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Determining Team Minnesota: The Women...

Monday, 30 November 2015 00:10

Photo - Team Minnesota's (L-R) - Kelly Trom (11th), Gaby Bunten (5th) and Christina Roberts (2nd).

MINNESOTA MULTISPORT AWARDS - The way TEAM MINNESOTA is determined is this: After the Committee argues for several days and grows to hate each other, each member ranks their Top 15 men and women. Points are assigned to places and the athletes are ranked from fewest points to most points.

Today we explain some of the rationale behind the ranking of the women of Team Minnesota 2015. Their 2014 rankings are in parentheses....

Apple Trumped Du Nationals...

Saturday, 28 November 2015 06:10

MINNESOTA MULTISPORT AWARDS - MATT PAYNE's amateur CR at Apple was named the male PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR. That one of Matt's two nominated performances would win was a foregone conclusion, at least that's the way the MMA Committee saw it. Though KEVIN O'CONNOR's nominated win at Sprint Duathlon Nationals was awesome, most would agree that Matt's win at the more competitive Standard Distance Du Nationals was a tad awesomer.

As for STEVE MORRIS' 5th place finish at Ironman Wisconsin, it was clear early on that a 5th wasn't going to trump a pair on National Title victories.

Then there was Matt's second nomination, his amateur course record-setting win at the Apple Duathlon. Could it displace his or Kevin's efforts at Du Nationals? ...

Hounds & High Hopes...

Friday, 27 November 2015 00:10

By Heather Lendway (heatherlendway.com)

Austin 70.3 Race Report - Going into Austin I was pretty nervous. After an awesome result in Vegas I had high hopes for this race. The start list was a much deeper field than I expected for a lower point/$ race but I guess there are a lot of ladies that want a head start on next year. Typically you can count on a few people not showing up race day but only a couple key players dropped out so I knew I’d have to have a stellar day to have a chance at another podium.

Race morning was chilly, about 45 degrees with a strong wind off the lake. I had five layers on and was still a bit cold. Transition was a mud pit. Austin had major flooding the two weeks prior and it rained the day before so there wasn’t much grass left. I walked through transition trying to pick out the path from the lake that would have the smallest probability of me doing some mud slip and slide in T1. I finished my gear prep and per usual Lendway style I headed down to the lake about 15 minutes before race start to pull my wetsuit on. Since the sun was just rising I decided to break out a new pair of reflective Blueseventy Nero Race goggles – they were perfectly clear.

Swim:

* Water temp was about 69 which was perfect wet suit weather. I warmed up quickly and knew right away I’d feel warm enough heading out on the bike.
* The ladies took off two minutes after the men. I went out a bit harder than usual to make sure I’d be in the lead or on the feet of the leader. READ MORE

Ironman is Special...

Tuesday, 24 November 2015 06:10

MINNESOTA MULTISPORT AWARDS - To many, picking MICHELLE ANDRES' dominating victory at Ironman Wisconsin was a slam dunk in the women's PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR category, and we would never claim that it wasn't worthy. Yes, it did win the trophy, but for several Selectors, it wasn't quite a slam dunk.

Here's why:

- ELAINE NELSON's nominated victory at Apple was arguably against the deepest women's run-bike-run field of the season in the US. Yes, even deeper that Standard Distance Nationals. It could be argued that, relatively...

A Very Difficult Category...

Tuesday, 24 November 2015 00:10

Photo (L-R) - Three MI nominees--Gaby, Lisa and Christina--and Triathlete of the Year Suzy Fox.

MINNESOTA MULTISPORT AWARDS - One of the most difficult categories to figure out was MOST IMPROVED women. Great arguments could be, and were, made for each of the nominees. The first factor that the Selectors considered was Team Minnesota placement in 2014 relative to this year. Here's how that broke down:

GABY BUNTEN - Ranked 12th in 2014; 5th in 2015 - Moved 7 places.

SHEENA DAUER - Ranked between 17th-20th in 2014; 9th in 2015 - Moved 9-11 places.

LISA LENDWAY - Ranked 11th in 2014; 3rd in 2015 - Moved 8 places...