Race Previews
Weekend Preves...
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Monday, 12 August 2013 06:10
PIGMAN HALF XVI - Our region's oldest half IM will be happen next Sunday at Pleasant Creek State Park near Cedar Rapids. For the second straight year the event will also feature an Olympic distance race. Visit Pigman's WEBSITE to see if registration is still open.
As usual, the half will be ultra-competitive, featuring past champs David Thompson (8x winner) , Kortney Haag, Julie Hull and Suzy Fox. Also returning will be AG course record holders Kevin O'Connor (40-44M), David Lyon (50-54M) and Greg Taylor (55-59M). Yes, we believe that DKT will chalk up his 9th victory here which will be his 17th career half win. Also, we expect 2012 women's champ Suzy Fox to repeat. Because we were impressed with Wisconsin guy Scott Bowe at Ironman Coeur D'Alene, where he was 2nd amateur in 9:12, he's our pick to place 2nd in the men's half.
We're picking a pair of Iowans--Dan Bretscher (2007 US AOY) and Daniella Williams--to win the Olympic race, though we'd love to see former Rochestererian, Joanna Hall steal the women's title....
Green Lake's "Aluminum" Anniversay....
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Wednesday, 07 August 2013 01:10
Green Lake X - Gosh! Can you believe that the Green Lake Triathlon will celebrate its "Aluminum" anniversary on Sunday?
The GL Tri, featuring a 10-year old sprint race and a seven-year-old International event, is one of Minnesota's several awesome "Destination" triathlons, taking its place alongside the venerable Timberman and Northwoods races. This trio of triathlons, a triumvirate, if you will, has been joined in recent years by Chase the Police in picturesque Walker and the relocated Brewhouse, now staged at majestic Island Lake, which isn't really in Canada, though it has that cool, tree-hugging Canucky vibe.
Interestingly, of all of our state's Destinationy tris, Green Lake boasts the largest attendance. Including its Saturday Kid's Tri--Green Lake bills itself as Minnesota Premier Family Weekend--the GL weekend annually hosts 900ish participants. It is deservedly well-loved for its scenery, drinkable lake, humongous transition area and abundant post-race groceries. If you're not currently enrolled, we believe you can still get in. (RACE WEBSITE)
Okay, now for MTN Predictions, which with $1.89, will get you a cup of Coffee at Dunn Bros....
G-Man Predictions...
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Wednesday, 31 July 2013 03:10
Graniteman-Big Lake - According to Yahoo Weather, that unassailable source of deadly accurate forecasting, conditions at Big Lake on Saturday should be totally groovy. Morning lows in the mid-50s, climbing to 70ish by lunchtime. Best of all, the sun should be visible, the winds negligible and the chance of rain, zilch.
Yeah. Let's see how all that works out. And if the sun actually shines, maybe some of us won't need to take our Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors. We can only hope.
Graniteman-Big Lake will celebrate its 3rd anniversary as the final, and arguably coolest, race in the G-Man Tri Series. A glance at the current reg. list tells us that a record crowd, perhaps 500 participants, should be on hand.
Let's do some predictions....
Mi Brew-Casa, Su Brew-Casa...
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Monday, 29 July 2013 07:10
Brewhouse XXVII Preview - The race organizers are stoked, excited about the new home--Island Lake--for this annual classic. If they're cranked up, then so are we, 'cuz Rod and his team of miscreants and ne-er-do-wells know how to bring the FUN and have been doing just that for almost three decades.
Calling Rod, Howie, Matt (photo) and the Guys "Miscreants and ne-er-do-wells" is done with total affectionate. Sure, some of these guys have been indicted, but none of them have actually been convicted....
Chisago -
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Thursday, 25 July 2013 01:10
Chisago Half & Sprint - The 7th edition of this annual classic will be staged, as always, at Paradise Park in Chisago City on Sunday. Being somewhat nerdy, we like statistical stuff and will share some historical race stats with you here. As much as we like figures and numbers, we also like to not have to create new prose for the website every day. So here are the Chisago Lakes Half and Sprint records and some observations and predictions about Sunday's races.
