Lake Geode Challenge 2012 – You Shoulda Been Here Last Night

The calm summer morning that greeted racers the morning of the 2012 Lake Geode Challenge belied the fast-moving storm that complicated preparations the night before.

'I was driving back from pre-race packet pickup, looking at the sky and thinking, 'that doesn't look good,'' recalled race director Kevin Brueck. 'Then I came over the hill and every one of our tents was just gone. All of the buoys were in the parking lot, we lost power to the shelter.'

Click to view slideshow.The storm was as isolated as it was fast-moving, however, and after an evening shopping trip to replace the tents, everything was ready.

The Olympic distance Lake Geode race has the most challenging course of any race in the Heart of America series. After an in-the-water start, racers head out on the bike and the first thing they see is a big hill that takes them up and out of the lake valley.

Men's champ Alex Liben talks to a reporter from the ice bath

The bike course is hilly and winding, with several sharp turns. And while the weather was by no means cool, race day fortunately fell in between two of the summer's hottest weeks.

The men's race was tight. Josh Otis of Clive was first out of the water and kept the lead through the bike leg, followed closely by Alex Libin of Iowa City.

But Libin chased Otis down on the run, and claimed the Men's crown in 1:58:44.

'He was ahead of me the whole bike, by about 45 seconds, and I just couldn't close the gap,' Liben said afterward, while chilling out in the famous Lake Geode ice water baths. 'But then we headed out on the run, and it worked out.'

Birthday Girl Daniela Williams finishes the race's fastest swim.

On the women's side, it was a happy birthday for North Liberty's Daniela Williams, who captured her second championship of the 2012 season in 2:18:30. She led the entire way, not only winning the women's Geode trophy, but also Fastest Swim and Fastest bike.

She credited the excellent volunteers for keeping her energized. 'Everyone on the course is so happy and cheering, even though it's pretty hot.'

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