Rob Gray started conservatively on the final day of the Ultraman World Championship and his strategy paid off.
Gray, a Colorado native, paced himself in the middle of the pack early on during stage 3’s 52.4-mile double marathon, before he decided to make his move midway through the run, passing one runner after another on the way to a first place overall finish with a three-day time of 22 hours, 19 minutes and 48 seconds.
Virginia’s Jeremy Howard made valiant effort to steal the lead from Gray on Sunday, placing first in the double marathon with a blazing time of 6:24:17. The time was 35 minutes faster than Gray, who placed second, but came up five minutes short of what was needed to take over the lead.
Howard finished with an overall time of 22:25:16.
“I was worried about Jeremy because he is a great runner,” Gray said. “I did not think he would run a 6:30 marathon but I also did not think I would run under seven hours. I thought maybe a 7:15 time would have won it, but after the first marathon I knew I was not going to be able to let up.”
Gray managed to break his previous double marathon time by over 40 minutes to pick up the victory.
“I have been working hard all year, specifically on my run,” Gray said. “That was a faster time than I have ever run in Kona, even in the Ironman World Championship.”
Gray led after every day of competition, thanks mostly to a powerful bike portion of the race. On the first day of competition, Gray exited the water after a 6.2-mile swim in second place with a time of 2:38:05. However, he crushed the 90-mile bike ride, and with a time of 4:51:49, he was the only rider to finish the 90-mile trek under the five-hour mark.
With the fastest swim time overall, Howard kept himself in striking distance, placing second after the first day with an overall time of 7:46:37.
“The swim was beautiful, with a calm ocean. It was actually relaxing,” Gray said. “Jeremy got out ahead of me but I was pretty far ahead of everyone else. I got on the bike and I was able to pull in front.”
Gray entered the second day of the race with a 17 minute advantage. Stage 2 was all about the bike as athletes raced from Volcano to Hawi on a 171.4-mile journey up the eastside of the island. Gray had the second-fastest time of the day at 7:50:21, which kept him in the lead.
The big mover on Day 2 was Arnaud Selukov, who finished the stage in 7:36:06 to jump into second place, trailing Gray by 24 minutes. Howard dropped to third with the fourth fastest State 2 time of 8:14:22. He now trailed Gray by 40 minutes, setting up the final day’s double marathon.
“On the second day, the island threw everything it had at us from a torrential downpour to huge winds in Kohala,” Gray said. “Arnaud went all out from the beginning. Kudos to him.”
After completing a race that took three days and more than 300 miles, Gray had a surprising answer when asked how Ultraman compared to the Ironman World Championship.
“Ironman is not enjoyable at all. You do it because it is the World Championship” Gray said. “This race is fun. You get to circumnavigate the entire island and see all the beauty it has to offer. It is more challenging, but that is part of the adventure.”
Gray was crewed by John Roberts, Michael Bush and team captain Ian Hersey.
Germany’s Steffi Steinberg won the women’s competition in dominating fashion, posting a three-day time of 26:02:27. Steinberg is a two-time Ultraman World Championship competitor and a 13-time Ironman finisher. She has finished Hawaii’s Ironman World Championship three times.
Steinberg was crewed Jamie Pardau, Christiane Bauer, Ruth Benner and team captain Gary Steinberg,