Race Coverage

Suzie's Victory Rash...

Tuesday, 21 August 2012 03:00

PIGMAN HALF XIV - Suzie Fox's breakthrough win, the first long distance victory of her career, at the 14th Big Pig was anything but smooth. Well, it was for the first 68 miles, but with a little more-or-less than two miles to go, the canine-and-Britney-loving triathlete was clobbered from behind by a cyclist....

"I'm not feeling too well today. Lots of bruising, swelling, road rash, and soreness...got hit pretty hard from behind by a male cyclist and then hit the ground pretty hard. The frustration of never putting together a good half before and never breaking 5 hours at Pigman got me back up on feet b/c I wasn't sure I would be able to finish...." she told us via her Blackberry yesterday....

Ouchiwahwah!

Suzie did indeed gather herself up and charge ahead for the win, turning in a time of 4:42:31, a personal best by 14:18! The win was her fourth straight this year (HOLT, Chaska, Chisago Sprint & Pigman Half), fifth of the season and 11th of a career that began in 2009. Cool beans.

Only one other girl cracked the 5-hour mark on Sunday. We're happy to say that that woman was 2007 Pigman winner Julie Hull (4:52:39). A frequent misfortune sufferer since July 2010, it's great to see Jules race in a way that at least flirts with her legacy and potential.

She's coming back. That's a beautiful thing.

Former Liberty Half champ MJ Slikas, an Illinois girl who doesn't separate her initials with periods, climbed the final women's podium step.

David Thompson, of course, won for the guys, which is something he's done here a total of eight times. Twas DKT's 80th career win. Whoa!

Kevin O'Connor's decision to get off the bubble and into the race paid off with another podium finish. He took 2nd. Blond Burnsville Orthodontist Bennett Isabella, last year's Square Lake Half winner, placed a very satisfying 3rd.

Six Minnesota men and four of our state's girls cracked their gender's overall Top 10, which is just plain cool. RESULTS