Race Coverage
Bontrager & Illgen Break Out!
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Tuesday, 23 April 2024 00:10
14th Maple Grove Triathlon Coverage - With 1000+ sign-ups and just under 900 finishers, this year's Maple Grove Triathlon was the second largest tri in Minnesota this year, surpassed only, and slightly, by the YWCA Women's Triathlon.
Twas a perfect day for racing at Weaver Lake Park on Sunday and great performances were plentiful. In the Olympic race the pre-race favorites did what they do, though perhaps not as convincingly as usual. Men's winner PRESTON YOUNGDAHL turned in a amateur course record effort--1:53:55, bettering Wade Cruser's prior best by 23 seconds, yet his margin of victory was only slightly more than a minute over runner-up TIM BONTRAGER, whose 1:54:59 appeared to have been a breakout effort, especially when you look at the list of talented guys he outraced, several of whom he'd never beaten before.
JOE ADRIAENS (1:56:15), JAKE KEEHAN (1:56:57) and elite collegian NATHAN KIM (1:57:41) secured the three-five spots. Seven men broke two hours.
Unsurprisingly, HEATHER LENDWAY won the women's Olympic race in a fine time, 2:05:07, but it was her runner-up that turned in arguably the most impressive women's performance of the day. UW-Madison's RACHEL ILLGEN placed 4th here last year in 2:16:22. This time, tough, she, like...
Triathletes Impress at Earth Day...
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Wednesday, 17 April 2024 00:10
2023 EARTH DAY RUNS - A pair of prominent Minnesota triathletes turned in triumphant performances last Friday and Saturday at the 23rd edition Earth Day Runs, St. Cloud's largest endurance event.
As in 2022, weather conditions were, for lack of better words, not great. The two-thousandish dressed-in-layers participants once again were buffetted by arctic winds. On Friday evening 2022 Male Master Triathlete of the Year Andy Zabel pushed ahead of local multiple EDR winners Jonathan Stoltman, Morcelli Kombo and William Lindell to claim victory in the 5K, his 16:45 landing him at the finish line seventeen seconds in front of Stoltman....
Angry Hamstrings & Gratitude...
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Sunday, 14 April 2024 00:10
By Cami Eckhoff
Young Life Olympic Race Report - It was a great morning at the 20th Anniversary of the Younglife Triathlon yesterday, filled with the best volunteers and spectators!! Everyone on course cheering, including my parents, Keith and the boys, were super uplifting! It made the race extra fun having you all out there! ...
"It's Been a Hot Minute..."
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Thursday, 11 April 2024 00:10
By Erin Weiler (sweetsweatlife.com)
YWCA Women's Race Report - It’s been a hot minute – 5 years to be exact! – since I’ve raced a triathlon and up until about 6 weeks ago, racing was more or less off the table. But things changed so I tracked down a bib to the YWCA Women’s Tri here in Minneapolis. And while I wouldn’t call it a comeback – they’ll be no 140.6 anytime soon – it sure felt fantastic to be back out there.
There’s not a lot to say about a sprint. The 500-yard swim was short, but slow. Mostly thanks to a lack of swim training, but also swimming with anything on my shoulders (in this case, my kit) is not my jam. There’s a reason I wore a sleeveless wetsuit my last couple IMs!
The bike – no surprise the bike was my favorite. It was so much fun being back on my Argon (just my third ride outside on it since 2019!). My power was woefully mediocre – I’m lookin’ at you, watts I used...
Fast Kids...
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Sunday, 07 April 2024 00:10
GREEN LAKE COVERAGE - The 20th Green Lake Triathlon was another goodie. Friendly weather and a laid-back social vibe laid the groundwork for a wonderful event, and while most of the nearly 300 participants were enjoying the challenge, there were some at the front of the race that were serious about speed and podiums....
Okay Races Are Better Than a Good Day at the Office...
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Thursday, 04 April 2024 00:10
By Mitchell Clayton
Northwoods Race Report - My first race of the year was the Buzz Ryan Sprint Triathlon in mid-July, but before that I hadn’t done a multisport race since August of 2021. I decided to get back into racing triathlons this year with the goal of enjoying the process, not getting injured, and getting fit enough to begin “real” training in September, hopefully setting myself up for a big 2024 season. As part of this return-to-tri year, I registered far in advance for the Northwoods Sprint Tri, which took place in the small town of Nevis this past Saturday.
My wife, Vessa, and I live in Rochester. It’s a good city for us, but not exactly close to Nevis. We woke up at 12:45 on Saturday morning and made the 4.5 hour drive up north. We got to the venue and I immediately thought to myself, “This is why I do triathlons”. The transition area, the...
