Race Coverage
Youngberg & Schiller Are National Champs!
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Tuesday, 13 August 2019 23:10
2019 USA TRIATHLON AGE GROUP NATIONALS - How did Minnesotans fare in Cleveland last weekend? Pretty darn good! GABY BUNTEN cracked the overall Top 5 in both the Olympic and Sprint races, while BECKY YOUNGBERG and TONY SCHILLER earned two AG titles apiece.
There were lots of other Loon Staters who rocked out, earning berths on Team USA for next summer's World Championships in Edmonton, Alberta. Here is a listing of those who earned spots. There may be some names we missed, and if so, please use the COMMENT feature below to help us fill in the gaps.
Also, this list does not contain passdowns, which means that this long roster doesn't tell the whole story.
Here are the qualifiers:
OLYMPIC WOMEN -
NOTE: Overall women's Olympic-distance champion RACHEL MENSCH, now of Madison, Wisconsin, is originally from Edina, Minnesota. And DANI FISCHER, originally from Rochester, and now residing in Greenfield, Indiana, placed 2nd overall just 12-seconds behind Rachel.
MAISY WAECH, (Grand Rapids ) - 10th - 17-19W
EMMA WARD, (Angora) - 17th - 17-19W ...
"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....
