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Epic Possibilities...Updated...

Wednesday, 15 July 2015 00:10

HEART OF THE LAKES PREVIEW - The 30th edition of this classic event, the State Tri Championships since 1996, promises to be super competitive. On the men's side, it is possible for this year's field to match a record that happened in 2009: Six men broke 1:30 in the long course. Since '09, only one guy--DKT--has dipped under the magic 90-minute mark....

In a League of Its Own..

Tuesday, 14 July 2015 06:10

Photo - On a weekend full of racing highlights, our pick for "Most Awesome Performance" goes to Bob Powers, 91, who became the oldest athlete to cross a finish line at a Minnesota multisport event.

31st TIMBERMAN - T'were highlights aplenty on Minnesota's tri scene last Saturday. Bridget McCoy and Sheena Dauer collected the biggest wins of their young tri careers, Bridge at Minneapolis, Sheena at Clearwater. And Bennett Isabella's win at Graniteman further demonstrated that he is the current frontrunner for the men's Most Improved award.

Bennett needs to keep winning and placing highly, though, if he hoes to secure the award. There's a couple of guys from Duluth, Mike Ward and 2014 Rookie of the Year Nick Nygaard, who also have a shot at the trophy.

Like Dauer and McCoy, Nygaard rocked socks last Saturday, winning the venerable Timberman Triathlon. It was his 2nd career victory and his biggest yet. Throughout the race, he appeared calm and meticulous, and though pre-race fave Brooks Grossinger had close to a three minute lead entering T2, when Nick dismounted and started running, he looked so smooth and strong that many of the spectators thought that he might have a chance to reel ....

Bridget is Very, Very Happy......

Tuesday, 14 July 2015 02:10

14th MINNEAPOLIS TRI - The Women - At Lake Waconia, Bridget McCoy pushed Suzie Fox to a course record, lowering a mark that had stood since 2007. It could be argued that, at LWT, Suzie pulled Bridget to her (Bridget's) finest multisport effort to date. That's saying a lot considering that McCoy's resume featured five wins....

Matt Did Good....

Sunday, 12 July 2015 06:10

Photo - Matt Payne doing a selfie with his mom.

14th MPLS TRIATHLON - The Men - Wisconsin's Mark Harms registered the day before the race. On paper, that meant that Matt Payne was no longer the clear-cut favorite to win the men's competition. His status would have to be downgraded to "prohibitive" favorite.

Why?

Because Mark was runner-up at Nationals last year and is a six-time AG national champion. He's been on the Elite Amateur podium at Mpls before and won the race back in 2007. The guy is freakin' good.

But can anyone beat Payne this year? Good question. The dude was, after all, 5-for-5 coming into Saturday's race. If Mark couldn't take him down, then maybe no one, even reigning national champ Steve Mantell, who won the 2014 edition of the Minneapolis Tri, can. We suspect that all three of these guys will face off at Nationals next month. We can't wait for that one....

Record Turnout & Great Competition...

Saturday, 11 July 2015 06:10

By Matt Hattan (sctimes.com)

GRANITEMAN -CLEARWATER – Melissa Klocker crossed the finish line and when the hugs started with friends and family, there were some screams of joy and even a few tears.

Klocker, 38, completed her first triathlon Saturday at Warner Park at the Clearwater Graniteman Triathlon. Klocker is a medical assistant and surgical coordinator for Central Minnesota Retina Specialists and lives in Cold Spring with her husband, Michael, and has three daughters.
There was a triathlon clinic and group swim held Tuesday at Warner Lake. Klocker, who has asthma and allergies, was fearful that she would not be able to complete the swim once she got her face in the lake water.

Bill Corcoran, the owner and general manager of Graniteman Events, Inc., was one of two people who did the pre-race swim with Klocker....