Maybe you've been following the Chicago triathlon scene for a few years. Maybe you're relatively new to the sport. But one name you won't want to forget when it comes to triathlon in the Windy City is Christine Anderson. Granted she no longer lives in Chicago--she moved to Boulder, Colo., roughly a year ago--but she has roots in the area. Her family is from St. Charles.
The 28-year-old is fast, no matter what distance race she's competing in you'd expect to see her name among the top finishers. She could probably beat some of the pros--and if you only count the swim portion this former collegiate swimmer could leave you, and some of those pros, in the dust. And now she has a race honor that many triathletes can only dream of receiving.
Anderson was recently awarded Triathlete of the Year honors from USA Triathlon, the governing body when it comes to the state of triathlon in the U.S. And to be honest, it comes as no surprise. Anderson was the first elite amateur at the Chicago Triathlon and was the top amateur finisher in both the Wildflower Triathlon Olympic-distance event and Ironman 70.3 Boulder.
And that's only what she accomplished in 2011. Her 2009 and 2010 were mighty impressive too. If you read the race reports that Anderson often shares at Team Timex's blog, you might start to wonder if she has a cape and mask hiding somewhere (the minimal tri suit would tell you no such luck). She qualified for Kona in her first attempt at the Ironman distance. It became routine to check race results from the weekend's triathlons and see Anderson's name near or at the top. She suffered a bad crash along the Lakefront while training for Ironman yet still managed to have a good race day. And if memory serves me correct, there's something about racing on a broken toe or a stress fracture or something rather painful to run on, yet Anderson did and no one, except maybe her, knew the difference.
To read more about Anderson, who has gone pro for 2012, check her out on Team Timex's page at teamtimex.timexblogs.com.
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