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Diva Dashing & Trail Shoes...
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Sunday, 30 October 2011 03:00
*Diva Dash Race Gearing Up For Second Year (Final Stretch Release)
More than 1,200 Expected to Run in Women-Only 5K and 10K Races Benefiting the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance
(MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., October 28, 2011) For the second year in a row, more than a thousand women from across Minnesota are expected to lace up their running shoes and race in the Diva Dash on Saturday, Nov. 12. Located in Circle Pines, Minn. and one of the largest women-only races in the state, the Diva Dash is organized by Final Stretch, Inc. and benefits the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (MOCA). MOCA is a Minnesota-based non-profit dedicated to raising awareness and funding research needed to detect ovarian cancer early and treat it properly....
Why We Race....
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Friday, 28 October 2011 03:00
(Famous Photo - Two guys racing.)
By Mark Allen (for Xtri.com)
Have you ever asked yourself why you race, especially a triathlon as grueling as an Ironman? I have, partly so I can remind myself of my own motivations and partly so that I have an answer ready when people ask me. "I love being in great shape" sounds like an overdose of overkill to someone who confides in you that their fitness is limited to walking Fido when their kids have too much homework to take him out. "I race to test myself" does little to connect the incredible feeling you get completing an Ironman with an inquisitive out of shape coach potato sitting in the seat next to you on the plane.
So why do we race? What is so fun about keeping going when your body is screaming for you to stop? What's so fulfilling about ending up with blisters and walking funny for a few days? What is it about crossing a finish line that has us replaying that moment and all the day's unfoldings over and over in our...
The "Josh Riff" Award...
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Tuesday, 25 October 2011 03:20
(Photo - Josh Riff. Had the Long Distance Athlete of the Year award been instituted in 2010, the Riffster would have won it, hands down.)
Minnesota Multisport Awards - Our final 2011 MMA nominees are in the new Long Distance Athlete of the Year category, and are contending for what could be called "The Josh Riff Award."
In 2010, Riff won THREE half IM races but went home empty-handed after the Tri Night festivities. It was clear that the MMAs needed to honor those who excel in long distance races. If Josh didn't deserve an award last year, nobody did.
Because the new award category was not announced until mid-season, the MMA Selectors chose to make the rules and criteria as simple as possible. To be eligible for consideration, an athlete must....
Arlandson Chalks Up Another 140.6 Win!
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Tuesday, 25 October 2011 03:00
Great Floridian Ultra - There are very few hills in Florida. The ones they do have are formidable and are located in the center of the state on the western outskirts of Orlando. It is over this undulating real estate that the Great Floridian Ultra, America's second oldest independently produced IM is contested.
This year's GFU was won in dominating fashion by Burnsville's Dan Arlandson. Dan's remarkable 9:21:07 is the 3rd fastest amateur / 5th fastest overall time in the 21-year history of this event. More impressive was his margin of victory: 1:25:33 over runner-up Brian Kamp of Indiana.
Yes, the GFU is one of the tougher 140s in North America.
This was Arlandson's second IM victory of the 2011 season. He also won (for the 3rd time!) northern California's Full Vineman, which is the oldest independent IM--23-years--in the U.S.
Has a Minnesotan ever won two 140.6s in the same season before? Perhaps Julie Olson did in the early / mid 80s? Or is Dan the first to do so?...
Shining in the Southwest...
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Tuesday, 25 October 2011 02:40
Austin 70.3 - Kortney Haag is one of our region's premier 70.3 racers. Her first effort at that distance was in July of 2009 at Chisago. Though the course was approximately 8 minutes short (for elites), she placed 3rd in a time of 4:25:54, the equivalent of a 4:33. Her next half was Pigman '09, which she won in 4:49:37, a remarkable effort considering the Tsunamiesque winds and intermittent rain.
Pregnancy intervened in 2010. Her next half was Pigman last August, where she broke the previous course record yet finished 2nd, 37 ticks behind the talented Jennifer Sloan of Tulsa, Oklahoma. FYI, Sloan went on to post a 9:56:40 at Kona a few weeks back.
Kort's most recent 70.3 effort was last Sunday in Austin, Texas. There she strung together some sweet splits (S-30:01, B-2:30::37, R-1:34:40) en route to a 4:40:00, which landed her in 6th place overall (2nd amateur). She was only 10:45 behind pro winner Jessica Meyers....
