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Beans and Bagpipes and Not Having to Drink Light Beer...
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Friday, 29 July 2022 00:10
BREWHOUSE PREVIEW - The definition of a true "Classic," Duluth's flagship triathlon will celebrate it's 35th edition next Sunday. It will also be the 10th anniversary of its "new" spectacular venue at Island Lake, a 15-minute drive north of the multi-nicknamed town, e.g. the Zenith City, the Air-Conditioned City (because of Lake Superior's cooling effect in the summertime), Portland of the Midwest etc.
As expected, sharing the same weekend with Nationals has leeched some BH regulars, still, the race should field between 350 and 400 participants. This is happy news. (The 2023 Brewhouse will not go head-to-head with the Age Group Championships.)
The list we perused, which is almost two weeks old, suggested that SHYANNE MCGREGOR will continue to dominate the Sprint race, though BETTINA KEPPERS will keep her honest, and ELAINE NELSON should notch her sixth W on this course, despite what we assume will be some post Chisago 70.3 aches. LISA FILZEN should land on the Olympic podium for the second consecutive year. We predict that she will set a new BH personal best.
JOSH BLANKENHEIM was not on the list we saw. If he's not going to Milwaukee, we think he will do, and win for the 4th time, his beloved hometown tri. ...
Chisago XVI Preview...
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Thursday, 28 July 2022 00:10
2022 CHISAGO LAKES TRIATHLON PREVIEW - Approximately 900 triathletes are expected for this Sunday's 16th-edition Chisago Lakes 70.3, Sprint and inaugural Olympic triathlons. The CLT is a fantastic event at a fantastic venue: Paradise Park in Chisago City....
Encouraging Signage...
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Wednesday, 27 July 2022 00:10
TURTLEMAN NOTES - Regional triathlon attendance has been in decline for at least a decade. And the pandemic has exascerbated that in a big way. Unlike, runners, swimmers and cylists, Triathletes depend on racing for their identity, thus "uncertainly" can, and has, shifted many to a single sport emphasis. The migration from triathlon to cycling in all its forms, for instance, can best be described as "torrential," not a trickle. Still, high-ticket races like Nationals and Ironman-branded events are keeping the sport alive in a global sense, but they are contributing to the shrinkage of local and regional races.
It's easy to get a bit depressed about this stuff, but there are some signs that our regional scene may be rebounding, albeit slowly. And we need to remember that we are responsible for either resuscitating our sport locally, or pulling the plug. We can resuscitate by racing locally and enthusiastically. Instead of doing one local race a year, we can do two or three. And we can encourage potential newbies to give tri a try, or encourage vets to add another local race to their schedules.
Studying last Saturday's Turtleman results, we were heartened to see that 300 athletes finished the event, especially since last year's finisher total was 213. Eighty-seven additional line-crossers is a significant upward bump (31%). Very encouraging, especially if what we are seeing is an actual trend....
It is Better to Suck at Three Sports Than to Excel at One....
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Thursday, 14 July 2022 00:10
9th BUZZ RYAN SPRINT PREVIEW - A great feature of the Buzz Ryan (and Brewhouse) application process is that registrants are asked to leave comments about themselves. The cooler ones can be used on race day by the announcer.
Reading this year's comments we learned that in addition to being a talented triathlete (4th woman at Brewhouse Olympic in 2019, 7th last weekend against a strong field at Timberman Sprint), KATIE BENZIGER "is a heart doctor and mom to Theo and Marit." We also learned that WYATT COOK, 19, is a confident young man. He's registered for the Elite Wave though Buzz is his "first ever triathlon." We then learned that BRAD IRWIN, 59, is a philosopher. He asserted that "It's better to be bad at three sports than good at one." Let''s all ponder, which is what philosophers do, that for a moment.
Some participants used the comment feature to voice their political views. One nameless guy thinks a certain prominent politician is a "Poop Head."
There were lots of great comments and it's hard not to smile when reading them. The point of doing this is to remind participants that they matter and that the goals of the event are fun and personal enrichment...
It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This...
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Monday, 11 July 2022 00:10
TIMBERMAN SPRINT - On paper it appeared that BROOKS GROSSINGER's string of second place finishes in 2022 would come to an end last Saturday. The five-time Timberman champ (4x Olympic, 1x Sprint) had the talent and the muscle memory to chalk up another win, which would be career number-37. Fellow elite master KRIS NISULA from Thunder Bay looked to be his strongest challenger, unless a breakout performance by an underdog stole the thunder....
