PLATTSBURGH — Clinton County Legislator Robert Heins continued his impressive performances in distance racing last week by winning his division in the Ironman 70.3 Vineyard Triathlon race in Santa Rosa, Calif.
Heins, 73, won the 70-to-74 age division by covering the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 13.1-mile run in six hours, 31 minutes and 37 seconds.
Heins (R-Area 10, City of Plattsburgh) turned in a strong bike leg, covering the 56 miles in three hours, 11 minutes and 35 seconds despite breaking the chain on his bike on the rough roads.
“California is so broke they can’t afford to fix the roads,” he said. “Some guys broke their carbon-fiber bike frames, it was so rough.”
Heins, a Plattsburgh dentist, finished the swim portion of the race in 43 minutes and seven seconds and ran the half-marathon in two hours and 23 minutes.
He finished 1,392 overall out of 2,067 competitors who completed the race, which is a qualifier for the Ironman World Championship 70.3 at Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, Nev.
“I beat some Californians. That was nice,” he said.
The win was Heins’s third straight victory in distance racing this year.
He will next compete in a full Ironman race in Mount Tremblant, Quebec, on Aug. 19.
Email Joe LoTemplio:
jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com
