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Ending on a High Note...
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Saturday, 30 August 2025 00:10
By Nick Jasmer
Race Recap - I raced the Young life Olympic Triathlon in Detroit Lakes, MN to close out my 2025 triathlon season.
The swim was tough with some heavy chop, and the bike had its fair share of wind to fight through as well, but I was able to settle in and finish strong on the run. With a solid swim and pushing hard on the bike, I set myself up to finish on the podium and get the AG win.
I ended the day with a 2nd place overall finish and 1st place in my age group (M30–39), going up against some really strong competitors like @brandon_lee.nd
My splits were:
Swim – 27:54
Bike – 1:02:48
Run – 38:37
Total – 2:11:21
Overall, I’m really happy with my performance and proud to wrap up the season on a high note.
Already excited for what’s to come for 2026, now the work begins again!...
2025 Hopkins Preview - The Women's Field...
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Thursday, 28 August 2025 00:10
2025 Hopkins Royal Triathlon Preview - The HoRT will be entering its second decade on Saturday. Once again, it will serve a sold-out crowd. So, you can't register, but you can spectate or volunteer.
Today's preview will focus on the women's competition in the Traditional Sprint portion of the event. Here, in alpha order, are some of the women we will be watching closely:
ADELINE ALTHAUS-KOTILA, 16 - Over the last two seasons, Adeline has separated herself from her teen peers here in Minnesota. She's claimed the outright women's titles in two of the three in-state races she's done this year. We expect a Top 5 from her on Saturday.
SHANNON BRAUN, 42 (photo below) - In two races in 2025, she's finished 5th and 6th against solid competition. Those are the kind of efforts that put an athlete on the MTN radar.
BETHANY COLLINS, 70 - Owner of the women's 65-69 course record, we believe she'll win her AG and perhaps even lower Susan Dragsten's stout 70-74W record....
Great Racing in Baxter....
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Wednesday, 27 August 2025 00:10
25th LAKES COUNTRY TRIATHLON COVERAGE - MATA AGRE was anxious to race at Sprint Nationals, but they were canceled. Bummer! JOSH BLANKENHEIM was anxious to race at Northwoods but his babysitter bailed at the last second. Bummer!
A few weeks later, Mata and Josh took out their frustration on their respective fields at Lakes Country, as each won by corpulent margins.
Temps barely nudged over 50 at the start of the race, but it felt even cooler thanks to relentless winds. Thankfully, the lake was 20+ degrees warmer than the air.
A second wave starter, it nevertheless didn't take long for Josh to push to the front of the pack on the bike. The rest of his race was spent alone. He didn't need to push, but he did anyway. He had plenty of time to recover after he finished before the next athlete crossed the line. His time was 58:46. Half of the event's Top 10 fastest times are his.
Second across was first-waver NOLAN SNYDER, 16, who turned in a strong 1:04:42, which fares very well next to the best times for junior boys on this course. Making his effort even more impressive was...
History Made at Maple Grove...
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Monday, 25 August 2025 00:10
2025 MAPLE GROVE OLYMPIC COVERAGE - Since his amateur win at Ironman Michigan 70.3 in 4:03:10, Sherwood, Wiconsin's TYLER TANKO has proven that he is capable of becoming one of a handful of amateur American men to ever crack the the four-hour mark at the half Ironman distance. He's proven that his Olympic credentials are elite as well. He came into Saturday's Maple Grove Olympic triathlon having finished 4th under extreme conditions two weeks ago at Milwaukee Nationals. What remained to be seen was how he would fare against three-time MGO champion / amateur course record holder PRESTON YOUNGDAHL and locally undefeated SPENCER SYVERTSON.
He fared well. Starting with the fastest swim of the day, and finishing with an uncontestable run (32:59!), Tyler sliced 2:24 off the ACR. His 1:50:24 was only 1:22 off TED TREISE's pro record set in 2022.
Syvertson (1:56:09) and Youngdahl (1:57:18) also dipped under the two-hour mark.
Also winning by a sizable margin was ELENA JASPER (2:09:48), who now owns a 1st, 2nd and 3rd at MGO. KATIE DEREGNIER (2:15:18) and TIFFANY KARI (2:16:25) rounded out the women's podium.
Perhaps the most impressive women's performance of the morning was turned in by 59-year-old JULIA WEISBECKER, who finished 4th overall in a remarkable 2:16:35 thereby solidfying her nonimation for 2025 Female Grand Master of the Year....
The Course Record Stuck in My Mind...
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Friday, 22 August 2025 00:10
By Spencer Syvertson
2025 Northwoods Tri Race Report - I added the Northwoods triathlon to my race calendar thanks to the recommendation by Mitch Clayton. At the start line, Mitch and I looked at each other and asked where the other three guys were that had been mentioned in the race preview. It turns out we unfortunately had multiple no-shows. Mitch said he wanted to go sub 1 hour and then asked me what my goal was. I told him that 57:06 is the course record and I have that stuck in my mind.
The swim was quick and smooth as usual. I hopped on my bike and put my head down to follow the lead vehicle. One of my rules when I race is that I don’t touch my brakes until the dismount line to T2. That meant I had to ride around the car that pulled in between me and the lead vehicle before a curve in the road. After that the rest of the ride was smooth sailing. Eventually I made it to the highlight: downtown Nevis. It was so fun to be hammering down Main Street on my bike while spectators were lined up and down the road....
