Race Coverage

Simian Celebrations & Embraced Sufferage...

Tuesday, 16 June 2015 00:10

LIBERTY TRIATHLONS - The forecast on Saturday called for clouds and mild temps. No rain predicted. As the astute poet Mick Jagger, who according to the late Joan Rivers, has "child bearing lips," says at almost every Stones concert, "You can't always get what you want."

You guessed it. It rained, though not like in 2014 when the transition area resembled the Everglades, albeit without prehistoric animals and Burmese pythons that Florida exotic pet owners released because the creatures had eaten their non-exotic pets, i.e. dogs, cats and gerbils.

We digress.

Despite the rain, most of Liberty's participants--paraphrasing Jagger--"got what they need"....

 Well, not everyone got what they needed. Some got more, as in more miles. Confusion at one of the half IM bike intersections resulted in a gaggle of triathletes going off course, some, like favorites Jon Balabuck, Dan Arlandson amd Brian Sames, by as much as nine miles, and others, like women's podium-hopefuls, Kristin Gustafson and Erin Hydeman-Farrens, by 3-4 miles.

While the aforementioned men would finish outside the Top 15, Gustafson managed to sneak onto the podium: 3rd place in 4:57:30. Hydeman-Farrens recovered well enough to land in the 5th position.

The men's podium consisted of 46-year-old two-time Master of the Year nominee, Chap Achen (4:18:23), who capped last season with a 4:15 victory at Square Lake, Iowa's Justin Herrick (4:20:24), who in two prior efforts here, placed 7th and 9th, and the man who still holds the masters record (4:12:06 in 2013) at Liberty, Patrick Peacock of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The women's half was won by another Manitoba-ian. Her name is Nicole Walker and she turned in a 4:42:29, the fifth fastest women's clocking in the 10-year history of the race. This feat is even more remarkable when one considered that Nicole's personal best going into the race was a 5:15. Watching athletic breakthoughs is a wonderful thing. Walker was elated when she crossed the finish line. Elation is good.

And speaking of elation, Matt Radniecki had not cracked five-hours in his first two attempts at 70.3. On Saturday, though, he crushed a 4:38:07 which left him hungry and spent. He immediately refueled in simian fashion by hoovering a bunch of bananas (photo above L), henceforth and in perpetuity earning the nickname "Banana Guy."

Rounding out the women's podium were Wisconsin's Maggie Fournier (2nd in 4:55:25), who is a real sweetheart (Do you know her?), and the aforementioned Kristin Gustafson, who was coming off a win at the Eau Claire Triathlon. She, like Maggie, is one of the coolest people ever.

The Liberty Olympic was won for the 2nd time by super master Kevin O'Connor. The win, coming on the eve of his 44th birthday, was his third in an eight-day period. As expected, his closest rival was reigning Memphis In May champ Bennett Isabella, whose 1:58:47 put him 1:11 behind O'Connor. Almost  five minutes passed before 3rd placing Phil English strode across the finish line. Phil is an insanely handsome young man. He kind of looks like the guy who played Mr. Spock in "Star Trek Into Darkness."

Did you know that Stephanie Solfelt got married? We didn't either, so when someone named Stephanie Dellaria crushed the women's Olympic field, we were quick to point out that she bore an uncanny resemblance to Ms. Solfelt, a former Team Minnesota member who has been off the tri grid for a season and a half. Imagine our delight when she confirmed that she was both people, Stephanie Solfelt and Stephanie Dellaria. Her new last name is pronounced "Dell-aria," not "Dell-are-rea."

Her podium mates were Shelley Ostrander, who won the Green Bay Triathlon two weeks earlier, and LAMS member Jackie Bacigalupi (photo), who has three 2nd place performances on her 2014 tri resume. RESULTS

8th Annual LAKES TO PINES - We received an email from Saturday's LTP winner Ryan Wippler (photo). Here's his mini-race report:

Hey MTN Guys,

I like to give a big shout out to Park Rapids Swim Boosters, Shane and Angie Graham, and race director, Todd Fritze for putting on a first rate Sprint Race this weekend at the 8th Annual Lakes to Pines Triathlon in Park Rapids, MN.  The event was generously attended, well run, with all the proceeds supporting 100+ local high school swimmers and/or divers.  

I’d like to give a second shout out to my pool lane mate, fierce competitor, and new friend, David Lewis.  David, impressively is a LTP 3+ time overall champion and course record holder.  We pushed each other to the brink, battling through each of the three disciplines, neither of us giving up an inch, scraping for mere seconds.  Whether it was taking that extra second of streamline off the wall to the point your lungs want to burst, taking that sketchy corner a little faster on the bike than what is safe, or keeping up the ruthless running pace into the wind when ever inch of your being screams, ‘if you stop, the agony will end’.   It was grueling…it was agony…but it was awesome!..it was glorious!  “Embrace the suffering!” seemed to be our mantra, and our mantra was strong!  

Although, ultimately I was victorious (my first tri win, which was sooooo sweet!), both of us broke the previous course record in a fashion that would not have been possible if either of us had raced alone.  

David, I thank you for pushing me to where I didn’t think I could go.  That in essence, is the spirit of triathlon.

Cheers my friends,

Ryan Wippler M.D.....RACE RESULTS

ED. In addition to his win at LTP, Ryan's 2015 multisport resume includes a 3rd at Chain of Lakes. Her's what we know about the women's LTP winner, Emily Nicol of Lake Elmo: She might be originally from Iowa. She might be into flowers and "Grey's Anatomy" and has read Francine Rovers' "Redeeming Love" more than once.