Race Previews
Crawfish, Jazz & a Paycheck...
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Saturday, 18 April 2015 00:10
DANI FISCHER, who was ranked #2 on Team Minnesota last year, won the USAT Duathlete of the Year award and was named AOY HM, will make her pro debut at New Orleans 70.3 tomorrow, and the MTN Guys are anxious to see how she fares. She's only raced once at 70.3, but demonstrated that it may be her best distance. In that single event, which was the 2014 USAT Long Distance Championships in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she won handily in a time--4:23:37--which proved to be the fastest legitimate half IM clocking by a US amateur woman last year.
A strong cyclist and an even stronger runner, we suspect that Dani's pro career will resemble that of Ruth Brennan Morrey's. In other words, we think she'll learn fast and develop quickly. Like RBM, she'll probably start WINNING major events in her second year of pro racing (2016), maybe sooner.
Ruth's first half as an amateur, like Dani's, produced a victory and a sizzling time (4:21!). Ruther's first pro half--Mallorca '13--was a "valuable learning experience" and she had to settle for 12th place, albeit with a terrific 1:18 run. Eight halves later, one of which was a podium effort (2nd at Augusta), she outraced British superstar Rachel Joyce for her first major win (Kansas 70.3).
Most pros need much more than a year to establish themselves as podium contenders. Ruther's rise to that point only took four months....
Tinman Turns 31...
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Friday, 17 April 2015 00:10
RACE PREVIEW - The 31st edition of the MORRIS TINMAN, our state's first outdoor tri (pool swim) of the season, will take place on Saturday, April 25. We thought it would be cool to share some of that race's podium history here. We hope that some of you who have never raced at the Tinman before, will give it a go this year.
2014 Morris International - 1100 yd swim - 19 mile bike - 10K run - 39 participants
MEN:
1. Matt Scmidgall - 2:02:45, 2. Paul Wymer - 2:02:48, 3. Steven Scott (SD) - 2:07:28
WOMEN:
1. Bett Rowley - 2:13:52, 2. Sarah Dens - 2:40:54, 3. Andelee Qyast - 2:40:52
2014 Tinman Sprint (Inaugural) - 450 yd swim - 12 mile bike - 5K run - 35 Participants
MEN:
1. Craig Harrison, 54 (SD) - 1:04:33, 2. Thomas Pahl - 1:08:59, Tom Schwartz - 1:17:40...
Making History...
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Saturday, 11 April 2015 00:10
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — On the heels of her 10th career ITU World Triathlon Series victory two weeks ago in Auckland, 2014 ITU World Champion Gwen Jorgensen leads an American contingent of 15 into this weekend’s series stop in Gold Coast, Australia.
Competing on a standard 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike, 10-kilometer run Olympic-distance course, Jorgensen and the elite women are scheduled to race at 9:05 p.m. ET on Friday, April 10 (11:05 a.m. local time in Gold Coast on April 11). The elite men will then race at 12:05 a.m. ET on Saturday, April 11 (2:05 p.m. Gold Coast local time). The races will be broadcast live on triathlonlive.tv, and will air on Universal Sports Network from 2-6 p.m. ET on April 11....
Des Moines Tri: HyVee Out, BMW In...
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Wednesday, 01 April 2015 01:10
By Ryan Smith (kcci.com)
DES MOINES, Iowa —Thousands of people flock to Gray’s Lake to watch world-class athletes and local triathletes compete in the famed Hy-Vee Triathlon. But the company announced Tuesday it will no longer hold the event.
Hy-Vee has not said exactly why it cancelled the triathlon, but company officials tell KCCI that it will be replaced by a series of events focused on the health and wellness of children.
This will be a sting to the local economy and charities, as the triathlon pumped more than $4 million annually into the Des Moines area and donated $750,000 since it started in 2007.
The gold moment most athletes can only dream of became reality for Tom Hamilton in 2008.
"This was the award they gave out just to the age group, not just the professionals, so this one means a lot to me,” Hamilton said....
Pigman Gets Viewer Friendly...
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Sunday, 29 March 2015 01:10
From Pigmantri.com
Friends and spectators at the Pigman Long Course will be able to cheer for their favorite athlete throughout the run without ever leaving Pleasant Creek Park in 2015. The race is debuting a new course, designed specifically to make it a more pleasant experience for spectators.
“Triathlons are among the toughest sporting events to participate in as an athlete. They’re also among the toughest to watch as a spectator,” says race director John Snitko in a blog post announcing the change. “While athletes have the drama and glory at the finish, they have little to help them through the tough middle stretches of longer races.” ...
A Podium for RBM?
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Friday, 13 March 2015 01:10
From Witsup.com
This weekend brings the second edition of the Ironman 70.3 Monterrey race and as one of the first North American races of the 2015 season, the women’s field is deep.
If you’re not familiar with this race, it starts with a wetsuit swim in the man-made Santa Lucia river in downtown Monterrey, Mexico. Competitors should note that the river is narrow and shallow but the riverside walkway will make for some great crowd support during the swim and the run. The bike course consists of two loops of relatively flat and fast terrain. A few technical sections will be the greatest challenge to the bike course with tight turns and even a cobblestone section to be negotiated on each lap. Finally, the two-loop run course takes runners along the river walkway where they swam earlier in the day.
The 18 strong start list includes multiple Ironman 70.3 champions making it a very challenging race to call. Canadians Angela Naeth and Magali Tisseyre have over twenty half-iron distance crowns and can be expected to be among the favourites for the race. While neither are likely to be in the lead swim pack, they both possess excellent bike and run skills making them both dangerous in the closing miles....
