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Bringing Out Their Best...
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Wednesday, 21 September 2022 00:10
ONE LAST TRI COVERAGE - The MTN Guys love to "drop names." Put differently, we love to talk about people, especially those who set the performance standards in our region.
In most of our posts, we talk about the "ususal suspects," i.e. those that consistently race at the front, both overall and in age groups. It delights us when we have the opportunity to write about new people, those whose names we've not previously mentioned.
We get to do that here. Three of the four overall winners of last Sunday's One Last Tri are names that haven't been mentioned on this site in the past, and those athletes recorded their first career multisport victories.
Let's start with the OLT OLYMPIC, which was won by LEVI ARNEBERG and CHARLEEN STOECKEL, both of whom threw down breakout performances. Levi's previous best tri effort was his 16th at Chisago Olympic. A time comparison--yes, the distances were not identical--nevertheless demonstrated a significant improvement, especially on the bike. His final 2:13:31 gave him a narrow 27-second victory over runner-up KRISTIAN STOECKEL, another athlete we had yet to hghlight on our site. ...
"The Warning Lights Came on Again and Again"...
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Monday, 19 September 2022 00:10
By Ted Treise
Santa Cruz 70.3 Highlights – First off, the race is probably one of the best race locations I’ve traveled to. San Francisco is close and easy to fly into, the town is not a tourist trap and feels like there’s a sense of community, and finally the race course is just amazing. Only downside might be the housing situation. Dani and I got a dirt cheap AirBnB (hotels were $500/ night) that appeared to once be a 1 story home and has since been converted into 3 rented areas separated by plywood in a, ah, developing neighborhood. We kept the bikes close by and doors locked.
Swim
Santa Cruz is a typical Ocean swim course being 3/4ths of a rectangle from the beach. Ocean swims are my bread and butter – wetsuit legal, salty water helping with more flotation and typically a beach start with a run in. On race morning at 6:50, I lined up on the far outside of the start line behind Eric Lagerstrom and Matt Sharpe. TO was a few guys down but my hope was if I could get in there on the swim, catch their feet for as long as I could, then hopefully be a part of a pack with whoever also thought that plan was a good idea. At first, it worked like a charm. The run in created some natural separation right away making it less of a brawl once we all go horizontal and I was able to get on Erics feet. Of course, he gapped the group pretty quick, but I found myself in a good group on some feet and I was PUSHING to stay on. A little gap opened up with the swimmer in front of me and another swimmer was able to slot in. Unfortunately, said swimmer also lost the draft and we were in no mans land quickly. At the halfway point, I split a sighting Buoy with him and a few others, then put in a serge to swim solo knowing the pack I wanted was about a minute up. ...
One Pedal and an Altered Mindset...
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Saturday, 17 September 2022 00:10
ED. Earlier this week we recieved this email from SAMUEL RODEN, who became an Ironman last weekend in Madison:
It’s Samuel, the guy who sprints into every finish! Was recommended by my friend Darin Westfal to share my insane story from September 11.
I knew it was going to rain, but didn’t expect what was going to happen that day.
The swim went great. Enjoyed seeding myself a bit farther back and passing people. A very odd enjoyable moment for me was getting passed by the elite men as they were finishing. Here I was swimming at a fast pace and then I find myself getting climbed on by 4 bodies one after another. I then knew it was the elite pack going by.
Transition went well, was ready for the bike. Got on my bike and had a great ride out to the start of the loop, and then on the ride up for Mt Horeb besides having to go the bathroom really bad. Made it about 45 miles into the bike which was where the 3 big hills are on the first lap, and after the end of the 3rd hill, my pedal felt a bit weird. ...
Noah & Grace...
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Thursday, 15 September 2022 00:10
NOAH BILLINGS is only 16 but he has won six regional adult triathlons in the last two seasons. In six regional races, i.e. non out-of-state draft legal events, in 2022, Billings has three outright wins and four Junior course records...
Should Be Interesting...
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Wednesday, 07 September 2022 00:10
2022 SQUARE LAKE PREVIEW - The 20th Square Lake 70.3 is happening this Saturday, and will be followed on Sunday by the 21st Square Lake Sprint. Judi allowed us to peak at the current entrant lists, i.e. as of Monday, and we immediately became excited. The 70.3 promises to be a very interesting event, especially at the front of the race, while the Age Group competition in the Sprint could produce some records.
Concerning the athletes that will compete for the overall wins and podium spots in the Sprint, we suspect that late registrants will fill most, perhaps all, of those positions. We wouldn't be surprised if 2021 women's winner DIANE HANKEE decided to race, or CHERYL ZITUR, who was victorious there in 2020. Regional elites like MICHAEL WEISSENBORN, ELENA HENGEL, ANDREW KERSHAW, GRACE BUSCH, Fargo's BRANDON LEE, BRIAN TINAJERO etc. could decide to race.
We don't expect JOSH MORK's stellar 4:11:39 (2019) course best to be seriously challenged. (Square Lake bike and run courses are arguably the most challenging in the region.) But we wouldn't be surprised if at least one athlete managed to post a faster time than JESSOP KEENE's 4:22:21 (2018), which currently stands as the second fastest men's result at SL Half. On paper, the guy with the best chance of doing that is former ISU star KRIS SPOTH. Kris' personal best at the half IM distance is 4:13:53, and he popped a 4:18 earlier this season at Door County in a Top 5 performance....
