Finishing 13th place in the women’s pro division, Carey timed in at three hours, 21 minutes, and 11 seconds.
The race featured a 1.5 kilometer swim that starts at Makena Beach and Golf Resort, a 32 kilometer mountain bike ride at Haleakala, and a 12 kilometer trail run across lava rock, forest trails and beach sand.
She not only finished 14-minutes earlier this time, but also improved her rank compared to last year (18th place).
She completed the ocean swim at 23:08, finished the bike leg at 2:00:58, and dominated the final trail in 57:08.
“Over everything, I had [a] great race. I am getting to know the course. That makes it easier than last year. Thank you all of my Saipan friends,” said Carey.
This is her fifth Xterra race at Maui, having started in 2006. Having steady training this past year, Carey was glad to “share the great race with other athletes.” She was sponsored by Salomon, Zoot, Louis Garneau, Suunto, and Brabu Pharmacy.
Mieko was joined by husband Kevin Carey, who competed in the 40-44 age group of the men’s division. He clocked in at four hours, six minutes and 14 seconds, marking 30:54 in the swim leg, 2:28:01 in the bike leg, and 1:07:19 in the run leg.
Topping the men and women’s pro categories were Conrad Stoltz and Shonny Vanlandingham.
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