Tyler Butterfield to Return for May 24 Marathon
Bermuda’s Olympic triathlete Tyler Butterfield has a hectic race schedule ahead of him; including a stop back to the island to compete in the 2010 May 24th Marathon Derby.
Expected to be one of the top finishers, the May 24th may be a family affair with Mr Butterfield battling his cousin’s husband Chris Estwanik for the top spot.
Mr. Butterfield was 2nd last year, placing behind his cousin-in-law Chris Estwanik. Mr Estwanik, a two time May 24th winner and the record holder, is a former 1500m professional runner.
Mr Estwanik and his wife Ashley will be running this year’s May 24th for the Team Hope charity. Ashley Estwanik is Tyler Butterfield’s first cousin, and a former winner of the May 24th herself.
The May 24th family connection doesn’t stop there, as Mr Butterfield’s mother is legendary runner Debbie Butterfield, who holds the record [along with Sandra Mewett] for all time wins at the May 24th, with a total of 7 victories. In addition, his cousin Ashley Estwanik is the daughter of veteran runner Peggy Couper.
Prior to the May 24th, Mr Butterfield will race the Tokio Triathlon on May 16th at Clearwater Beach, which is put on by his major sponsor Tokio Millennium Re.
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In addition to his two Bermuda events, Mr Butterfield has 5 more races in 10 weeks starting this weekend.
First is Monterrey ITU World Cup which for this year is a `preparation race’ for his key races following. He says that keeping his name in the minds of the International Triathlon Union is an important part of making sure he is on the start-line for the London Olympics in 2012.
After a quick there-and-back trip to Mexico, he is on the road for 6 weeks.
Also included in his race schedule is his big trip is the American 70.3 Championships (Half-Ironman distance) in Texas.
From there Mr. Butterfield will travel directly to St. Croix for another 70.3. St. Croix is one of the most well known races in the US and is renowned for it’s hilly course and its heat. From there, he heads back home to Bermuda.
After a month in Bermuda, Mr. Butterfield will race in New Hampshire at the Mooseman 70.3 before heading back to Boulder for a few days.
The following weekend he is off to the Boise 70.3 and then a short reprieve [he gets a weekend off racing] he heads to Philadelphia for his 2nd major sponsors race which is now part of the `Lifetime Series’.
Mr Butterfield already made an impressive start to the season with a 2nd place behind Chris McCormack at the Lavaman Triathlon in Hawaii on March 28th.
The youngest male triathlete to compete at the 2004 Olympics, Mr Butterfield in based in Colorado where he is in full time training for the 2010 London Olympics.
