Jocelyn McCauley of College Station, Arizona’s Ben Hoffman win IronMan Texas

THE WOODLANDS — Jocelyn McCauley stood atop the podium, beaming after a grueling, lonesome day. Then came the beer shower.

McCauley, of College Station, won the IronMan Texas triathlon Saturday, and then was showered with celebratory beer by her next closest competitors on the podium. McCauley won The Woodlands event in her seventh appearance with a time of 8:58:13.

“Seventh time’s a charm I guess,” McCauley said with a chuckle. “It was just an unbelievable day. I’m really grateful to really put it all together.”

McCauley beat runner-up Lauren Brandon, of Eagle, Colorado, who finished in 9:10:43. Joanna Ryter, of Switzerland, was third in 9:13:24.

Ben Hoffman, of Tucson, Arizona, won the men’s race in 7:57:58.

“Texas always delivers,” Hoffman said. “Today was challenging conditions. Hats off to everyone who got it done. I felt good enough to get the win. It was a battle right until the end.”

Magnus Ditlev, of Denmark, was the men’s runner-up in 7:58:12, less than a minute behind Hoffman. Jesper Svensson, of Sweden, was third in 8:08:54.

“I kind of had a mediocre swim,” Hoffman said. “There was a pack of guys I was with. Same thing with the bike at the beginning. I was able to distance myself on the back end of the ride. Just tried to settle in and do my race. On the marathon, I had some work to do to catch up. It was a good day all around.”

McCauley caught Brandon, a highly-touted swimmer, on a headwind, and distanced herself from the field on a windy day.

“She’s usually first out of the swim, so I was thinking to myself, maybe I’ll catch her around mile 50,” McCauley said. “When I caught her, I’m not really sure because I never want to look backward in a race. I always want to look forward. I was never looking back. We went into a headwind again, and the next thing I knew she was three minutes back. There’s more people in the field that are excellent cyclists.

“There’s Danielle Lewis. She’s an excellent cyclist as well. She kills it on the bike and kills it on the run, so I kept asking my husband, ‘Where’s Joanna Ryter? Where’s Dani? Behind me, I just wanted to know where I was at.”

McCauley finished second in 2019 at the event, finishing 14 seconds off the American record.

“I love this place,” McCauley said. “I came to The Woodlands for cross country meets all the time. It has a special place in my heart.”

McCauley got through the swim this year in 56:08, and clocked a 4:43:04 on the bike. She ran the marathon in 3:13:51. Brandon finished the swim in 50:31, the bike in 4:55:19 and run in 3:19:31.

“The swim was good. I felt consistent, but I was by myself the whole time, which is kind of lonely out there,” McCauley said. “I got out there on the bike, and I was able to ride with Lauren for a couple minutes. Then I was pretty much solo out there the rest of the day. It was such a windy day out there. I felt like I was kind of going backwards, not forwards at times. I had some low points out there. The first one was pretty early in the race, about two-and-a-half hours, which is pretty early in the race. I was like, ‘This is going to be a long day.’

“I had some negative thoughts. I have two daughters, and one of them is eight, about to turn nine tomorrow. She has a bad attitude sometimes, which we all do sometimes. I say, ‘You can make the choice to choose to your attitude at that point in your life. You can choose to be grumpy, and not happy. Or you can choose to be happy and grateful and everything like that.’ So I said, ‘I can’t eat my words. I’ve got to choose to be happy. I’ve got to choose to be grateful and carry on.’”

Hoffman finished eighth in The Woodlands race in 2015. He clocked a 52:33 in the swim, a 4:19:45 on the bike and cruised to a 2:40:20 in the run. Ditlev, competing in his first IronMan, swam a 52:40 before the transition to the bike, which he completed in 4:20:23. He ran the marathon in 2:40:56.

“I think Magnus has really shown himself over the short distances,” Hoffman said. “The guy’s obviously got a bright future in IronMan racing. I feel like I’m maybe on the tail end of my career. When I get it right, I can still be really good. It’s fun to come out here and have a really good professional field and battle with some top guys.”

Local favorite Brandi Watkins, of Spring, who manages the Goose’s Acre, which is situated in front of the finish line, completed the swim in 1:25:16. She clocked a 7:36:11 in the bike. Matthew Marquardt was the men’s top age group finisher in 8:23:37. Carolyn Olsen was the top female age group finisher in 10:00:54.

Jim McCurdy is a freelance sports reporter.