Butterfield to return for Half Marathon Derby
Top triathlete Tyler Butterfield will be competing in his first May 24 Half-Marathon Derby in three years later this month.Butterfield, a professional athlete based in Boulder, Colorado, will then stay on in Bermuda in order to defend his Tokio Millennium Re Triathlon title on June 9.The two-time Olympian is sponsored by Tokio Millennium Re.The 30-year-old last ran the Appleby-sponsored Derby in 2009 and 2010, placing second behind winner Chris Estwanik on each occasion. In 2009 he finished in 1:13.16, almost four minutes behind Estwanik’s winning time of 1:09.17 and the following year managed to shave just over two minutes off his time to clock 1:11.01 as Estwanik recorded a winning time of 1:08.47.On each occasion Butterfield beat out Lamont Marshall for the second spot and this year in the absence of Marshall, Butterfield could again be looking for a top three finish.“I am excited to run May 24th again after having missed it the last two years,” said Butterfield.“I'm not 100 percent fit by any means. But it is a great Bermuda event to just be part of. It also is great training for my triathlon career in half Ironman and Ironman races. In a half Ironman race I have to run the half-marathon after a 1.9km swim and 90km bike, with the Ironman double that.“So to race a straight half-marathon it is a great way to get a good hard run session in. It is always a hard race with the hills and humidity. So I get a good hard, hot, hilly run at a fast pace, but get to enjoy the Bermuda spirit. There is always a lot of spectators and support along the road, which is amazing and fun to be part of.“I hope everyone that is doing it will enjoy it and have had some good and enjoyable training days leading in.”Butterfield’s training remains geared to triathlons in the US, with the Kona Ironman World Championships in Hawaii in October a main focus for him this year. After he returns to the US, Butterfield’s triathlon season will be based around securing points in order to qualify for the World Championships.“So after the Bermuda trip with May 24 and the Tokio Re Triathlon June 9, I will do two half Ironmans or Ironman 70.3s to get those points,” said Butterfield, who had third and 10th place finishes at the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon and the Ironman in Melbourne, Australia in March.“Then it will be just training to do a good performance at the Ironman World Championships.”