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Becky is Back!

Tuesday, 26 June 2018 23:10

LAKE WACONIA TRIATHLON - BECKY YOUNGBERG (photo L) had not raced in a multisport event since September 2011. When she appeared at Lake Waconia last Sunday, the question on the minds of some, certainly ours, was "how close to her former self would she perform." She had won the LWT in 2011 in the solid time of 1:35:37. We recall that race.

What an exciting competition that was. HEIDI KELLER MILER led through the first two phases. Becky was next, just over a minute back. In her rearview mirror was MICHELLE ANDRES, only a dozen seconds behind. To win, Becky needed to overtake HKM while holding off Andres. She did those things, and when the dust cleared, the podium was: 1. YOUNGBERG - 1:35:37, 2. ANDRES - 1:35:46, 3. KELLER MILER 1:35:54.

Could Becky match her 2011 time at LWT '18? Tall order, right? This is her first race back after a seven-year layoff. She's bound to have some rust. And she was 37 back then; she's 43 now.

And where would a 1:35 land her in the standings? It would have placed her 6th in 2016, 4th in 2015, 2nd in 2014 and 2013.

In the end, the new Youngberg did not race like the old Youndberg, the woman who had amassed at least 36 multisport wins in her pre-hiatus years. She raced better, which is to say, faster. ...

Barkin' With the Big Dogs....

Sunday, 24 June 2018 23:20

LAKE WACONIA TRIATHLON - The three-hundred-plus athetes that showed-up last Sunday at picturesque Lake Waconia Regional Park came with their fingers crossed, either literally, or metaphorically. Morning weather reports weren't encouraging, and most feared that lightning would either abbreviate the event, as it had done at Liberty two weeks prior, or cancel it completely, as it had at Lake Minnetonka eight days ago.

The sky had morphed from blue to grey as race time approached, and there was mist in the atmosphere. But no lightning.

The race started on time, and everyone got in-and-out of the lake, onto their bikes and into the the beautiful hinterlands that encirlce Lake Waconia. It was raining now, but not heavily. The sky remained quiet. No thunder, that harbinger of yuckiness and stoppage.

In fact, the weather was actually quite accommodating, for the athletes, at least. It never rained hard enough for the roads to get greasy. It was gentle enough to keep athletes cool and comfortable, which ultimately led to fast times.

That JOSH MORK completed the bike course first clearly showed that he is ready to bark with the Big Dogs in our region. Most had expected to see MATT PAYNE, who they would later learn had crashed, or two-time LWT winner PATRICK PARISH, or WADE CRUSER, to be the leaders out of T2.

Mork had been running for nearly a minute when Wade and 47-year-old masters course record holder KEVIN O'CONNOR hit the pavement. Then came Parish. All three of Josh's pursuees brought formidable running creds to the table. Was Josh in way over his head? Or could he hold off some, or all, of these talented guys? ...

Mankato Triathletes Rock Out at Fairmont...With Embarrassing Update...

Sunday, 24 June 2018 23:10

FAIRMONT TRIATHLON – Times suggested that conditions were not optimal for the 165 finishers at the Fairmont races on June 16, an event that draws athletes almost equally from northern Iowa and eastern South Dakota, as well as Minnesota.

Leading the way on the Olympic event was 2017 Green Lake Sprint winner SPENCER SYVERTSON, a member of the Minnesota State Maverick's tri team. His margin of victory was huge, just over ten minutes.

The women's Olympic champ was another successful Mankato triathlete, KRIS ANDERSON, who also won by a substantial margin. Kris isn't the only talented triathlete in her family. Her 15-year-old daughter, GRACE, has shown great promise over the last three seasons. We expect her to contend for Junior of the Year nominations in the near future. Grace raced in the Fairmont Sprint and placed an impressive 4th overall in the women's competition....

Dealing With The Devil...

Saturday, 23 June 2018 23:10

By Corey Nygaard (swimcoreyrun.blogspot.com)

IRONMAN BOULDER RACE REPORT - Third time is the charm right? This would be my third trip out to BoCo for Ironman and every year was going a little better than the last with racing, training etc. I felt good coming out this time around and was ready to see what my body could do come Sunday.

Mads and I packed up our sick minivan, which was amazing because I didn't have to break my bike down at all. And headed to North Platte, Nebraska, lovely, lovely Nebraska... we went for a run to get all that driving out of the legs and pretty much just chilled.

We got into town Friday morning and did all the necessary things. Went for a swim that night and it felt so good to swim in an outdoor lap pool! Saturday rolled around and I got up early to make final checks on the bike and then went for another outdoor swim because if it is there I want to use it! Mads and I drove to the res and dropped all my bags and bike off and said siyanara. Decided to go for a little drive/adventure after we ate lunch at Noodles. Headed up to Nederland and then across to Ward and I can see why any Colorado cyclist loves riding those roads, I'm envious. It was a good way to relax and get a huge headache, gotta stay up to code on that H2O consumption! ...

Deepest Men's Field of the Season?

Friday, 22 June 2018 23:10

LAKE WACONIA XXIX PREVIEW II - Which Minnesota race will draw the deepest men's field of the 2018 season? We'd be surprised if it wasn't Lake Waconia.

Typically, a regional elite male will come into a race targeting a spot in the Top 5, or against especially tough fields, the Top 10. At Sunday's LWT, though, there will be several guys who win races and consistently reach podiums that will not crack the Top 10. Exciting stuff.

So, who are the guys who will battle for the top spots?

Here are some of them, in alpha order:

JOE ADRIAENS - Runner-up for the Most Improved award last year, we think that he is ready to take his place among the best in our region.

NATHAN ANSBAUGH - After flatting at Liberty, then having Lake Minnetonka called in mid-race, LW's defending champion is itching for a big performance. Another win? It's possible, but certainly a podium.

JOSH BLANKENHEIM - Duluth's numero uno, Josh has podiumed at LW three times.

JAKE BRAAM - Runner-up for the Rookie of the Year award in 2017, he is especially hungry right now. We think he'll have to run some guys down, which he is very capable of doing, in order to land in the Top 10.

SEAN COOLEY (photo L) - He won here in 2016 in course record time. The 2017 Minnesota Triathlete of the Year is certainly one of the favorites to win on Sunday.

WADE CRUSER - Cruser has been Top 3 on Team MInnesota the last two years. He's making his LW debut.

BROOKS GROSSINGER - A two-time podium finisher here.

JOSH MORK - Josh is a wild card. Like Joe Adrieans, he appears to be ready to take his place among the elites in our region....