Race Coverage

Mork & Youngberg Keep Winning!

Sunday, 08 September 2019 23:10

SQUARE LAKE 70.3 - JOSH MORK's victorious 4:09:52 at Chisago in late July was his half IM  personal best, and stands as the fastest time at the distance by a MInnesota male this season. Josh is justifiably proud of that effort, but he's quick to point out that his "personal record" and his "personal best" are not the same thing. 4:09 is his fastest time, but his 4:11:39 runaway course record at Square Lake last Saturday is, by far his best 70.3 performance. ...

We agree. Square Lake's bike and run courses are relentlessly challenging, featuring every imaginable  kind of hill, i.e. short and steep, long and gradual, long and steep, short and gradual. BECKY YOUNGBERG, who shared the Winners Circle with Mork, called Square Lake "the toughest (70.3) course I've ever done." And she'd doubtessly contend that her 4:44:31 course record on Saturday was comparable, if not superior, to the 4:37s she threw down at Chisago in both 2018 and 2019.

Josh and Becky led from the start. Mork's lead grew throughout the event, while Youngberg was dogged during the bike portion by KELLY TROM.

Once out of the saddle, Becky took over, her eventual margin of victory growing to 7:41. Trom's 4:52:14 was nonetheless very satisfying, and proved to be more than 20-minutes faster than the prior women's course record. 

It should be noted that racing conditions on Saturday were ideal: cloudy, windless with temps in the high 50s.

Back to the men's contest. 

At the aid station at appproximately the 62.5-mile mark, the man who appeared destined to place 2nd and significantly improve on  the 4:28 (5th place) time he posted here in 2018, stopped. PATRICK ALLAIRE, a French Canadian geneticist guy with a cool accent who currently lives and works in Marshfield, Wisconsin, had been having the kind of leg pain that portended a immanent tear. A smart guy, he decided not to push his luck. This allowed transplanted Chicagoian BRYAN TINAJERO (photo L with Mork) to move up to 2nd, and lapsed triathlete NICK WEILER to finish 3rd instead of 4th. (FYI - Youngberg placed 4th overall, with Trom taking 7th and Kolsrud finishing in the 14th spot.)

Before the race, semi-petrified long course newbie / craft beer enthusiast REBECCA FLISZAR from  New Ulm remarked, "Seven months ago this sounded like a really good idea."

Well, it was a good idea. Rebecca, who is a HOOT!, took on our state's, if not our region's, toughest 70.3 course, and prevailed. We suspect that she celebrated her 6:44 finish by hoisting a frosty pint of Schell's Schmaltz's Alt.

One hundred and forty-four intrepid athletes finished the 18-year-old Square Lake Half.  RESULTS