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Hands Down Favorite Race...
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Wednesday, 11 June 2014 00:10
By Christina Roberts
ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ RACE REPORT - This was hands down my favorite race that I’ve ever done. I was intrigued by this race for the heavy swim and run and decided it would be fun to check it out so I threw my name in the lottery last fall and got in!
Race day started with a 3:30 AM wake-up call but with enough coffee, I was wide awake before the sun came up. Once transition was set up in the dark, we had to take a bus to the pier where we would start the 1 hour journey to Alcatraz Island. Imagine 1600 neoprene-laden, nervous athletes crammed into a boat (see picture 1below). I felt like I was part of a cattle herd, awaiting slaughter. When we arrived, we were given some last minute instructions and over the intercom system we heard “Swim, Bike, Run, Have Fun” repeatedly. That phrase, as well as “embrace the pain” which was advice from a triathlete friend, kept me pushing through the entire race. Once the professional wave dove off the side of the boat, it was pretty much a free for all for the rest of the age-groupers to jump into the 58 degree bay water to swim the 1.5 miles to shore. There were 3 exit gates and we were all herded off the barge into the water. The jump was thrilling, though I felt like a lemming heading off the edge of a cliff, blindly following the athlete in front of me! The bay water was rough and the waves tossed me around quite...
The Rochester Rocket...
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Tuesday, 10 June 2014 04:10
ED. For decades, Timothy Carlson, a totally good guy, has been one of our sports's most outstanding journalists. Here's what he had to say about Ruth Brennan Morrey--The Rochester Rocket!--after her stunning victory at Kansas 70.3 last weekend.
By Timothy Carlson (for Slowtwtitch.com)
If you just looked at the names on the entry list, no way that 38-year-old Ruth Brennan Morrey of Rochester, Minnesota, who has been doing triathlons for just three years and turned pro last year, was going to contend with Ironman Hawaii runner-up Rachel Joyce. But somehow this long-ago NCAA Division I soccer star, Olympic Trials marathon qualifier, mother of three with a PhD in psychology who took 10 years off sports altogether managed once again to upend any and all athletic preconceptions with a bang....
Sister Act...
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Monday, 09 June 2014 06:10
(Photo - A bunch of Lendways.)
RACE COVERAGE - On a morning that was as beautiful and cooperative as the day before was yucky and dispiriting, a pair of sisters, the Lendways, Heather and Lisa, dominated their respective events in lush Winona. Less than 24-hours after the particants at Liberty contended with rain, wind, mud, cold and standing water deep enough to support small fish, the Lendways, and nearly a thousand others, raced at Trinona beneath a blue sky and bright sun. Temps were in the 60s. A perfect day to climb The Bluff.
While women's course record holder Ruth Brennan Morrey was busy in Manhattan, Kansas, winning her first major 70.3 Series race, Heather was busy erasing her (RBM's) CR. From the get-go she disengaged from her gender and pursued the few elite men who managed to stay in front of her. Despite what appeared to be a slightly long swim and the fact that she was feeling so sub-spunky on the run that she even walked briefly at times, HL reached the finish line in 2:09:50 (11th overall!), a full 4:45 ahead of RMB's 2012 record. Moreover, almost six minutes...
Sometimes It Rains...
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Monday, 09 June 2014 05:10
PHOTO - Winnipeg's Ashley Malzahn, one of many wonderful Canadians whose annual tri calendars include the Liberty Triathlon.
RACE COVERAGE - Yucky days happen. Sucks, but true.
Sometimes races fall on yucky days. That was certainly the case last Saturday at the 10th annual Liberty Triathlons. Relentless rain and wind that made the cool temps feel even colder and a transition area resembled the Okefenokee Swamp were what 343 eventual finishers had to contend with.
More than 500 athletes had signed up for the races--half and Olympic. Unsurprisingly, many stayed in bed and of the slightly more than 400 who showed up, approximately 70 decided not to endure the one hour delay.
Naturally, most course records remained intact. None were reset in the Olympic race, but two fell in the Half, starting with Matthew Payne's incredible 4:02:46, which not only lopped close to five minutes off his 2013 CR, it will be debated whether it, or Kevin O'Connor's 4:02:59 turned in at Muncie in 1997, deserve to stand as the Minnesota men's amateur Half IM record. Most 70.3 courses have suspect measurements. It's hard to accurately measure that much real estate.
In any case, Matt's effort was but another in a long list of course records he has set over the last few seasons. In 2014 already, he has crushed the amateur CRs at Oakdale, Buffalo Olympic and Liberty. We're anxious to see how he fares at Best of the...
Battle of the Brands...
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Monday, 09 June 2014 00:10
By Frederick Dreier (online.wsj.com)
The Ironman triathlon coming to Chattanooga, Tenn., in September sold out 2,500 slots in under a minute.
The Hits triathlons feature races exactly as demanding: a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run. The events have averaged just 30 registrants this year.
It's hard to see much difference between the two beyond the logo.
As Ironman races swell in popularity in North America with more weekend warriors competing, rival races are popping up. They are finding, though, that it can be hard to attract competitors without the name Ironman, even with lower entry fees. Meanwhile, the Ironman series, run by World Triathlon Corp., which owns the Ironman trademark, has ballooned to 35 global races, many with waiting lists....
