Race Coverage
Friendships New & Renewed....
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Thursday, 30 July 2020 23:10
By Steve Gunther
2020 Camp Gunther National Championships - It was a dark, stormy morning and the wind was howling as the race directors, Helen and Steve Gunther, placed the turn signs on the bike and run courses. It was the day of the 2020 Camp Gunther Sprint Triathlon World Championships and canceling the race was in the back of their minds. They knew how disappointed the athletes would be and prayed to the weather gods for relief.
And by 7:30, the clouds lifted at Camp Gunther and the sun broke out in a warming dance across the water. The buoys were placed and the volunteer kayakers were in place. The triathletes toed the line for the social distanced start under the bright red TYR arch. Laughing and eager for the competition, the athletes were off, gliding around the diamond shaped course, some choosing one lap, some choosing two. T1 was a casual affair, some eating gels and bars and others eating chips while they waited for the last swimmer to arrive. This was no ordinary competition, more of a coopetition!...
Cheering Campers & Glasses-Eating Porta Potties...
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Monday, 27 July 2020 23:10
By Sophie Rabino (U-Minnesota Tri Team Vice President)
Pigman Sprint Race Report - What a weekend!!
First off, we want to thank everyone who made this a fun and safe race atmosphere! We had a few mishaps along the way (bike falling off car, glasses dropping in porta potty, missing chain link, etc) but all 3 gophers crossed the finish line!
We started the morning in transition for our race briefing. After the announcements, we were walked in a single file line down to the beach for the swim start...kinda felt like we were back in kindergarten....
Birthday Party Triathlon...
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Tuesday, 14 July 2020 23:10
By Cindy Bradehoft
Turning 40 is pretty epic, so your birthday party should be epic as well. Thankfully 40 is no longer considered Over the Hill, so why not do an Olympic distance triathlon with your friends and family? Even though you’ve never completed one? Great idea until the Life Time Tri Minneapolis on said birthday is cancelled along with every other race for 2020.
But that doesn’t stop Tom Ahles, who enlists his friend Dr. Francisco Mesa, everyone’s favorite dentist, to coordinate a Triathlon around his neighborhood in Chanhassen. To be clear this isn’t a race, it is just for fun. Said none of us ever. Minneapolis was just named the 3rd fittest state in the nation by the American College of Sports Medicine and it is our health and love of sports and competition that got us here....
"It Felt Just Like a Race"...
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Tuesday, 07 July 2020 23:10
By Jason Larson
What we did was organize a small training triathlon since all of the races through the end of July are canceled. It is understandable why they had to cancel, nevertheless many of us are bummed we cannot do some of the races we love so much. we arranged a small Sprint triathlon at square lake Park in Stillwater. It is very similar to the square lake Sprint triathlon, and in fact used the same bike course....
The Race Must Go On!
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Wednesday, 01 July 2020 23:10
By Steve Gunther
CHANHASSEN – The morning of Saturday, June 20th could not have been more perfect for a triathlon. The air temperature was 63 degrees and the water temperature just a few degrees higher than that. Absolutely no wind, perfect glassy water and not a cloud in the sky. It was glorious…except for one small thing: Two months earlier the Lake Minnetonka Triathlon originally set for that Saturday had been cancelled due to CoVid-19 concerns....
"I Had No Idea What I Was Doing"...
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Sunday, 28 June 2020 23:10
By Ted Treise
Race: Iowa’s Best Dam Triathlon
Year: Fall 2012
Age: 18
Bike: Trek 1.1 W/ bucket pedals
About 50 yards into the swim my lungs no longer worked, and I couldn’t breathe as I treaded water watching the pack swim away. The collegiate men’s wave has successfully swam over me after I was insistent about getting a front row spot for the run into the water and the woman’s wave was about to do the same. During the pre-race meeting, we were told to take our caps off in the event of needing to be rescued during the swim. ‘Is now the time to pack it in?’ I thought....
