Chris Foster Wins Nautica Malibu Sprint Triathlon

Race Report by Chris Foster / Photos by Karli

At the last minute, about five days ago, I decided to race the Nautica Malibu Sprint Triathlon. While this is not a race I would normally do, as it has no points or prize money, I signed up because I knew there would be a decent pro field coming out. Aside from some local pros,the biggest names were Fabio Carvalho, Jose Azevedo (both from Brazil), and another Australian pro by the name of Chris McCormack. McCormack is the only triathlete to win both World Championships and be #1 on the World Cup rankings in the ITU. McCormack has numerous wins at Escape From Alcatraz, Wildflower, Chicago Tri, LA Triathlon, Ironman Australia, and the list goes on. He is on of the heavy favorites to win next month’s Ironman Worlds.

So I signed up for this race, knowing that it would be a rare chance to race one of the greats–especially at a shorter distance.

At the gun, roughly 100 people in the Pro/Elite wave ran into the chilly 59 degree water and out to the first buoy. I knew I had to get out fast because it was such a short race, so I pinned myself to McCormack’s feet and hung on for dear life. As we rounded the last buoy, I felt good enough to try to break from the pack (something I have never, EVER done) and put a little time on a few guys. Coming in through the surf, I looked around and didn’t see many people except that I was running out ahead of McCormack. I got to the sand and he slowly passed me, but I quickly realized that if I wanted the official credit of beating him out of the water, I would have to sprint ahead to the timing mat–which I did!

Out onto the bike, I had lost a little time in transition, but was feeling surprisingly good in fourth place behind McCormack, Carvalho, and another pro, Caue Suplicy. I had changed the setup on my KHS Flite Team with Cole Shuriken Carbon Lite T85s and it was really working for me. At the halfway I had gained all the time I had lost and was feeling incredibly strong riding near the group of three at the front. With about five miles to go, I made a big move on McCormack and Carvalho to keep the pace honest and test them a little. They responded fairly quickly, but it definitely made things a little tougher. As we came into the transition, I saw that the media and spectators were there in full force with cameras and flashes going off everywhere. It was pretty crazy.

Off the bikes, I had a slow transition compared to McCormack and Carvalho, so I lost quite a bit of time going out onto the run. Usually for the run, this doesn’t matter as much because I can make it up quickly, but that wasn’t going to happen today with this field. It took me a little over a mile (out of the four mile course) to bridge up to those two guys and it took a bit out of me. Once I got up to them, Carvalho started to fade off the pace and it was just me, Chris McCormack, and a huge television helicopter following us around the point at Malibu. Very, very surreal. At this point, I figured I would not win if I tried to play back and forth with a World Champion. I knew the only things I had going for me where that I had a very strong kick (from being a miler in college) and that he had no idea who I was or how I ran. I stayed off his shoulder and played it smart until we hit the three mile mark, and I totally took off in almost full sprint. From what I am told (I started running and did NOT look back), they say I gapped him early probably because he thought I would fade, but then with a little to go, he started charging. I could hear the crowd going crazy, so I started sprinting again for the line. Once I hit the line in first, everyone went nuts. I was immediately whisked away for a bunch of interviews with Triathlete Magazine, FSN, Fox, and other media outlets.

This race was probably the most perfect race I have had so far in my career. I swam at the front, cycled at the front, and used my run to win the race without having to completely bury myself. I didn’t make any mistakes and everything went exactly to plan. Not only that, but it was so exciting to win in from of a home crowd with my coach (Bernard Baski), Karli (my girlfriend), and so many of my triathlete friends there to watch. Certainly with all of the media coverage and the fact that I beat Chris McCormack, this race will open a few more doors to sponsorships, contacts, and probably training groups (McCormack is a very cool guy and has offered to set me up with some of his contacts from his ITU days). And somehow with all of this, I think the best is still yet to come!

Thank you as always for your support and your encouragement, this day could not have come without everyone’s help!!