Race Previews

King B - A Look Back...

Sunday, 21 January 2018 23:10

The King Boreas Winter Tri & Du is a cool event, a true celebration of outdoor winter activity in our region. Though it's a national championship, it is first and foremost a fun event. For most, it will be a recreational event....

Poison Picking & Beer Selfies...

Wednesday, 03 January 2018 23:10

By Kris Swarthout

Celebrating it's 3rd year as not only the USA Triathlon Winter National Championships, but also as an official Saint Paul Winter Carnival event, the King Boreas Winter Triathlon continues to raise the multisport bar in Minnesota. The KBWT not only hosts some of the best summer and winter triathletes from across the nation, but it also provides a fun and supportive atmosphere for those who are just looking to participate. Last year athletes from as far away as Dallas, Texas took home National Championship awards and this years field will only get deeper.

So what makes this event so unique and fun? First off, the simple fact that it is an official Saint Paul Winter Carnival event adds decades of winter tradition to this up and coming event. Carnival chooses it’s winter events carefully and ensures that they uphold the traditions and values of Saint Paul and Carnival collectively. Held in historic Lake Phalen park, the race starts out with a 5k trail run around the lake presented by Run’n Fun. Athletes will then transition for 3 laps of a 3.6 mile bike loop presented by NOW Bikes and Fitness. The bike loop consists of a few technical sections, but for the most part the trail is groomed and wide. The final leg is a 7k ski around the Phalen golf ...

"I am Surprised How Much This Means to Me"...

Wednesday, 13 September 2017 19:10

By Greg Dummer (via Facebook)

I have been receiving a lot of emails and texts from friends asking me about my upcoming race. Admittedly, I don’t spend a lot of time on Facebook but I thought this would be the best way to share some information and a bit about my journey.

On Sunday, September 17th I will be racing in the ITU Triathlon Age Group World Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. I will be representing Team USA competing in the draft-legal sprint championship. The distances are a half mile swim, 12.5 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. While this may appear short to Ironman participants, at this level of competition…it is a red-line racing above any type of threshold you can measure for one hour. I love this distance, it is all about pure speed and fits my personality.

I started training for this race mid-December, after taking two months off from the 2016 season…eating and drinking anything in sight. For the people who know me well, this isn’t a joke! Seriously, one of these days I am going to try to temper myself. To kick start the season, my wife and I did a “cleanse” at the suggestion of my sister-in-law (Gianna) who sells Arbonne products. Although I was skeptical at first, it was a great experience and I had never felt energy like that before. Based on my assessment of my results from the National Championships last year, I decided I needed to get a little more serious about one of my glaring weaknesses in triathlon. The swim! Following the lead of my three beautiful...

A Letter From Uncle Randy...

Tuesday, 05 September 2017 23:10

SQUARE LAKE PREVIEW - This year marks the 18 annual Square Lake Triathlon. This was FrontRunner’s first multisport event and continues to be our flagship multisport event.

Back in 1999, there were very few multisport events. Throughout the entire summer there were probably no more that 8 – 10. Turtleman , Timberman, Manitou Sprint, Heart of the Lakes and Brewhouse are a few that existed back then.

The Turtleman Triathlon was always mid August and the last triathlon of the season. If you were going to compete at the Ironman Championships in Hawaii, you still had the few months to train and prepare.

Mo and Suzanne Mouw were two local White Bear Lake athletes who competed at Ironman Hawaii and wanted one more opportunity to compete before the Minnesota summer was over. They approached me and asked if I would consider putting on a late season triathlon. They used the Square Lake area for training and suggested Square Lake Park as the venue for the event. We weren’t new to putting on events but we had never organized a multisport event.....

Big Impact Weekend....

Monday, 04 September 2017 23:10

PREVIEWS - Next weekend is arguably the most impactful two days on the 2017 multisport calendar. Two local races --Blaine and Square Lake--happen on Saturday, September 9, then Ironman Wisconsin and 70.3 Worlds in Chattanooga, Tennessee, take place on Sunday. How Minnesotans perform in these events will have a UGE effect on this year's Minnesota Multisport Awards nominations, and placement on Team MInnesota.

Let's start with Blaine.

The MMA Committee will have their eyes on, among others, JOSH MORK, CHRIS TATTON and TAYLOR LUNDQUIST. A win could land Mork a spot on Team MInnesota, and maybe a Most Improved nomination. A win, or a masters record, could propel Tatton to a Master of the Year nomination.

As for Lundquist, 17, who appears to be a shoo-in for a Junior of the Year nomination, an overall podium finish and a Junior CR, could make her the frontrunner for the award.

Moving now to Ironman Wisconsin. We predict that honorary MInnesotan DANI FISCHER will win the women's title, though that will not impact the MMAs. It will, however, make us very, very happy.

We adore Dani.

Some of the athletes we will be closely watching at IMOO are NATHAN ANSBAUGH, SHEENA DAUER and CHERYL ZITUR. Ansbaugh's position on Team MInnesota could be affected, as will his position among those who, like himself, will probably receive a Most Improved nomination. A great effort may be trophy-worthy....

Blaine Brings the Fun....

Saturday, 02 September 2017 23:10

BLAINE TRIATHLON - It's hard to believe that this fine event will celebrate its sixth anniversary this Saturday (September 9). It seems like it was introduced only yesterday.

As we've done with several previews this season, we are going to share some history and make some predictions.

TOP 5 Performances: Men (Note: Times from 2014 are not included. The swim needed to be abbreviated that year.)

1. CHRIS TATTON - 1:09:10 (2016)

2. BRETT LOVAAS - 1:09:15 (2013)

3. CHRIS TATTON - 1:11:08 (2015)

4. ANDY ZABEL - 1:12:38 (2016)

5. JEFF GREBNER - 1:12:46 (2013)

Top 5 Performances - Women

1. HEATHER LENDWAY - 1:16:30 (2013)

2. CHRISTINA ROBERTS - 1:16:69 (2015)

3. MARNIE WALTH, ND- 1:20:07 (2016) ...