Race Previews

Nuthin' Mini 'Bout the Minne...

Thursday, 30 June 2011 03:00

beach (Cool YndeCam photo.)

Minneman Preview - Three "Race of the Year" awards in its first six seasons. Whoa!

To say that Minneman isn't one of the premier racing experiences in our region is like saying that Kym Kardashian doesn't have a prominent keister.

It's a smallish event from the standpoints of size (450 participants) and distances (.3 - 13 - 3), but everything else about this race is Big Time. Staging and execution are first-class. Volunteers are numerous, skilled and enthusiastic. Post race and goodie bag amenities are abundant and totally cool.

Simply put, Minneman is a high quality event. And the good news is that there are still spots available. How many? We're not sure, so

act quickly, okay. There is no better way to launch your holiday weekend than a brisk workout in a totally gorgeous setting (Lake George Regional Park) with 450 of your friends / peers. INFO & REGISTRATION

So, consider postponing your trip to wherever until Saturday noon. After all, dealing with Friday afternoon traffic will suck. Travel will be a smoother deal on Saturday afternoon.

Minneman has always been a highly competitive event, and another great field has been assembled for Saturday's race.

Without further ado, here are the PREDICTIONS:

* According to wunderground.com, temps should be in the low 70s and winds are expected to be negligible. Therefore, three-time champion David Thompson should better his 2009 course record (53:34). The win will be the 68th of his amazing career.

* Patrick Parish should lower Kevin O'Connor's amateur course record (56:11 in 2009), and Kevin, now 40, should annihilate the existing masters record (1:03:07,) perhaps by as much as six or seven minutes.

* However, if Dan Hedgecock decides to race, he'll collect his seventh consecutive amateur win. His time will be outrageous, somewhere in the 55-flat range.

* Jenny Wilcox, winner of 10 races in 2010, will run down Suzie Finger for the women's title and her first victory of 2011. Her time should be in the 1:04 range.

coach * Charlie Roach will rewrite the 50-54M mark, taking it from 1:07:07 down to the 1:02 range.

* When 87-year-old Bob Powers approaches the finish line, the cheering will be deafening and several folks will claim that allergies are responsible for their glistening eyes.

* Hundreds of triathletes who rarely eat hot dogs will each consume several of the tasty tube steaks, which will be expertly grilled by Kevin O'Connor.

* Minneman co-directors, TCMC's Jeremy Sartain and OptumHealth Performance's Kris Swarthout will work their buns off, as will about 200 volunteers, insuring that a good time will be had by all. And Kris (photo L) will wear that "harnessy thing" that he wore at Manitou.

Both men will look kinda grizzly. Neither will not have shaved for several days leading up to the race.