Race Coverage

Nelson and Keppers Again...

Saturday, 23 March 2024 00:10

2023 BREWHOUSE COVERAGE - Ontarioans earned two of the Top 3 steps of Brewhouse's Olympic podium yesterday. One of those guys, the winner, was collecting his first career triathlon win, the other - 3rd place--was a BH veteran who has won here twice and was making a triumphant return to the sport after cardiac arrest last winter. That man is KRIS NISULA (photo) and a wonderful story about his journey appeared in the Duluth News Tribune. Please check it out. It's inspiring stuff (LINK)....

Relying on a superior swim and especial superior bike, Nipigon's BENTON BUTTON, no relation to the guy in the movie who aged backwards, turned in a remarkable time. 1:51:19. If the run course hadn't been shortened from 6.2 to five miles a few years back, Button would have still turned in a  fine 1:58.

Executing the fastest run split of the morning, JASON CRISP finished 2nd and also dipped under two hours (1:56:49). 

Guess who won the women's Olympic race? We'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count. Yes, it was ELAINE NELSON, the 2022 MInnesota Master of the Year. It was her 8th BH Olympic victory and 27th win of her multisport career.

Placing second for the women was a very cool woman named KATIE BENZIGER, who is a very busy person. According to her Facebook page, she is "a physician, a mom, friend, sister, cardiologist, teammate, and public health advocate." What she may have hinted at but didn't include is that she is a pretty darn good endurance athlete.

As in the Olympic race, a non-Minnesotan came out on top in the Sprint. DAVE RUBUSH of Naperville, Illinous, relied almost exclusively on his 16-minute 5K finish to claim his 14-second victory over runner-up RYAN SALINE.

Third place for the second straight year was women's champ BETTINA KEPPERS, who is now a four-time BH Sprint winner. She is 3-for-3 in Minnesota multi races this season. Her closest rival yesterday was 13-year-old future tri star HAYDEN NISULA, Kris' daughter. She had graduated from Super Sprint, where she was unbeatable, to full sprint. Remember her name.

Nearly 400 athletes participated in this year's Brewhouse races, which celebrated their 36th anniversay. RESULTS