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Rip Roar, ZTri & RBM Cracks Top 5 at Ironman Frankfort!
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Sunday, 05 July 2015 00:10
UPDATE: Conditions were brutal today (temps in the 90s), still Ruth Brennan Morrey raced to a 5th-place finish at the European Ironman Championships in Frankfort, Germany today, for which she earned $5000. (Euros?) Her time was 9:21:09. RESULTS
By Chris Crocker
The inaugural race of the Rip Roar kids’ triathlon series is in the books, and it was an amazing weekend of kids racing in Mankato, Mn. With Hyvee shuttering the Hyvee kids triathlon series, race director Michael Zimmerman was looking to fill the void in the upper Midwest with a kids specific tri series that will rival Hyvee’s former series. As it should be, he is the former director of the Hyvee series, and he saw the loss of the series as a real blow to kids triathlons, and an opportunity for him to shape the series.
With three more races in the series (Omaha; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Des Moines, Iowa), young athletes looking to participate in a very professionally run series with great competition will ...
Urgency & Specialness...
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Friday, 03 July 2015 00:10
By Ruth Brennan Morrey (ruthbrennanmorrey.com)
This weekend’s race at the Ironman European Championship in Frankfurt, Germany has been a mirage in the distance for the past six months. Two years ago, my coach, Dr. Phil Skiba, and I committed to developing a first time plan to qualify for the Kona World Championship in 2015. Realizing the 2015 race date, October, 10th, happened to fall on my 40th birthday, qualification somehow felt even more urgent and special. My family has been incredibly supportive and patient in the build up and I couldn’t be more grateful. Comments such as, “Kids, let Mom sleep because she has a long run later today” and “Mom, I’ll run the last ½ mile with you” are common words of support, filling me up to the brim in my joy cup. I feel so fortunate....
Ruther Hat Deutschland..
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Thursday, 02 July 2015 00:10
IRONMAN FRANKFORT - Next Sunday, Ruth Brennan Morrey will face what is arguably the deepest women's field of her young pro career (though St. George's field was similarly awesome) at the European Ironman Championship in Frankfort, Germany. The prize purse is $150,000 and pays 10-deep. Despite the depth of field, we believe that Ruther will come back with a check in her pocket. In fact, we think she'll make at least five grand. And yes, she has a shot at a podium spot, though a 4th or 5th seems more likely.
Here's the prize breakdown: !. - $30,000, 2. $15,000, 3. $8000, 4. - $6,500, 5. - $5000, 6. - $3500, 7. - $2500, 8. $2000, 9. - $1500, 10. - $1000.
If you've been following women's IM racing in the last few years, you'll probably agree that Switzerland's Daniela Ryf is the woman to beat. The 2014 70.3 World Champion won two IMs in 2014 and finished 2nd at Kona. Not bad for her first season doing 140.6s. Her PR is 8:53, but many of her peers think she's got what it takes to become the next Chrissie Wellington, if that is possible.
We won't bet against Ryf on Sunday.
Other podium contenders include three-time Franfort champ Caroline Steffen, also of Switzerland, who has more sub-9s than anyone else in the field, Julia Gajer of German (PR - 8:51), and Denmark's Michelle Vesterby (PR - 8:57)...
Larry's Time Has Come...
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Tuesday, 30 June 2015 10:10
Photo - Larry Hosch and his coach.
ZTRI PREVIEW - Winning your first triathlon is a life-changing deal. Just ask Gaby Bunten, who won her first race last year, picked up her 2nd W at RochesterFest and has been a threat to win every event she's entered this year.
You can also ask masters athletes Jen Neuman and Angie Hop, both of whom are a HOOT!, and both of them started winning races after they turned 40. Jen now has six victories, and Hopper has eight.
We believe that Larry Hosch's life is about to change. He's our pick to collect his first career multisport win this weekend at the 4th annual ZTRI on majestic Lake Pokegema south of Grand Rapids. He was runner-up there in 2014....
Broken Records, Leapt Fences & Bum Knees...
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Tuesday, 30 June 2015 08:10
LAKE WACONIA TRIATHLON - Who said that triathlon wasn't a spectator sport? We think it was a guy named Larry.
Larry was wrong. Triathlon, while not the same kind of viewing experience that you have when you watch a stadium sport or sports on TV, has thrilling moments that more than make up for those periods when all the athletes are in the hinterlands, out of sight though not necessarily out of mind.
The 26th edition of the Lake Waconia Triathlon, which in our humble opinion is and has been a nearly perfect sprint race, happened last Sunday and it was chock full of exciting moments, spectator moments.
Perhaps the most entertaining of these moments happened when Northfield's Brian Porter was hammering toward the final 90-degree turn that led to, as the great Phil Liggett would say, The Finishing Line. On autopilot, Brian overshot the turn and was headed into the transition area when spectators alerted him to his boo-boo. Regaining consciousness, Brian turned around and headed back toward the finishing line. He made a hard left at the fencing, which he soon learned marked the outside, not the inside, of the finish corridor. Instead of backtracking yet again, he lept over the fence (photo) then stumbled toward the timing mat, which he rolled over. It was soooo cool to watch and the spectators LOVED IT. ...
