Slow but sure finish for Butch

 Butch Sublemente ‘s progress in the race in the 2011 XTERRA World Championship last month was slow, but sure.

He debuted in the annual off-road race in Hawaii on Oct. 24 (Oct. 25 on Saipan) crash free and went on to cross the finish line in Maui at the 3:41:07 mark, joining more than 500 finishers, including fellow Saipan triathlete Mieko Carey. Former XTERRA World champions Conrad Stoltz of South Africa and Melanie McQuaid of Canada missed the finish line, as after their strong starts they were forced to quit in the run leg due to asthma attack and fatigue.

Sublemente, who returned on Saipan last weekend, said his strategy in the exhausting race was really to start slow, as he knew he could not keep pace with the veteran XTERRA World participants and world champions. At the very beginning of the race-the 1.5-kilometer swim leg at the D.T. Flemings Beach-Sublemente stayed out of the group of fast swimmers.

“In triathlon, swimming is my weakness. Then it was my first time to swim in Hawaii with more than 600 swimmers. I was told when you stay in front, there is a big possibility that swimmers will hit you and you could drink a lot of water as they push and kick you down,” Sublemente said.

“So what I did was stayed away from the first group. When I dove I was a bit nervous of the rough water, but after a few meters, I got my rhythm and I was relieved to finish the toughest test for me,” said the PIC employee, who finished the swim leg with a respectable time of 36:32.

Next up for Sublemente was the 30-km bike leg, which was not that hard for him, as he has been dominating road and MTB races here.

“The bike course was okay. I didn’t crash and had only minor problems. One was I could not simply overtake bikers, as there were some single-track lanes. I had to wait for the right time to pass bikers. Second, my handle bar got loose, so I had to stop to fix it and I lost some time,” said the 37-year-old triathlete, who completed the bike race in 1:58:49.

In the final leg of the race-the 10-km run where Stoltz and other non-finishers pulled the plug, as they could no longer take the heat-Sublemente said it never crossed his mind to quit.

“It was one of the hardest run legs I ever had. Right at the very start of the run leg, I had to climb up the course. There was no flat surface to start and warm up so a lot of the participants really struggled. Fortunately, Mieko and I managed to survive and finish the race,” said Sublemente, who timed in at 1:05:46 in the final leg.

“It was a memorable race, as I was able to see Lance Armstrong and compete against world-class triathletes. The long journey to Maui was all worth it,” Sublemente said.

The Saipan triathlete would like to thank the following for making his XTERRA World debut possible: Pacific Islands Club, Saipan Bike Pro, NMITF, Saipan Cyclers, Pacific Trading, Co., MVA, IT&E, MARPAC, Brabu Pharmacy, Triple J Super Fresh Market, Bank Pacific, Thai Massage, Transamerica Hardware, DFS Galleria, and the PIC Seaside Grill Staff.