Butterfield storms to second Derby victory (Update 2)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, UPDATE: Tyler Butterfield believes he is in good shape for the rest of the season after winning the men’s Half-Marathon Derby for the second successive year.

The two-time Olympian heads to Mexico next month for a World Cup triathlon event, which has ITU points, as he builds up his Rio 2016 qualifying programme.

He said: “I am one of these people that when I go to these races I have to be fit. I went through the 10k in around 32-and-a-half minutes and that’s what I’ll have to do after a swim and a bike.

“I didn’t run the second half that fast but that’s what it feels like after the swim and the bike – it’s very similar. It’s definitely good training for it – the heat and the humidity.

Men’s second-place runner Chayce Smith took defeat on the chin but vowed not to be another Jay Donawa, the race’s historically perennial runner-up.

“We are definitely two different level athletes,” the school teacher said. “Tyler’s a pro – that’s what he does for a living, this is what I do for fun and I had fun today. 

“Next year we’ll be at it again and for years to come. I’m not trying to be a Jay Donawa, you know, I’m going to get one!” 

The Ironman specialist and current Abu Dhabi International Triathlon champion led wire-to-wire, comfortably beating Chayce Smith (1:15:26) and Stephen Allen (1:15:47) into second and third respectively.

Butterfield’s winning time of one hour, 11 minutes, 19 seconds was shy of his 2010 personal best of 1:11:01, although it was streets ahead of last year’s performance.

Without five-time champion Chris Estwanik in the field, Butterfield used his PB as the incentive to set the pace from the off.

“I was close enough to my PB, so I’m not disappointed,” he told the Bermuda Sun. “I was around 18 seconds off so I’m happy with that. I realized a couple of miles from the end it was going to be hard to get it but it was going to be close and coming down I knew the finish was a little bit closer this year because we started a bit further back.

“I pushed as hard as I could but I enjoyed the day still. You go out as hard as you can and sort of hang on. I went out a little quick today but I wanted to test that — at three miles I was almost two or three minutes faster than last year.”

Despite missing out on a new PB, the 31-year-old said Derby win #2 was hugely satisfying.

“It’s exciting to win it again. For me I just love the crowd. You run as hard as you can and you win some and you lose some.

“But it was great to be in the lead and have the crowd support you. It is fun behind the lead cars and motorbike – that’s exciting, I’m not going to lie. But the crowd get behind every one and that’s what so special about today.”

Smith took little solace in his second-place finish and vowed to train harder next year in order to claim his first Derby win.

Asked for his reaction, he told the Sun: “I lost! I don’t know what more to say. I’m a champion. I don’t really do the losing speech thing. I lost and I have more training to do.

“But it’s a new discipline for me too, I’m a miler, and I’m learning how to do the race and the sport.

“I felt he [Tyler] was just the better man. The way he ran the race was a good game plan. He didn’t give me any chance of really catching him back up in the second half.”