Race Coverage
"Dad, You Don't Look So Good"....
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Monday, 25 August 2014 00:10
By JP Fahey
HITS - WACONIA FULL DISTANCE RACE REPORT - “I awoke last night to the sound of thunder, how far off, I sat and wondered!” No die hard triathlete sleeps well the night before their next triathlon. What would the weather be like? The forecast called for high 80s with high humidity, an older triathlete’s nightmare. Saturday August 16, HITS 140.6 Full distance triathlon, Lake Waconia, Waconia, MN. 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 run, a 140.6 miles of pure bliss and hell! This was the first ever race in the Midwest sponsored by the upcoming East Coaster HITS. Also this was the first time there has ever been a 140.6 distance triathlon race conducted in MN.
As we prepared our gear in T1, we looked across the calm waters of Lake Waconia with the majestic Coney Island as a back drop. The temp was near 70, foggy, overcast and humid. The 70.3 and 140.6 participants started together at 7:00 am. Lake Waconia, although green this time of year, was very refreshing. The overcast skies held until about 1:00 pm, letting the athletes push their bikes to the limits. The sun burnt off the forgiving clouds and turned the HITS marathon course into an oven! High temps and high humidity make for cramping and walking during the run! ...
Rocking Out in Duluth & Baxter...
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Sunday, 24 August 2014 21:45
SUPERIOR MAN III - The half was won for the third straight year by SEAN COOLEY, whose time was silly-fast (4:02). FYI, his new girlfriend is an elite distance runner and looks a lot like actress Amy Adams. SUZIE FOX (4:44) lived up to her favorite's status, as did DAVID PHILLIPS and NICOLE CUENO (photo L with Race Director CLINT AGAR) in the companion 41.2K tri.
Photos and more words on Tuesday. RESULTS
LAKES COUNTRY TRIATHLON - The overall titles were earned by THOMAS ANDERSON III, who finished 7th the day before at Life Ttime Tri - Maple Grove Sprint, and MICHELLE ANDRES. JACQUELYN BACIGALUPI, who's enjoying a breakout season, held off SARA RONDORF for the runner-up spot.
MATT RADNIECKI and MICHAEL MCCONKEY completed the men's podium. RESULTS
Maple Grove Tri Stuff....
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Saturday, 23 August 2014 13:17
5th Annual LIFE TIME TRI - MAPLE GROVE TRIATHLON - With almost 1600 entrants this was the largest multisport event staged on Minnesota soil this year. Great competition and cooperative weather resulted in fast, exciting racing. As he did in 2012, Iowa transplant KRIS SPOTH won the men's Olympic race, doing so in a personal best 1:57:59. CHRISTINA ROBERTS led from the get-go for the women. She turned in a PR - 2:11:25.
The Maple Grove Sprint was won convincingly by BRIAN SAMES (56:59) and CHERYL ZITUR (1:04:43).
SPOTH and DIANE HANKEE were crowned 2014 Life Time Minnesota Series champions.
Photos and lots more words will post on Tuesday. RESULTS
Drafting in Detroit...
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Saturday, 23 August 2014 00:10
By Heather Lendway (heatherlendway.com)
About a month ago, thinking forward to next year, I had emailed USA Triathlon to find out more about draft legal triathlons as a potential way to get into ITU racing. As a strong swimmer and biker, I may not be the ideal draft legal racing candidate but I didn’t want to write it off. I got a response that informed me there would be a draft legal race in Detroit in two weeks. I was competing at USAT Nationals in a week and planned to race the following Sunday at the YWCA women’s tri, both of which I still wanted to race.
Since I don’t own a draft legal bike, I sent an email to Kevin O’Conner and Hannah Sullivan at Gear West right away. Almost immediately I got a response that they could definitely help me get setup to race. Last minute planning is not my style but within 24 hours I was registered for the race, had a flight and hotel booked,...
Metric Tons of Love...
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Friday, 22 August 2014 00:10
YWCA of Minneapolis Women’s Tri 2014 Race Recap...
By Nicole Cueno
Last Sunday, the Seventh Annual YWCA of Minneapolis brought at least 1,050 women, a metric ton of love, and more smiles than anyone could count, across their finish line at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis. The race, known both for fielding a strong open wave and catering to all level of female athlete, did not disappoint: records were broken by top competitors and hearts melted at the tear-jerking Friends and Family finishes.
Heather Lendway, continuing her streak of wins and smashing course records was the unsurprising winner in 1:03:16 on the sprint course (500y swim, 15.5 mi bike, 5k run). She lowered the previous record by an astonishing 4:09, set by Claire Bootsma in 2011, after not only winning USA Triathlon Nationals the previous weekend but after racing just the day before at the U25 Elite Development Draft Legal Race in Detroit, MI. Look for her race reports on both that race and the YWCA of Minneapolis Women’s Tri later this week.
Lendway was followed by another Lendway. Lisa Lendway crossed the finish line in 1:10:52. For the special family awards at the YWCA of Minneapolis Women’s Tri, they made for unmatchable competition in the family Sister-Sister Awards. Gaby Bunten (1:11:04), Claire Bootsma (1:11:43…post and pre-overnight RN shifts), ...
Stuff From Last Weekend...
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Wednesday, 20 August 2014 00:10
ST. PAUL TRIATHLON - The husband/wife team of SCOTT and ANDREA MYERS shared the Winners Circle at the St. Paul Olympic Tri at Lake Phalen ast Sunday. Both won by commodious margins, Scotty by 4:59, Andi by 6:55. The event had 74 finishers. RESULTS
ST. PAUL SPRINT - This event was won by MARCUS DUVAL and CATHERINE LEE, whose husband Terry took care of their totally cute toddler named Elliot so she could race. That arrangement worked out well. Cathy knows a lot about food and food preparation. Marcus is a former star swimmer at Illinois Wesleyan University and he has spiky blond hair. Three hundred and seventeen athletes crossed the finish line. RESULTS
MINNESOTA SENIOR GAMES TRIATHLON - The St. Paul Triathlon hosted this event which we think is a National Championship event for 50-plussers, but we're not sure. Coming out on top of the 25-member field was Stillwater's MIKE LYNER, 60, who's from England and has a great accent. The women's winner was KATHRYN JENSEN, 50, who is a St. Paul Triathlon veteran with consistently great results. On Sunday she was 2nd overall. She sometimes winks at her friends when she comes out of the water (photo L). RESULTS ...
