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Paige Prevailed...
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Thursday, 13 April 2023 00:10
IRONMAN MADISON 7O.3 - A pair of former Minnesota Rookie of the Year recipients finished 1-2 yesterday at Madison 70.3.
2019 ROY PAIGE SCHULZ relied on her signature strong running to overtake 2013 ROY NICOLE HEININGER, who relocated to Wisconsin a few years back. Nicole posted superior swim and bike splits, but it wasn't quite enough. In the end, Schulz's performance proved to be 16-seconds faster than Heininger's. Additionally, her 4:48:43 was a PR for this race. Her prior best was 4:52:03 in 2019, when she placed 5th.
Just missing a podium spot, but garnering the women's Masters title was KORTNEY HAAG, 42. Her 4th place time was 4:52:32, placing her 3:22 iahead of her nearest masters competition.
Almost cracking the women's Top 10 was 45-49 women's winner CATHERINE LEE, 48. Her time was 5:02:54 on Madison's challenging course, which was 11-minute faster than her nearest divisional rival.
One other Minnesota woman managed to dominate her AG. We're talking about JAN GUENTHER, 63, a two-time overall women's amateur winner at Ironman Wisconsin (2002, 2010). Jan's 5:19:54 was more than 25-minute quicker than her age's group's runner-up....
Shattered Records, a Plethora of PRs & a Mongoose Named Milo.....
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Sunday, 09 April 2023 00:10
HOPKINS ROYAL TRIATHLON COVERAGE - Saturday was a perfect day for a racing as evidenced by shattered records and a plethora of PRs. The pre-race favorites lived up to expectations, both turning in stellar efforts. Remaining undefeated in regional racing this year, ANDY ZABEL used his superior bike/run skills to turn in a time of 1:02:46, a personal best on this course and the second fastest men's clocking in the eight-year history of the HoRT.
Zabel, the 2022 Male Master of the Year frontrunner, now has fifteen career multisport wins.
Then there's HEATHER LENDWAY whose Hopkins debut produced a seemingly untouchable--untouchable by anyone other than herself, that is--course record 1:03:17, which landed her in 2nd place overall. As expected, she outswam the entire field and outbiked all of her female peers. Less expected was the fact that she not only outran the women's field, only three me turned in faster run splits....
Minnesota Pros Do Oceanside 70.3...
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Thursday, 06 April 2023 00:10
ED. Minnesota Pro triathletes Ted and Dani Treise raced at Oceanside 70.3 last weekend. On Facebook, they posted these comments:
Dani’s words:
70.3 Oceanside Recap
Happy to get the first race of the season under my belt and place 11th this weekend in a star-studded field!
It’s always a bit of an unknown but this year especially. New gear and a new headspace. I focused on staying calm and finding the joy in being out there - which was tough in 56 degree water and equal was chilly air temps at the start!
Swam with the group I planned on and was thankful for feet to follow in the blinding sun.
Fumbled through T1 with numb hands and feet but managed to ride with @nmf005 for the first half of the bike. I lost the connection at some point and couldn’t quite bridge back up, but this was an improvement from the last time we faced off and she biked 10 minutes faster than me!
I’m most proud of my run - my fastest one to date!
More consistent training and fewer injuries definitely makes a difference!...
Stuart, Andrew, AJ, Preston & Andy...
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Monday, 03 April 2023 00:10
Two members of the Minnesota Multisport Honors Committee, let's call them Matt and Damon, have begun discussing the resumes of Minnesota's top Elite and Age Group athletes in 2002. Today we are sharing their initial thoughts concerning emerging stars, i.e. those athletes whose improved performances have elevated taken them either from the chase pack to the lead pack, or if they were already among the leaders, they have elevated themselves within that group.
Here, in alpha order, are some of the men that Matt and Damon believe best fit the Most Improved criteria:
STUART GILDEA, 23, Minneapolis (photo below) - A former University of Iowa Tri-Hawk, Stuart is now a Biomedical Engineer at Medtronic. His pre-relocation resume was impressive, but he was demonstrably faster in 2022. For instance, he won back-to-back editions of Pigman Olympic. In 2021 as an Iowan, his time was 2:08. This year, as a Minnesota resident, his time was 2:02:06. In 2021, his time at Maple Grove Olympic was 2:02. This year his time was 1:55:19, which once again landed him on the amateur podium. He also broke 2-Hours at Kansas City Olympic this year, and placed 7th overall at (abbreviated) Sprint Nationals....
Jan, Beth, Christel, Pam, Amy & Cheryl...
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Friday, 31 March 2023 00:10
Who are the most nomination-worthy of Minnesota's female Grand Masters in 2022? Matt and Damon consider Jan, Beth, Christel, Pam, Amy and Cheryl to be the strongest candidates.
Here are their 2022 highlights:
JAN GUENTHER, 63, Long Lake - Winner of more MMHs than any other Minnesota triathlete, it came as no surprise that her 2022 regional resume was stellar. She set AG records at Timberman Olympic, where she placed 3rd overall in the women's race, and Buffalo, where she was the 7th woman to cross the finish line. She also placed 7th (AG win) at Lake Minnetonka, and she won her age group title at Ironman 70.3 Madison.
BETH HASSLER, 66, Andover / Eagle River, WI - Divisional wins at Timberman and Tri West, plus podiums at Olympic Nationals and Ironman 70.3 Madison are the kind of highlights that Matt and Damon are looking for.
CHRISTEL KIPPENHAN, 57, Bemidji - A prolific and successful racer, Christel posted AG records at Timberman Sprint, where she placed 3rd overall in the women's race, Buzz Ryan (4th woman overall) and Maple Grove Olympic (6th woman overall). Her 2nd at Northwoods and 6th at Buffalo Sprint were also fine performances....
