Race Coverage

"A Fast and Furious Hour of Power"...

Tuesday, 17 June 2025 00:10

By Corey Nygaard

Buffalo Sprint Race Report - Buffalo was back for 2025 and the nervous energy was present as all the athletes got their transitions ready for what was shaping up to be a beautiful 65 degrees, calm wind day. The forecasted conditions for the race were perfect for quick and enjoyable racing and in my opinion, the meteorologists finally got something right!

For the race I competed in, the sprint, it was a fast and furious hour of power. The swim was over in a hurry and we headed out on the single loop all right hand turn bike course. The loop has rolling hills and forces you to keep your momentum to keep speed throughout the 12.25 miles. I was making good progress on the bike until the last final turn where I dropped my chain over some bumpy pavement behind the stores on an awkward turn, I was able to get off and get rolling in less than 10 seconds. Came into T2 feeling exceptional and that I could have a good run. It was beautiful running next to the lake and on my run out I could see the Olympic race playing out while they were  motoring back into T2. At the 1.5 mile turnaround I got splits to 2nd and 3rd as we passed in the opposite direction,  I decided to try and negative split the back half, and did!  ...

In the final mile I was able to get some good vibe low-fives from Spencer and Johnny racing the Olympic, they both looked like they were in the run groove. Came in to cross the finish line first for the sprint, but given the separate wave starts, it was impossible to know what was the actual placing. 2nd and 3rd came in and we got the announcement that DKT finishing in 3rd across the line had actually nipped me by 3 seconds. All these years later he is still racing at the top, a legend of MN Triathlon. Would have been nice to have the top three men all stick around for awards as it was a close race, alas I know I gave up way too much time over the course of the race, but all areas for me to improve for the future!

I spoke to the original Buffalo race creator after the event and heard about the good ol' days when there were pros racing and 1700 athletes lining up. The course and the city lend themselves to being back to this kind of participant levels. It is a well run event and well supported. I would not hesitate to recommend this event to anyone!

My race season is a bit up in the air right now with my upcoming cross-country move, but I hope to race 1 or 2 more times before leaving my beloved lakes country for a while. No matter what, I will still be paying close attention to the action.