Race Previews
An Original...
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Monday, 06 July 2015 06:10
TIMBERMAN PREVIEW - Timberman, Minnesota's original "Destination Triathlon," will celebrate its 31st birthday on Saturday (July 11). Like most races, it struggles to get its numbers of yesteryear, but unlike most races, it manages to come dang close to doing so. This means that, despite current trends, Timberman is "hanging in there" better than most events. Still, the MTN Guys want to encourage anyone who has not committed to a race on the weekend of July 11-12, to make the trip to Sugar Lake. Especially those folks who have never done this "experience" before. It's not just about the race. You don't just pop in, race and drive home. At Timberman, you also swim, fish, golf, barbecue and pontoon (verb form), as well as eat and drink at Otis' Grill, which has an awesome deck and is located on the north edge of the transition area.
It's a "destination" event....
Big Numbers. Great Fields...
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Sunday, 05 July 2015 06:10
GRANITEMAN XII PREVIEW - Last year, Graniteman-Clearwater drew a little over 300 participants. This year, the event's 12th anniversary, that number will jump to more than 500. How cool is that, especially in today's racing climate?
We love to see this kind of stuff!
Another thing we love to see are competitive fields, and this year's G-Man Olympic (1.5-46K-10K), the first year for this distance, has an awesome field, especially on the men's side. Four of the Top 5 guys from last year's sprint race are returning and they are all stronger and faster than ever. 2014 winner Casey Miller is coming off a win at Average Jo. Last year's bronze medalist Larry Hosch just collected his first career win at ZTRI. Fourth and fifth place in 2014 went to Ryan Wippler, who also won his first career tri earlier this season, and Wade Cruser, who totally rocked out at Buffalo and Gear West, will be more competitive than ever, too. And they'll have to be, because this year's field will also include Brett Lovaas, who has 30ish...
Urgency & Specialness...
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Friday, 03 July 2015 00:10
By Ruth Brennan Morrey (ruthbrennanmorrey.com)
This weekend’s race at the Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt, Germany has been a mirage in the distance for the past six months. Two years ago, my coach, Dr. Phil Skiba, and I committed to developing a first time plan to qualify for the Kona World Championship in 2015. Realizing the 2015 race date, October, 10th, happened to fall on my 40th birthday, qualification somehow felt even more urgent and special. My family has been incredibly supportive and patient in the build up and I couldn’t be more grateful. Comments such as, “Kids, let Mom sleep because she has a long run later today” and “Mom, I’ll run the last ½ mile with you” are common words of support, filling me up to the brim in my joy cup. I feel so fortunate....
Ruther Hat Deutschland..
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Thursday, 02 July 2015 00:10
IRONMAN FRANKFORT - Next Sunday, Ruth Brennan Morrey will face what is arguably the deepest women's field of her young pro career (though St. George's field was similarly awesome) at the European Ironman Championship in Frankfort, Germany. The prize purse is $150,000 and pays 10-deep. Despite the depth of field, we believe that Ruther will come back with a check in her pocket. In fact, we think she'll make at least five grand. And yes, she has a shot at a podium spot, though a 4th or 5th seems more likely.
Here's the prize breakdown: !. - $30,000, 2. $15,000, 3. $8000, 4. - $6,500, 5. - $5000, 6. - $3500, 7. - $2500, 8. $2000, 9. - $1500, 10. - $1000.
If you've been following women's IM racing in the last few years, you'll probably agree that Switzerland's Daniela Ryf is the woman to beat. The 2014 70.3 World Champion won two IMs in 2014 and finished 2nd at Kona. Not bad for her first season doing 140.6s. Her PR is 8:53, but many of her peers think she's got what it takes to become the next Chrissie Wellington, if that is possible.
We won't bet against Ryf on Sunday.
Other podium contenders include three-time Franfort champ Caroline Steffen, also of Switzerland, who has more sub-9s than anyone else in the field, Julia Gajer of German (PR - 8:51), and Denmark's Michelle Vesterby (PR - 8:57)...
Larry's Time Has Come...
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Tuesday, 30 June 2015 10:10
Photo - Larry Hosch and his coach.
ZTRI PREVIEW - Winning your first triathlon is a life-changing deal. Just ask Gaby Bunten, who won her first race last year, picked up her 2nd W at RochesterFest and has been a threat to win every event she's entered this year.
You can also ask masters athletes Jen Neuman and Angie Hop, both of whom are a HOOT!, and both of them started winning races after they turned 40. Jen now has six victories, and Hopper has eight.
We believe that Larry Hosch's life is about to change. He's our pick to collect his first career multisport win this weekend at the 4th annual ZTRI on majestic Lake Pokegema south of Grand Rapids. He was runner-up there in 2014....
Lake Waconia XXVI Preview....
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Tuesday, 23 June 2015 06:10
LAKE WACONIA PREVIEW - There are five Minnesota tris scheduled for next weekend. We don't know much about three of them--Average Jo, St. James and Tri for Health--but we sure hope that they are successful and attract the kind of numbers that justify their continuance.
One of the other two races is Saturday's By George, which is Uncle Randy's resurrection of the original race by that name that took place in the 80s, and it's successor, Minneman. The Lake George venue is outstanding and the park is the kind you'll want to hang out in for a few hours after the event, perhaps do some barbequeing. We don't know who's racing there, so we can't make any competition-related predictions. We do know that Uncle Randy will bring the fun and that a good time will be had by all. If you're free on Saturday, we hope to see you at Lake George....
