Race Coverage
Shining in the Southwest...
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Tuesday, 25 October 2011 02:40
Austin 70.3 - Kortney Haag is one of our region's premier 70.3 racers. Her first effort at that distance was in July of 2009 at Chisago. Though the course was approximately 8 minutes short (for elites), she placed 3rd in a time of 4:25:54, the equivalent of a 4:33. Her next half was Pigman '09, which she won in 4:49:37, a remarkable effort considering the Tsunamiesque winds and intermittent rain.
Pregnancy intervened in 2010. Her next half was Pigman last August, where she broke the previous course record yet finished 2nd, 37 ticks behind the talented Jennifer Sloan of Tulsa, Oklahoma. FYI, Sloan went on to post a 9:56:40 at Kona a few weeks back.
Kort's most recent 70.3 effort was last Sunday in Austin, Texas. There she strung together some sweet splits (S-30:01, B-2:30::37, R-1:34:40) en route to a 4:40:00, which landed her in 6th place overall (2nd amateur). She was only 10:45 behind pro winner Jessica Meyers....
Kort's effort at Austin 70.3, when coupled with her Pigman performance, was sufficient to convince the MMA Selection Committee to nominate her in the Long Distance Performance of the Year category.
FYI, St. Cloud's Eugene Garver won the men's 65-69 division at Austin! Way to rock, Gene!
Soma Half IM - Like Haag, Matthew Payne has parlayed some late-season heroics into a MMA nomination. Already listed among the men's Triathlete of the Year, Duathlete of the Year and Performance of the Year nominees, the Committee has added his name to the list of candidates for the inaugural Long Distance Athlete of the Year award, thanks to his stellar effort at the sun-baked (90 degrees) Soma Half in Tempe, Arizona last Saturday. There he finished 4th overall / 2nd amateur in a personal best time of 4:07:27.
Whoa!
If Kort and Matt blog about their performances, MTN will post their words.
