Race Coverage
"A Must-Do From Now On"
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Monday, 12 August 2019 23:10
YWCA WOMEN'S TRIATHLON - We visited Facebook to collect some comments about last Sunday's epic YWCA Women's Triathlon:
CAROL GAUP - Yup, dat's my 81 year old mum (JUDY RYKKEN) heading out on the running portion of the YWCA's Women's Triathlon this morning. (Photo)
And yes, she's pretty amazing.
And in the awards area, inspiring generations of women and girls. The crowd always roars when it's her turn to go up. She's done the event every year they've held it, and won her age group every time.
JENNIFER FITZHARRIS-FUNK - Winner in a personal best time of 1:12:08, JFF had this to say about her experience: If there’s any race I’d want to come together like today did - it’s the YWCA Women’s Triathlon! It brings tears to my eyes thinking of 1550 women (600+ first timers) all coming together to support each other in sport. Congratulations to each and everyone of you who raced today! Managing an overall win today has me in shock and experiencing immense gratitude.
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It’s an annual family tradition to do this race with my sister Jackie and niece Lizzy - I’m so proud of them for being brave, bold and badass out there today! Lizzy who is just 14, took 2nd overall in the super sprint and has a bright future in triathlon if she wants it! Jackie rocked a solid performance with little training under her belt and we were able to nab the sister/sister win in the sprint race.
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Olivia is Ready For the "Elite" Wave....
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Sunday, 11 August 2019 23:10
NORTHWOODS TRIATHLON - Conditions were perfect on Saturday for the 17th edition of this great event. The swim course was a tad long, thus few PRs were set.
Still, almost 400 athletes finished the race with smiles on their faces and the desire to return in 2010. Northwoods does, along with the YWCA's Women's Triathlon, have the highest brand loyalty of any tri in the state. Truly, the majority of participants are what we affectionatley refer to as "recidivists." ...
"I Passed a Lot of People, And Nobody Passed Me"...
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Saturday, 10 August 2019 23:10
By Noah Billings (age 11)
Youth and Junior Triathlon Championships
• What? USAT youth and junior nationals
• When? August 4, 2019
• Where? West Chester, Ohio
• How far? Swim 200 m, Bike 10km, Run 2km
• Weather? Race start - 90+
Background
This is my third nationals race. My first one in 2016 I took 31st. My second race in 2018 I took 20th. With my improved speed on my bike and my swim, I made a goal to try to win...
Deep Woods Off & Crazy Ivans...
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Friday, 09 August 2019 23:10
By David Leard
Chisago Lakes Half Ironman Race Report – 1.2-mile Swim, 56-mile Bike, 13.1-mile Run. When I went Paradise Park in Chisago City on Saturday for packet pick-up, cars were parked all over the place. My first thought was “I need to get here at about 4:30 tomorrow for any hope of finding a decent parking spot.” I made my hotel reservation late in the spring and had to stay about 20 minutes away, just across the state line in Wisconsin, in a spot with almost no cell phone signal. Set my alarm clock for 3:15 AM – and pretty much didn’t sleep during the night. Kept dozing off, waking up, checking the time, realized I forgot to bring a banana for breakfast and would that throw my whole race off, wondering if you bred spiders in low gravity in outer space in 100% oxygen atmosphere and relatively cool environment could they grow huge in size? Has NASA already tried this in the ISS?
Finally, at 3AM I just decided to get up and get moving. I could always take a nap in the car after securing a parking space. Double dose of oatmeal with blueberries, a slice of bread with peanut butter, coffee, and no banana, for breakfast. Loaded the bike. Headed to the race site. Arrived at just about 4:30, only two other cars in the parking lot. Perfect. Now that I’m back in Minnesota, I have cell phone coverage, so I checked the news and weather until the Transition Area opened at 4:45. The weather forecast was looking good. Temps in the 60’s and 70’s, partly cloudy, storms and rain supposed to hold off until the early evening.
Who comes to an event at a lake in Minnesota in pre-dawn hours and DOESN’T bring Bug Spray? Pretty much everyone but me, I guess. The Mosquito is the State Bird, for crying out loud. I became the most popular person in the transition area once it became known I had a can of Deep Woods Off. HAD being the nominal word. It’s empty now....
A Memorable Day at Island Lake...
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Monday, 05 August 2019 23:20
BREWHOUSE OLYMPIC - WADE CRUSER, that silly goose, won this race in 2018. In the process he stripped JOSH BLANKENHEIM of the men's course record. Josh had hoped to reclaim the record this year, and do so against his nemesis / good friend / silly goose / Wade Cruser.
But Wade, Minnesota's 2018 Triathlete of the Year, did not make the trip to Island Lake this year. In fact, he hasn't traveled to ANY races this season....
Sisters Rock at Big Lake..
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Monday, 05 August 2019 23:10
GRANITEMAN BIG LAKE SPRINT - BRIAN SORHAUG loves the Graniteman races, and he excels at them. In fact, five of his triathlon victories have been G-Man events, the most recent of which happened last Saturday at Big Lake.
To make W #5 happen, he had to throw down the event's fastest run split.
Until he hit T2, Brian was racing basically neck-and-neck with PETER COLEMAN, a Nebraska transplant who likes to fish, and has been to Norway. His six-minute miles in phase three got him to the finish line in 1:06:07, a personal best on this course.
Coleman hung on for 2nd, twenty seven seconds in front of bronze medalist STEVEN WERT, a tri rookie with a lot of potential.
Juniors took three of the Top 5 spots in the women's Sprint. Gold and Silver were well-earned by the talented LUNDQUIST sisters, TAYLOR and SIMONE (photo), both of whom were podium favorites coming into the race.
Taylor won this event in 2017, the year she was named Minnesota Junior of the Year, but Saturday's Big Lake Sprint was her first tri of the summer, an injury keeping her on the sidelines until now. Was she healthy enough to win again? Would rust be an issue?
Taylor raced as if she had been racing successful all season long. No pain. No rust. And yes, she won. Her time was 12 seconds faster than her 2017 clocking. The 19-year-old Maple Grovian now has five career adult triathlon wins....
