Race Previews

Spectacular Scenery and Really Big Trophies...

Thursday, 16 June 2011 03:00

(Photo - Sarah Mercer and Jan Guenther with their LMT mega-trophies.)

Lake Minnetonka Preview - Ross Rogney is a genuinely nice guy who loves his hometown, where he's lived since birth. He also loves triathlon and triathletes and really tall, heavy trophies. Ross also loves Mexican food, but that has nothing to do with this story.

It is not surprising, therefore, that eight years ago he started a triathlon in his hometown and gave the fastest finishers really tall, heavy trophies.

The hometown in question is pastoral, New Englandy Excelsior, Minnesota, which snuggles the shorelines of three of Lake Minnetonka's most spectacular bays (Gideon, Excelsior and St. Albans). The race is appropriately named the Lake Minnetonka Triathlon and is revered in its region. It always fills early (sign-up by the previous February or you won't get in) and had won the Triathletes Choice Race of the Year award in 2009 and has been a finalist for that accolade more often than not....

The LMT is one of the two most competitive of the ten events which comprise the popular and well-produced annual Tri Minnesota Series, or as some call it, "The Pickle Series" after affable series founder, promoter and timing guy, Brad Pickle.

Notice that we used the word "series" three times in the last sentence. Syntactically clunky, huh? We're still learning how to write. Bear with us.

Yup, the humongous Buffalo Triathlon (1500 participants), and the LMT (600-participant ceiling) draw the deepest fields in the TMS.

And this year's Lake Minnetonka Triathlon may have assembled its strongest field yet. This is due, in part, to the fact that almost all of the event's prior champions will be on hand for Saturday's competition.

Who are they, you ask?

Here they are in alpha order:

* Jan Guenther - Jan has raced here three times, winning twice and finishing 2nd on the other occasion.

* Heidi Keller-Miler - In two starts here, HKM has a win and a 2nd. She set a stunning CR at Trinona last weekend and finished 2nd at Buffalo behind the red-hot Claire Bootsma the week before. She's our pick to win the women's race on Saturday.