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You Could Almost Hear the Clicking....

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CHISAGO LAKES TRIATHLON - Climate Change is real! And some days the change is realer than others. 

Last Sunday's Chisago Lakes Half IM and Sprint was greeted with perfect racing conditions, the kind that whisper in an athlete's ear. The kind that say "things will click today, and your game will be taken to the next level." 

And you could almost hear the clicking. Many athletes rocked harder than ever before, and it was wonderful to witness this happen....

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Another Big Win For Hanna!

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HANNA GRINAKER collected her 12th career multisport victory yesterday at IIRONMAN CANADA 70.3 against an Alpsian backdrop in picturesque Whistler, British Columbia. The 2016 and 2018 Minnesota Triathlete of the Year turned in solid splits throughout, arriving at the finish line in 4:38:36.

Significantly, her time was only 17:24 behind the winning male, DYLAN GLEESON of North Vancouver, BC. (Gleeson was the amateur champion at Ironman Arizona last fall.) A more typical 70.3 time differential between elite amateur men and elite amateur women is in the 25-minute range.

Finshing 2nd behind Hanna at Whistler was talented Aussie MONIQUE DE ABREU, whose running reminds us of Ruth Brennan Morrey's.  De Abreu, whose 2019 season is highlighted by her win at Port Macquarie (AUS) 70.3, and a 2nd at Geelong (AUS) 70.3, finished in 4:39:32.

Grinaker has won three of the four triathlons she's entered this season.

 

ALSO: JORDON ROBY and JAKE BRAAM enjoyed successful IM debuts yesterday at IRONMAN CANADA. For Roby, whose initial IM attempt was in 2014 at swim-cancelled Ironman Florida, placed 13th at Whistler in 9:39:20. Braam, a Rookie of the Year nominee in 2017, posted a 9:51:07, which placed in 28th overall....

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Hoots & Shells....

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HOOT LAKE TRIATHLON - Fergus Fallsian JOELLEN KOHLMAN-PETRICK did not thave her best race here in 2018, but she avenged that 5th place effort with a victory there yesterday. She was 10 minutes faster this time than last, which is saying something. According to the results, this year's bike course was two miles longer than the route used in 2017 and 2018. (The event returned to the course used in 2016 and earlier.)

Joellen is an intrepid person. Sometimes she stands on her head on her paddleboard. (photo)

Fellow local RHODA CHRISTENSON placed 2nd for her gender, with Cal-Berkeley triathlete (from Salt Lake City) JULIA SHERMAN, 19, taking 3rd. Christenson won this race in 2013 and matched yesterday's 2nd back in 2015.

For the second year in a row, flamboyant South St. Paul resident COREY NYGAARD threw down a silver medal effort. In 2018, it was future pro / Minnesota Rookie of the Year KEEGHAN HURLEY who took top honors. Yesterday, it was former collegiate standout SPENCER SYVERTSON that nailed first place. Spencer has won half of his last eight tri starts....

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From Turtlekid to Kona...

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ED. Here's a cool story about Josh Mork that appeared in the Monticello Times:

 

by Jessie Meyen

MONTICELLO Times

 

Josh Mork has always had a passion for swimming. He started at a young age and never grew out of it, rather he perfected the sport and added on two other sports.

For many years Josh thought completing an Ironman triathlon was an unimaginable feat. He couldn’t comprehend running a full marathon after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112 miles, but in the spring of 2018 he decided it was a now or never to attempt this bucket list milestone and so he registered for the Ironman in Madison, Wisconsin that would take place four months later.

After months of diligent training and preparation he placed among the top finishers and qualified for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii....

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Late Registrants & Usual Suspects...

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14th CHISAGO LAKES HALF IRON - Historically, late registrants have podiumed at this awesome event. In 2018, for instance, Aussie star MATT HUTCHINSON, a totally cool guy with a great accent, disrupted our predictions. We picked SEAN COOLEY, WADE CRUSER and JOE ADRIAENS to take the overall medals. But Matt popped in and took the gold, throwing down a sweet 4:06:45.

Thus Sean, Joe and Wade, respectively, grabbed the next three places.

In 2017, KORTNEY HAAG, who had won more halves than any other Minnesota woman, was our pick to up her total. Then, with race day near, Colorado's MOLLY SMITH, who had been tearing up the national long distance scene, enrolled. A great runner, she overtook Haag in the later stages of the final leg and pushed on to win in 4:35:40.

We could drop names of talented podium-worthy late sign-ups, like JON BALABUCK (Canada), TIM HOLA (Colorado), ERIC ENGEL (Wisconsin), pro THOMAS GERLACH (Wisconsin), JEN FOLEY (Iowa), JACKIE ARENDT (HERING), MARNIE WALTH (North Dakota) etc., and you'd understand our reluctance to predict a Top 3.

And we believe that in the absence of the "usual supects," i.e. SEAN COOLEY and JOE ADRIAENS, who are racing elsewhere this weekend, this year's men's Top 3 will include one or two guys that were not on the list we saw...

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