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Competing on a National Stage...

Friday, 26 June 2015 00:10

By Erin Sontowski (usatriathlon.org)

First and foremost, I would like to start this blog with a huge thank you to USAT for putting on an absolutely amazing race at the Du Nationals this year. I was incredible impressed with the organization and enthusiasm that surrounded every aspect of the race. From the smooth packet pick-up, to the flawless bike check in that morning, all the way up to the cowbell start at 8 a.m., I could not have asked for a better race setup. So kudos to you guys and all the amazing volunteers that helped put it together.

Secondly, I want to congratulate all the participants that day. As a relatively new age-grouper, this race was an amazing display of the talent that our community possesses. From the pros that were incredible to watch, to the last few stragglers like myself who clawed and pushed themselves to cross that finish line, it was a great day to be a multisport athlete. I even noticed early in the morning how fantastic this group...

A Deja Vu Experience...

Thursday, 25 June 2015 00:10

By Mike Ward (mikeward.cool/blog)

Capitol City Sprint Race Report - Lead up to the Capitol City Sprint was pretty basic. I had a strong run week with a lot of intensity, which was good, but I am feeling it now. Especially with Grandma’s Marathon in five days, the plan is to take it really easy in order to feel as fresh as possible on race day. Either way, despite not a lot of volume, it was good to get some relatively hard running in this last week as a little mental boost for Grandma’s.

I put a little less weight on performing at Capitol City just because it was a sprint race and Buffalo was more of a “where am I at” triathlon tester. I already knew kind of where I was at going into Capitol City, and frankly, Grandmas is more on my mind at this point. So the setup and prep was a little less hectic… I wasn’t as stressed out with having all my gear and just generally less stressed.

On race day, I realized that this was a deep field. According to Minnesota Tri News, I knew it was going to be deep, but it hit me on Sunday morning when I saw a few fast runners setting up in transition. Nothing is scarier than a strong runner. I felt really strong and good to go on race morning. I set up transition and...

Lake Waconia XXVI Preview....

Tuesday, 23 June 2015 06:10

LAKE WACONIA PREVIEW - There are five Minnesota tris scheduled for next weekend. We don't know much about three of them--Average Jo, St. James and Tri for Health--but we sure hope that they are successful and attract the kind of numbers that justify their continuance.

One of the other two races is Saturday's By George, which is Uncle Randy's resurrection of the original race by that name that took place in the 80s, and it's successor, Minneman. The Lake George venue is outstanding and the park is the kind you'll want to hang out in for a few hours after the event, perhaps do some barbequeing. We don't know who's racing there, so we can't make any competition-related predictions. We do know that Uncle Randy will bring the fun and that a good time will be had by all. If you're free on Saturday, we hope to see you at Lake George....

Successful Double-Dipping...

Tuesday, 23 June 2015 00:10

Photo - Megan Erlandson and a guy. Megan was one of several Minnesotans who successfully double-dipped last weekend.

LAKE MINNETONKA DUATHLON – Did you notice how many athletes double-dipped last weekend? We did.

The most successful of those folks had to be Suzie Fox, who used brisk transitions and a superior bike split to keep eventual runner-up Christina Roberts in her rearview mirror during Saturday’s Lake Minnetonka Duathlon.

Yes, duathlon. Early lightning, the threat of recurrence and concern for the safety on the event’s in-water personal motivated the alteration of the event.

Fox, who was coming off a win at Copper Creek in Iowa the previous weekend, covered the one mile run (probably a tad longer than one mile) – 15 mile ride on wet roadways and three mile in 1:05:33, 1:05 ahead of Roberts, who discovered in her du debut at Apple, that she’s pretty dang good at this run-bike-run stuff....

Teen Star Shines Bright at RochesterFest...

Monday, 22 June 2015 00:10

ROCHESTERFEST TRIATHLONS - Alyson Welch (photo) is only 16 and already is a two-time winner of the RochesterFest Sprint Triathlon. Last year's victory resulted in a junior course record time of 1:03:12. This year she lowered her JrCR to 59:02, becoming only the 5th female to crack the 1-hour mark at this seven-year-old event. Her margin of victory over runner-up Courtney Bledsoe, 37, of Eau Claire, was a hefty 2:27.

Rounding out the women's podium was another local junior, Martha Burket (1:04:00), who is only 15. Thirteen-year-old Arianna Werts (1:04:02), also of Rochester, finished 4th. Three juniors in the Top 5 is unprecedented in this race and perhaps for all Minnesota triathlons. Good stuff, huh?

Two transplanted New Zealanders, David Phillips and Brad Mitchell, respectively, finished 1-2 in the men's sprint. For Phillips, it was his 6th career multisport win. His time (52:37) was the 4th quickest in race history. For the gregarious 41-year-old Mitchell, his 53:50 torched the men's masters record.

The final podium spot for the men was earned by Lakeville's Eric Tessmer, 42. His time was 54:48....