Race Coverage

"You Really Have to Hang On Tight"...

Sunday, 30 June 2024 00:10

By Brandon Lee

Graniteman Clearwater Sprint Race Report - Fun weekend of local racing. Saturday I raced a sprint distance at Graniteman (Clearwater, MN) and took 1st place overall. Sunday I raced Manitou Olympic in White Bear Lake, 2nd place overall.

Graniteman is a bit longer than standard distance sprint, I was very happy with my time of 1:06, just edged out Brooks Grossinger by 24 seconds. Hats off to you on another great performance bud!

My strategy was pretty simple. Swim, bike, and run as hard as possible for an hour, and let the dust settle. That’s sprint distance racing, and I’m always so humbled by this distance, you really have to hang on tight.

Didn’t feel great on the bike for the first 15 minutes, the air was super heavy as it had been raining all night, but I was able to push some good power and have a lead coming into T2. The run course is super tough, the first and last miles are a trail run with some punchy hills and the one mile of road running has some elevation as well. At the turnaround I figured I had about 45 seconds on Brooks and I just told myself to keep fighting, because I knew he was pulling me back, barely hung on for the win. You’re a class act my friend!

These local races really are a delight, it’s so much fun to meet new people and hang out with friends I’ve met the past few years. Shout out to @joeadriaens for the support and big congrats to @emmagetty for a solid as race. Congrats to my homie @nicktamble, his first triathlon in a couple years, so good to see you! Congrats on a marvelous 2nd place finish by @camieckhoff, 1st and 2nd place were blazing fast times for the girls. Another bonus- my brother @adamlee3642 raced the Olympic distance and it’s so much fun to race with my brother.

#minnesotatrinews, thanks again guys You do great things for the sport! Thanks @megklef for the support and encouraging me into racing this weekend. I truly appreciate you.

Thanks to my coach @mergecoachthomas for being patient with me the past couple of months, and continuing to help me improve and be successful!
#mergemultisport