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Good Times...
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Sunday, 15 September 2019 12:10
By Doobie Kurus
And the winner is…”blah, blah, blah” Who cares? (Other than the winner I guess) Don’t get me wrong. Someone’s got to win, and it’s pretty impressive when they do. BUT, for every winner, there’s hundreds of “finishers”, many of which rarely, if ever, get recognized. At the Hopkins Royal Tri (HoRT), we strive to make the winners and the finishers, and really anyone who’s a part of the event, including volunteers and spectators, feel welcomed and appreciated. After all, the only time that really matters, is whether or not you had a good time! And it looked and sounded like a good time was had by many, if not all.
So, first off, thank you to the various youth groups (Hopkins HS Gymnastics, Theatre, Girls Soccer, and Pep Band) plus Team RWB (an armed forces veterans group that promotes fitness amongst injured vets) that volunteer at the HoRT. From setting up/taking down equipment, to course marshaling, to handing out food and water, we would not be able to do the event without them. We also would not be able to have donated over $50,000 back to the local community over our first 6 years. Thank you to the fans/spectators that come out to cheer everyone on. We hope that having names on the race bibs helps you so that you can even encourage people you didn’t know. We also hope the later start times, the playground for the kids, the free post race food (for all) and the great sightlines, made it enjoyable for you too.
Here’s some little known facts about the race this year. We had at least 18 people that registered for the HoRT each of our first 6 years. To thank them, we are giving them a free entry into HoRT for “lucky year #7”. It’s the least we can do for believing in us that first year, and sticking with us ever since. We had participants from 9 different states, which is nice to see people come travel to be a part of our event. Our oldest participant was 81 years young (Judy the “T-Rex” Rykken). Judy, the recipient of our #1 race bib and person that started off our event, displayed such good sportsmanship that she took the time to...
"Every Step, Lap, and Bike Pedal Had a Purpose"....
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Friday, 13 September 2019 23:10
Post-race Report/Reflections...
@ Madison, Wisconsin
By Caryn Herrick
I have wanted to do an Ironman ever since my freshman year of high school when my swim coach, Mark Larson, was training for Kona. When I learned about the event, it was absolutely awe inspiring to me. I said definitively to myself: “I am going to do an Ironman one day.” Every year, my dad would record the Kona Championship on NBC and I would watch it all the way through. Again I thought, “I can do that one day. I will do that one day.” I never thought that it would take me until age 29 to make this dream happen.
This was my very first triathlon season and it has been one hell of a learning process. I signed up for IM Wisconsin the first day registration opened and every day for a year now, this race has been in the forefront of my mind. I went into this year of training without riding a triathlon bike in my life and without any sort of training/nutrition plan or coach. It wasn’t until May of this year when I took my tri bike to the road for the first time…it was like riding a bike for the first time! Fortunately, I did have a background as a competitive swimmer. And because I would run during off seasons of swim and after I graduated college, I maintained a good running base. I knew that if I were to just add in the biking, I could actually make this Ironman thing happen.
And I DID make it happen. On September 8th, I officially became an Ironman....
"Stay Committed, No Regrets"...
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Thursday, 12 September 2019 23:10
ED. Rachel Mensch grew up in Edina, was college educated in Virginia and currently resides in Madison, Wisconsin. After her stunning victory at USAT Age Group National Championships last month, we asked her to write a race report. Here it is:
By Rachel Mensch
Pre-race:
Race morning I had my alarm set for much earlier than any person should be waking up. I dragged myself out of bed and had my usual pre-race cup of coffee and overnight oats, and got my stuff ready to head over to Edgewater Park. Luckily, my boyfriend Vant is from Cleveland Heights, so we were able to stay at his parents’ house for the weekend, which is about 15 min from the race venue. Vant's dad dropped us off so we didn’t need to worry about parking or shuttles. Once in, I overheard some speculating about the swim getting canceled, but I tried not to worry about it. The...
"Jake, You're In!"...
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Wednesday, 11 September 2019 23:10
By Jake Braam(Facebook)
Ironman Canada Race Report 1/3
Here are the categories:
1. Planning (hills, nutrition, weather, tips)
2. Race Execution
3. Post Race
Planning (for you non-triathletes this will probably be boring):
I'm not big on planning or studying course maps or meditating. I find the more I study the course, the more anxious I become during race week. It's better for me to study the course a day or two before and more or less wing it. That being said, Coach Anthony Jagielo had me well prepared for the brutal climbing on the bike course with the training plans he produced. We also drove most of the bike course two days prior to race day....
Minnesota's Last Tri of the Season...
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Tuesday, 10 September 2019 23:10
ONE LAST TRI - For most Minnesota triathletes, the 2019 season has concluded. For others, training continues in preparation for Kona or Ironman races in Tempe or Panama City. Others have their sights set on upcoming 70.3 events, like Augusta, Cozumel or Tempe.
There are others, however, that are not ready to retire the wetsuit and racing wheels until next year, and are hungry for at least one more close-to-home race.
The good news is that there is one more triathlon (and one more du after that) on the Minnesota schedule. It is appropriately named One Last Tri, and it's 14th edition is happening this Sunday at Ramsey County Beach on the northern shoreline of majestic White Bear Lake.
The event features Olympic-esque and Sprint races, with an Aquabike option as well.
Typically, we would mention some of the athletes that will be racing, but we haven't seen an entrant list. We do expect hometown folks like "LEVEL 7" TOM COUILLARD, ever-smiling MICHEL SANDERS and likely Grand Master of the Year nominee LUKE HARNED to be there.
And DANI VSETECKA, winner of eleven of the 18 multis she's done in her elite career, including the OLT in 2016, told us that she was entered, thus we know one of the favorites.
We wouldn't be surprised in Dani's fiance, rookie pro TED TREISE (pronounced "Try -See") also decides to race....
