if I went down, I wouldn’t finish,” added Evans, last year’s overall male winner, “so I just took it really easy around the corners and made sure I stayed upright, rubber side down.”

Lovato was similarly cautious during the bike course.

“The biggest thing is you have to be careful,” he said. “I know a lot of guys go into the corners really fast and they really don’t slow down with the rain. For me, it’s just not worth it to take a spill. Fortunately, the really fast downhills were straight, so you didn’t have to ever move on a corner.”

To her relief, Jacobs was nearing the finish line when the rain really began to get heavy.

“I thought to myself, ‘Thank god I’m finishing and I’m not out there all day,’” she said.

Still, Jacobs noted the rain had its benefits as well.

“You always try to prepare yourself, especially in the South, for hot days, but it was nice to cool down with the rain,” Jacobs said.

Rounding out the top-five for the men was Daniel Moss in third third with a time of 2:01.30, followed by Tony White in 2:01.32 and Donny Forsythe in 2:02.20.