Race Coverage

Girl Scout Cookies and Beard Dye...

Friday, 08 February 2019 23:10

LIFE TIME FITNESS EAGAN INDOOR TRI - DAVID LABNO did not compete at the LTF Lakeville Winter Indoor on January 20, an event he's won at least four times. But he did do the Eagan event on the 27th, and yes, he finished, thanks to his superior swim and bike splits, atop the leaderboard. However, he was joined there by BRIAN SHOEMAKER, who posted impressive splits throughout, and former collegiate runner RILEY HUFFMAN.

All three men amassed 210 points.

We scoured the web in search of interesting info on the men's co-winners, and didn't find much. We did see a cool pic of Brian Shoemaker with his Cervelo R3. He's a good looking guy who parts his hair on the left. We're not sure, but think that Dave Labno is into historical bottles and yummilicious confections from Sweet Treasures (Cakes, Cupcakes & More!) in Lakeville.

We did find some cool stuff about Riley Huffman. On at least one occasion, he dyed his beard white so he would look like Santa (photo). He's a Wisconsinonian, thus he likes the Packers better than the Vikes. He is also into "guy" humor, you know, movies starring Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Zach Galifianakis, and TV shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy...

Leading the way for the women in this 72-finisher event was accomplished outdoor triathlete / totally cool person JULIE PAGANO, who has promised to submit a race report to MTN in the near future. She has a daughter who is a "rodeo girl"  and she helps her sell truckloads of Girl Scout Cookies, especially Thin Mints, we suspect. At Eagan, she separated herself from the field on the bike.

And like the three-way tie at the top of the men's race, three women tied for 2nd in the women's contest. They were: SARAH DOEGE, JENNIFER BIRKKEMEIER and  ELIZABETH CLAYBAUGH. Sarah turned in impressive swim and bike splits, and is a true fan of the Twin Cities original craft beer (Summit). Jennifer landed on the crowded podium because she was able to make up ground on the treadmill, though not as much as did Elizabeth, who threw down a serious run split, one that was bettered only by Shoemaker and Huffman.

TOP 5 Women - 1. JULIE PAGANO - 175 points, 2. JENNIFER BIRKEMEIER - 159 points, SARAH DOEGE - 159 points, ELIZABETH CLAYBAUGH - 159 points, 5. AMY BENDER - 148 points.

TOP 5 Men - 1. BRIAN SHOEMAKER - 210 points, DAVE LABNO - 210 points, 3. RILEY HUFFMAN - 210 points, 4. NATHAN KUNCEL - 203 points, 5. KEITH MCINTIRE - 191 points.  COMPLETE RESULTS