Race Coverage
Booger Winter....
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Saturday, 11 May 2013 03:10
(Photo - Tom Couillard and a totally cool bike.)
Oakdale Duathlon - The winter of 2013 is hanging on like a tenacious booger. You know, the kind that won't let go of your finger no matter how fast you shake it or how many times you try to flick it off. Finally, you're forced to wipe it on something. So if you get tenacious boogs we suggest that you carry Kleenex. That way you won't have to wipe them on clothing or furniture or under your car seat.
We digress.
The morning of May 11 was pretty to look at, but thanks to the extended "Booger Winter,"it didn't feel so good. Temps were in the low 40s, but the 20+ mph winds made it feel much colder.
The 12th annual Oakdale Duathlon was staged on May 11 and the 400ish athletes weren't displaying much skin. If they did, the color, thanks to the Booger Winter, would have been fishbelly white, not a darker hue, like tan.
Needless to say, most records stayed put. Some folks, like Dan Arlandson, Shannon Rudin and Tracy Serreyn (photo R), were able to totally rock socks, while most took what the Booger Winter gave them and were happy to cross the finish line, where they were greeted by the ever-smiley Uncle Randy, the race director, who was wearing shorts and claimed not to be freezing his plums off.
In the absence of defending champ Suzie Fox, who was elsewhere doing other stuff, the women's title was won by Jen Scudiero, who has won the last five dus she's entered and is undefeated in 2013. There were two men's overall champs. The pro title went to David Thompson and the amateur crown to Arlandson, who was totally awesome and gave DKT a good push throughout the event.
As usual, Oakdale drew the deepest field yet in the young multisport season, especially on the guys' side. Here are the Top 10s and some bonus info.
Men:
1. David Thompson - 1:03:45 (2nd fastest ever here. DKT's 81st career multi W. His dog's name is "Henry.")
2. Dan Arlandson - 1:04:44 (His wife's name is Sara Will. She's very pretty and nice.)
3. Jon Balabuck - 1:05:01 (Took last year off to concentrate on fatherhood stuff. Has two kids and a great wife. He and his family live together in Canada.)
4. Chad Millner - 1:06:51 (Chad is kinda shy and has very short, bristly hair.)
5. Joe Johnson - 1:07:11 (He's not the singer. Wait! The singer is Jack Johnson. Never mind. FYI, this Joe Johnson also placed 4th at Falls Du.)
6. Mike Ladendorf - 1:07:31 (A cool guy who is not tall and would look great in mohawk. He sells beer for a living.)
7. Rossy Weinzierl - 1:07:37 (He's really good for a big guy. His girlfriend's pants were a color that is not found in nature.)
8. Jim Felling - 1:08:53 (Jim has a dishwasher thing. He dumps his girlfriends if they don't load the DW properly. His hair is curly.)
9. Todd Firebaugh, 51 - 1:10:05 (Todd lowered Charlie Roach's 50-54M CR. He went to Italy last year and drank lots of wine.)
10. Luke Nelson - 1:10:21 (Luke got a new tri kit. It looked real good.)
Women:
1. Jen Scudiero - 1:17:56 (She's won five consecutive dus and says she's not bored with winning yet.)
2. Shannon Rudin, 18 - 1:18:33 (Shannon crushed the Junior CR. She works at Panera Bread and used to live in upstate New York.) (Photo R)
3. Tracie Kent - 1:19:28 (Tracie is very nice and has a management position with Target. She gets discounts.)
4. Lydia Novotny - 1:20:26 (Lydia is originally from Russia and it's amazing how tightly she pulls her hair back. She says it doesn't hurt.)
5. Tracy Serreyn, 49 - 1:21:44 (Her son Kyle predicted that she would crack the Top 5 and she totally did. Kyle's growing a beard and it looks cool.)
6. Lisa Wacek, 42 - 1:22:10 (Lisa works at General Mills. We think she bakes stuff. According to her Facebook page, she's single and is interested in men.)
7. Sarah Berger - 1:23:03 (Sarah is very nice and has great running form.)
8. Jenny Thacker - 1:24:27 (Jenny had great du results in 2012. We don't think she has a Facebook page so we can't tell you about her favorite movies or whether she prefers dogs or cats.)
9. Veronica Bond - 1:24:37 (Veronica is from Rochester and had a breakout season in 2012.)
10. Jill Hughes - 1:24:45 (According to her Facebook page, one of her "Likes" is Gentle Dental Center. Who doesn't appreciate gentle dentistry?)
