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Shifting Gears...
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Wednesday, 07 May 2014 06:10
By Matthew Payne (matthew-payne.blogspot.com)
Well whaddya know? Another winter has come and gone during which I posted exactly zero updates. Although that's probably for the best. Anything I may have written this winter would almost certainly have spun off into a rant about how soul-crushingly awful our weather is.
For the one or two of you keeping track of such things, you may have noticed that there has been a change in the banner ads to the right. Starting this year, I'll be racing as part of the Gear West Bike and Triathlon Development Team.
This is a tad bit bittersweet because I have nothing but good things to say about TCMC, Dan Casebeer and everyone at Grand...
Ben & Lauren Take the Hill...
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Wednesday, 07 May 2014 00:10
TAKE THE HILL TRIATHLON - Ben Trnka is a fine young man who parts his hair on the right. He got married to a lovely girl who looks kinda like awesome actress Amy Adams (photo L) last summer and he is still very happy.
Ben also won last Saturday's Take the Hill Triathlon in St. Peter, and assuming that the distances haven't been altered, he did so in record time. His groovy time was 1:00:13, which lowered Mike Torchia's five-year-old CR by 37 seconds. Additionally, he was 3:01 faster than runner-up Nick Weiler, who also made the podium here in 2013. Nick was so inspired by the Winter Olympics that he did the City of Lakes Loppet which gave him major beard-cicles (photo below).
Third place for the guys went to Nate Sanders (1:03:23), who is a doctor and, like Ben and Nick, a totally good guy. Nate went to Florida a few months ago, probably to scope out some future retirement locales....
Lucky 13...
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Tuesday, 06 May 2014 06:10
Several days ago, Uncle Randy (Fulton) sent us a copy of his Oakdale Duathlon entry list. After a glance, we got excited. Registrations were coming in a brisk pace and it looks like the event may eventually field between 400 and 500 entrants.
Though most elite athletes are not early enrollees, we were impressed with the depth of the field thus far, and assume that, by race day, Oakdale will be more competitive than ever.
The race will celebrate its 13th anniversary on May 10, though some may claim that it is actually a 25-30-year-old event, one that started in Mahtomedi (we think?) in the 80s. Uncle Randy would probably agree...
Freaky Fast...
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Tuesday, 06 May 2014 02:10
CHAIN OF LAKES TRIATHLON - Three of Marcus Stromberg's eight career multisport victories have been turned in at the Chain of Lakes Triathlon, the most recent of which happened last Saturday. Interestingly, Marcus's closest competition at COLT '14 was a woman, but that woman happened to be the fastest amateur female triathlete in the US: defending National Champion Heather Lendway.
Lendway was so freakin' fast last Saturday! How fast? Well, Marcus only beat her by 1:22. And her 57:13--the 11th victory of her young career--lowered Michelle Andres' 2011 course record by 4:26.
Heather narrowly missed winning the USAT AOY award in 2013. We are confident that if she keeps herself injury-free this season, she will vy for that prestigious award again. If she wins it, she'll become the second Minnesota woman to do so. Cathy Yndestad was the Athlete of the Year back in 2009....
Celebrity Lookalikes Win Cinco Dus...
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Sunday, 04 May 2014 06:10
CINCO DU MAYO - Did you see "The Fugitive"? The movie with Harrison Ford, not the bygone TV show starring Whatshisname.
Next, have you seen Devon Palmer lately? He's furrier than usual.
If you've seen The Fugitive and Devon you'll have to agree that, if you squint, he (Devon) looks a lot like a much younger version of Harrison Ford's Richard Kimble character.
What does any of this have to do with last Saturday's Cinco Du Mayo Duathlon? Here's what: A guy who looked like Richard Kimble won the race.
According to our research, Palmer's win at Cinco was the 14th of his multisport career. His time was brisk (1:23:53), second only to Sam....
