Race Coverage
Some Serious Wipeouts...
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Friday, 01 March 2013 00:10
By Norm DePlume
The fourth annual BeMobile Iceman Triathlon took place on February 23 in the border towns of Grand Forks, ND, and East Grand Forks, MN. The event - actually a 'quadrathon' as it includes a final sledding leg - presented a real challenge for the 100+ athletes in attendance. It was particularly grueling for solo competitors who were forced off the beaten track for some portion of each leg - skiing, biking, and running. In fact, course director Andy Magness called this year's event the toughest yet, saying that "we had more snow this year than ever before so the run in particular was a tremendous challenge, and even though shortened a bit took all the racers significantly longer than in previous years". The ski and bike sections were equally difficult with the ski being host to "some serious wipeouts" and the bike including "brutal pushing for those unfamiliar with proper snow riding techniques", quipped Magness.
Sean Cooley (photo), a med student at UND, took the win in the Yeti category (male solo racer) again this year with a time of 1:25:17 - his third straight stint as champion. The women's Yetiess category, the deepest ever in the races history (with 11 solo female racers) was won by newcomer Bryn Putbrese with a time of...
Pugsleys & Titanium Sporks...
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Saturday, 23 February 2013 00:10
By Bonnie Sporkwinner (http://www.misadventureracing.com)
If the devil himself was going to design a bike race course, it would consist entirely of single track and take place in the dead of winter. The temperature would have to be snuggled well below 20 Fahrenheit and it would be entirely single track. Or did I mention that already?
Friday evening I arrived at a bike shop to pick up my rental for Saturday
More Indoor Tri Stuff...
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Wednesday, 20 February 2013 00:10
YWCA Indoor Tri #2 - Few things are cooler than a 60-something guy winning a triathlon, unless of course, the 60-something guy was already cool to begin with. Cool older dudes winning races is cool-squared.
Tom Couillard, AKA the "Pride of White Bear Lake (photo L)," is the guy we're talking about. He won the YWCA Indoor Tri #2 last weekend. The race being a YWCA thing, women outnumbered the men 8-1, which is also cool, isn't it?
It should be noted that Tom was the men's winner. He actually finished 2nd in the overall standngs behind Margaret Kelley. Margaret may be from St. Paul Park, we're not sure. We do know that she loves the YWCA Women's Triathlon, which won the Race of the Year award in 2012, and has participated in that annual classic every year since 2008.
Here's some stuff about Tom: He is a proud alum of St. Thomas U. He really likes Marine stuff and the song "Abraham, Martin and John" by Dion. He prefers Pepsi to Coke. He often hangs out with fellow White Bear-ian, Michel Sanders, who is very nice and can ...
The "Sarah Legacy"...
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Sunday, 17 February 2013 00:10
INDOOR TRI STUFF - Recently a guy asked us who we thought "was the heroiest triathlete in Minnesota last year." Our immediate reply was, "Sara Henekens."
"Why?" asked the guy.
Because we met her at an OptumHealth Performance indoor triathlon 13 months ago. She was pretty and nice and scared do-do-less. She was doing her first triathlon. An aficionado of food, she treated herself to an especially large breakfast after completing the event. Apropos of nothing, she wore a really cool hat.
Fast forward to September and check out the photo (L). That's Sarah finishing Ironman Wisconsin! How freakin' awesome and hero-y is that! From Zero to 140.6 in nine months!
The 2013 indoor tri season is underway and we know that there will be lotsa folks who will make the transition from the initial dabble in the indoor multisport experience to outdoor tri participation. Some will stick with sprints this summer. Others may try an Olympic race or two. A few may even do a half IM. And an even smaller group will make the supreme jump from the pool-trainer-treadmill to the 140.6, like Sarah Hennekens....
Tri U Mah Stuff...
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Friday, 08 February 2013 00:10
By Diane Gotoheven
The ninth annual Tri U Mah Indoor Triathlon happened at The U last weekend. The largest such event in Minnesota, this year's 90-minute challenge (30-S, 30-B, 30-R) had almost 200 total enrollees, of which approximately 150 participated and finished.
The fastest dude for the fourth consecutive year was French Guy, Julien Sein. Sein, who is very, very smart (Ph.d in medical stuff, we think?), has a cool accent and beard and, unlike the silly cultural stereotype, doesn't smoke, hate Americans or bathe infrequently. He now owns the three best male performances ever at Tri U Mah. Last Sunday, he covered 18.483 total miles. He covered 19.049 in 2012 and 18.753 in 2010. Only one other guy has won this event on multiple occasions, that being Devon Palmer (2008, 2007)....
High on Adventure...
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Thursday, 07 February 2013 00:10
By Bonnie Countmein
(From misadventureracing.com)
Tilting my head back deeper into the snow, I looked over the top of my forehead and surveyed my surroundings. The snow covered ground now hung like an angry sky, an impostor ready to burst. Barren and blackened trees jutted down out of the mock ceiling with outstretched arms, cutting towards the cloudy ground. Glancing towards my feet, I tried again to push the bike off my body but the severe downward angle I was laying at made it seem impossible to heave the seventy pound behemoth off my legs. I began digging in the snow around me, hoping to drop just a little lower than the wedged frame and pull myself out from under the bike. No change. I found myself laughing as I called out to my race partner, Focused Dave, who had continued riding on, unaware of my sudden crash. Silence....
