Race Coverage

Threats & Promises....

Wednesday, 14 January 2026 00:10

Photo - Micah Warning and Christian Mirabal

2025 Trinona Coverage - Was Mother Nature threatening the 500+ participants enrolled in last Sunday's Trinona, or was she just teasing them? It turns out she was doing both. Her early morning chill and nasty gusts were a tease, as long as rain didn't follow. But as the Olympic participants started to line up for the seven AM swim start, she threw down with torrential rain and enough thunder and lightning to postpone the start for an hour, which resulted in the replacement of the Olympic race's storied bike route with the 11-mile ride used by the Sprint racers. Those with strong running backgrounds, guys like MICAH WARNING, who ran for Winona State, and UW-Madison triathlete/marathoner MATTEO KOZLOWSKI, immediately became the guys to beat, if they weren't so already.

As the morning wore on it became apparent that Mother Nature was just teasing. She wasn't interested in forcing a full cancelation, or even a more eloborate restructuring, i.e. turning the tri into a du. Instead, her cloud ceiling parted and optimistic sunshine poured through. Temps then rose steadily into the low 70s, a full twenty degrees more than when transition opened.

And yes, Micah and Matteo went off the front, their positions secure almost from the get-go. The same was true for EMMA WARD, who according to her boyfriend, came into the race intending to win. She impressed us with a Top 5 effort at Timberman Olympic in 2023, so we weren't surprised when she, like Warning, was victorious. They both posted margins of ..

Steve Outruns the Field...

Sunday, 11 January 2026 00:10

ED. The most read MTN stories are the race coverages and reports. During the non-racing months MTN revisits those stories allowing those who did those events to relive the experience, and those who didn't to see what they missed. This is the first such story. It's about the 2025 Spring Classic Duathlon, which is unlikely to return in 2026.

Oakdale Spring Classic Du - Run-bike-run has been in a sad state of decline for more than a decade. There are directors that still produce them, but few them are still able to hold onto any optimism.

The Oakdale Spring Classic used to draw good numbers (400+) and were enthusiastically embraced by our state's premier multisports men and women, as well as recreational athletes, and we applaud OSCD director Judi and her crew for hanging in there. But the sport is suffering everywhere in the US, not just here in Minnesota. The pandemic has played a major role, of course, as had the apparent apathy of the sports governing body.

We at MTN love duathlon and would love to see it resurrected, but we don't have the answers to how to accomplish that. Sorry about the grim prognosis.

Noah's Journey - Part III

Friday, 19 December 2025 00:10

By Noah Billings

IRONMAN FLORIDA -Goal: Complete the race, enjoy the day, be present--- I often had to be reminded of my goal because I can get really wound up about speeds. I have a history of going too hard too earlyon long races and falling apart at the end, so finishing strong was a big part of my goal. My mom said, “First Ironman you complete, then you can compete.”

The morning of the race was a little cold for Florida, around the mid 40’s, but my years racing TRI Clear Lake on Memorial Day weekend in northern Iowa helped me to know what to expect and I dressed warm. Hayes and I both made sure our bikes were ready, threw our wetsuits on and made our way to the swim start. The energy was great, I was ready, I was confident.

My swim in the Gulf felt like the best swim I had ever had. The water felt amazing, and I felt comfortable and felt like I was cruising through the water. However, as I wasswimming on the second lap, I was very startled when I saw a small jellyfish right near my chest, I reacted by kind of flailing around for a sec and then sprinting for 10 seconds. I had never encountered this before, so I may have overreacted. By the end of the second lap I was amazed to look down at my watch, and I saw that I completed the swim in 1 hour and 7 minutes. I was very far ahead of my anticipated swim time.

I ran into T1, grabbed my gear and my bike and started to ride. I was aiming for around a 19-mph average which was very hard to keep in the beginning because I was excited and I wanted to go faster. This is where having Hayes as a partner in the race was great as he kept me focused on the goal. The bike felt very nice, the weather warmed up, there wasn’t a ton of wind so it felt perfect all the way through the bike. I did it in 5 hours and 45 minutes. Looking back heading into T2 was a little funny for me. After 10 years of racking my own bike almost made me run past the bike handoff people. Either way I made sure to hand it off properly, grabbed my gear bag and started off on the marathon run....

Koala Cuddling....

Wednesday, 05 November 2025 00:10

By Katie Deregnier

Wollongong Australia Age Group World Championships Olympic Distance race report! -

Swim: Awesome! Best ocean swim I’ve ever done. It was clear, I was used to the water, and the waves didn’t bother me. I felt confident the whole way

Bike: I dropped my water bottle right away and had to go back to get it- these moments make me wish it was an Ironman so that amount of time wouldn’t matter as much.The course was 3 loops with several U-turns, which made it quite congested! I felt like I was in a draft legal cycling race for a lot of it and the technical turns were not in my favor either- I know I can improve here. It was super fun, though- for some reason the 3 loops made it feel really exciting!

Run: I’ll take it- it felt ok, but of course the 35-39 wave didn’t start until 930 so we were running in some heat. I also have to keep in mind I didn’t start doing speed workouts until July due to hip stuff, so with another year of training I know there’s more room for improvement here too!

Vaseline, Slushees, The Voice....

Monday, 27 October 2025 00:10

By Cami Eckhoff

...Tomorrow I turn 40, and I knew I wanted to kick off this next decade with something epic! After many months of training and dedication, the dream became real—I crossed the finish line at the Ironman World Championship. It’s hard to put the past week into words, but the memories are etched in my heart forever. Here’s my (long) race recap

The morning began with the most amazing hype crew of volunteers—smiles, clapping, cheers, and constant “this is your day!” energy. On my way to the swim start, I ran into Keith, Kia, Nick, Mel, and Josh—such an awesome surprise! Big hugs all around and one last dance party to the song they wrote for me (still trying to figure out how to share a bit of that super special song!).

The 2.4 mile swim: It was the toughest, yet most beautiful swim I’ve ever done. The crashing waves seemed to never end. I took it one buoy at a time — when I could site them — and one breath at a time — trying not to take a huge gulp of salt water. I also started to chafe under my arms from the salt water rubbing on my kit about 20 minutes in. Unfortunate for sure, but I knew there would be Vaseline in transition...

Trust & Blown Minds....

Thursday, 02 October 2025 00:10

By Paige Schulz

At the beginning of August, I asked Coach Anthony if he thought we could lift my 70.3 fitness to 140.6 fitness. Over the eight weeks since that conversation, I snuck in 1x80 mile ride, 2x100 mile rides, 2x3:15/3:30 trainer rides, 2 runs over 13 miles (16 and 18), 7x3k+ yard swims, an Olympic tri, and a 70.3 tri. (Plus my usual track sessions and VO2/threshold bike sessions.) I peaked at 13 hours and 5 mins.

Our conversations looked like this:

-Me: I’m still going to race Wisconsin 70.3 hard.

- Him: yes, but know there might be lingering fatigue.

-Me: are you sure there is enough time before Chatt? I like racing, not participating.

- Him: yes, you are already so fit.

-Me: ok, I trust you....