FEATURES
August Athletes of the Month...
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Wednesday, 30 August 2017 23:10
Today we reveal Minnesota's ATHLETES OF THE MONTH for August. To be eligible, athletes must have turned in at least TWO outstanding performances. The AOM's are presented by Excelsior Running in Apple Valley, and MTN.
ROOKIE OF THE MONTH - JAKE BRAAM, 26, Elysian (photo below)
- A clear winner, the lanky Braam raced three times in August. The placed 2nd at Waseca and Green Lake, and 8th against a strong field which included several of our region's fastest collegians at Maple Grove.
JUNIOR OF THE MONTH - TAYLOR LUNDQUIST, 17, Maple Grove (photo L)
- Like Braam, Lundquist was a slam dunk selection. A prolific racer, she was the outright women's winner at Big Lake Sprint and Young Life Sprint. She set a junior CR at Brewhouse Sprint, where she placed 6th. She finished the month with a 3rd place (1st junior) overall women's finish at Lakes Country.
Mankato teen CARTER DEICHMAN also received serious consideration in this category....
Love for Kevin & Uncle Randy...
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Friday, 11 August 2017 23:10
WE'RE BUMMED! - After the Square Lake Triathlon on September 9, everyone's BFF, UNCLE RANDY (Randy Fulton), will no longer produce multisport races. Since 2001, when Randy founded Square Lake, his first multi, he has produced more than 200 tris and dus, great events like the Oakdale Du, New Bri Tri, St. Paul Triathlon, and of course, Square Lake Half and Sprint. Like you, we are going to miss those races, but more than that, we are going to miss Uncle Randy. He is a special guy, a man whose upbeat attitude and big heart made him a joy to be around.
Randy has an adventuous spirit, and has always sought new experiences. That is why he's moving on.
Thanks for your wonderful contribution to our lives, Randy!
YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD - KEVIN O'CONNOR has left Gear West Bike & Triathlon (photo below). No single person, or business (GWB & T), has contributed more to Minnesota's multisport community, and made it what, in our humble opinion, it is today: The Best Triathlon State in America. We can't thank Kevin enough for his contributions.
MTN is planning a more fitting tribute to Kevin, which will be posted later this month. Stay tuned for that. And know that Kevin's excellent crew at Gear West Bike & Tri are still in place, so you will continue to receive the first-class, professional service you have come to expect.
- MINI-PREVIEWS - ....
July '17 Athletes of the Month...
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Sunday, 06 August 2017 09:10
MTN / EXCELSIOR RUNNING JULY ATHLETES OF THE MONTH - To be eligible, athletes must have turned in at least TWO outstanding performances during the month in question.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE MONTH - SEAN COOLEY, 31, St. Paul (photo L)
- A slam dunk selection, Sean was dominant at Heart of the Lakes and Chisago Half. HM - NATHAN ANSBAUGH, 30, Minneapolis
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE MONTH - Tie - KORTNEY HAAG, 38, Maple Grove (photo L) & CHRISTINA ROBERTS, 31, St. Louis Park (photo below)
- Hours of thought and argument couldn't separate these two stars. Kort set a CR at Graniteman-Clearwater, then popped a 2nd place 4:39 at Chisago Half. Sub-4:40s are a really big deal. Roberts was victorious on back-to-back weekends at Timberman and Heart of the Lakes...
What's Your Word? ...
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Saturday, 22 July 2017 23:10
By Kristina Swenson (kristinaswenson.wixite.com)
Words have always been important to me. English was one of my favorite classes all through elementary school and became my strongest subject by the time I reached high school. A minimum word count has never been a problem for me. Rather, I usually struggle to keep something under a maximum word count. My phone is full of short, random words and phrases that someone, somewhere said that stuck with me, and I have a book full of quotes I keep nearby in case I hear something profound I want to remember later. One of my love languages is words of affirmation, and I love it when I just get to sit and share words with a friend.
I could give you example after example of how much I love words but as you read this blog post I wrote about words I really like you probably get the idea ...
We all have that one word or mantra that we use to get us going. The word(s) come to us in times of success, in times of failure, in times of happiness, and in times of sadness. It's that phrase that we repeat over and over to ourselves when we need to refocus and come back to who we are and what we stand for. For my mom, her go-to mantra is "make it happen". If you were to step inside my house, you'd find it...
Thinking of Mitch....
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Friday, 21 July 2017 00:00
ED - We received this Facebook message from Lynn Rothmeier this morning:
Hi MTN Guys,
I don't know if you ever put specific shout outs on your website but Mitch Brekke was in a terrible bike accident on Tuesday night with a ride group from Mankato and is very lucky to be alive. It never hurts to get some love and prayers from our multi sport community! There is a Caringbridge site set up for him. Thanks! - Lynn
Most of us know MItch, aka "The Hartland Express." He's a great athlete and an even greater person. Our thoughts are with him and his family.
His CaringBridge page: www.caringbridge.org/visit/mitchbrekke
