Race Coverage

Blaine & Square Lake Stuff...

Sunday, 11 September 2016 05:10

Photo - Rockin' North Dakotans (L-R) - Lyn Beiswanger, Marnie Walth, Beverly Everett, Melanie Carvell, Megan Beam. Front - Lori Finken.

BLAINE TRIATHLON V - After her victory at the Apple Duathlon in 1998, Bismarck-based multisport pioneer MELANIE CARVELL told one of the MTN Guys that she was mentoring an unknown athlete named MARNIE WALTH. She claimed that Marnie was a special talent.

She was so right.

The next year (1999), Walth won the Apple Duathlon, and since then has won most of Minnesota's major races, e.g. Heart of the Lakes, Timberman, Lake Waconia, Gear West Du, Square Lake, Chisago Lakes Half, and in 2005 the North Dakotan was ranked 3rd on Team Minnesota.

Walth is 47 now and races infrequently in multisport events, but she tends to win, or at least podium, at those races. In 2015, she raced at the...

Blaine Triathlon, placing 2nd behind Most Improved winner CHRISTINA ROBERTS. Marnie's time on the .3 - 16.7 - 3.5 course--1:20:23--crushed the Masters Record by 9:01.

Returning in 2016 with several Bismarckian friends in tow, including Carvell, now 55, Walth was able to better her 2015 performance and win the race outright. Her Masters Record 1:20:07 was not the only mark that was rewritten.

Far from it.

Here are the new records that were set last Saturday under superb racing conditions:

 - CHRIS TATTON's 2nd consecutive victory here in 1:09:10 lowered BRETT LOVAAS' 2013 men's record by five seconds. FYI, Chris has a majestic Great Dane named Stanley.

- MARNIE WALTH's victorious 1:20:07 lowered her own MR by 16 seconds.

- CHERYL ZITUR, 51, gave Walth a great race, finishing 2nd 52 seconds behind the Bismarcker. Zitur's 1:20:59 lowered MELANIE CARVELL's 2015 50-54 record by 5:54.

- CARVELL, now 55 and the author of a wonderful book entitled "Running with the Antelope," placed 3rd overall in the women's race and took the 55-59 best down by a flabby 11:05.

- DAVID CARNEY, 43, that silly goose, did not launch in the Elite Wave. As in 2015, he started with his AG in Wave #9. Once again, he had the 3rd fastest men's time, though it was not immediately recognizable as such. He managed to lower his own 40-44 course best by 15 seconds.

- JACK HENNEN, 16, placed 17th overall in 1:25:15, lowering the Junior CR by 2:03.

- LYN BEISWANGER, 62, part of the Bismarck contingent and former unhealthy chubby guy-turned-stud-athlete, placed 23rd overall and torched his AG's CR by 9:48.

- DANIEL KIRK, 70, turned in a remarkable 1:42:18, which was 17:21 better that the old 70-74M's best.

One of the true "Performances of the Day" was turned in by another North Dakotan, MEGAN BEAM. The statuesque (Walth and Carvell are also statuesque) 24-year-old former cross country runner at the University of Mary placed 5th overall in the women's race. Her time was 1:28:32. Not bad for her first triathlon. 

Two-hundred and twenty-three athletes participated. RESULTS

SQUARE LAKE XVII-  Duluth body builder / triathlete / total HOOT -  TIFFANY KARI (photo R) capped her tri season, arguably her best ever, with a victory at Square Lake last Saturday. The win complimented the Olympic PR she set in a 3rd place effort at Brewhouse, and her 70.3 PR (4:57 - 4th place) at Toughman.

Her margin of victory over 2nd place TRACIE KENT was 3:15.

Also finishing the season on a high note was Eagan's JASON TOTH, who set a half IM personal best (4:26) two weeks earlier in a Top 10 performance at Superior Man. Toth and eventual runner-up LOUIS HUGHES were basically even coming out of T2 at SLT, then Jason took over. 

Third-placing PATRICK MARZOLF needed his signature fast swim and strong run to overcome time lost on the bike.His finish time was only nine seconds behind Hughes'. 

The seventeen-year-old race was contested under ideal conditions and 174 athletes crossed the finish line. RESULTS