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Dala Horsies & Pancakes...UPDATED..
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Wednesday, 20 July 2011 03:00
(Photo - Julie Hull winning the 2008 Chisago Lakes Half. Her 4:37:13 still stands as the women's amateur course record.)
Chisago Lakes Preview - Of all the great multis that have been added to Minnesota's annual schedule in the last 10 years, the three most ambitious events are Life Time-Minneapolis (2500-3000+ entrants), the Buffalo Triathlon (1500 entrants) and the Chisago Lakes races (1800ish entrants in 2011).
The sixth edition of the Chisago Lakes Half / Minnesota State Long Distance Championships and Sprint will be grandly staged at beautiful Paradise Park in Chisago City this Sunday. As ever, the field will not only be huge, it will feature a veritable plethora of our region's most talented athletes. It's impossible to look at the start list and not get excited.
We are especially anxious to she how the women's Battle of Super Cinco-genarians shakes out in the half. Two-time Ironman Wisconsin amateur champ, Jan Guenther, 52, of Mound, Minnesota, who has won for halves since turning 40, will go against North Dakota's Barb Kuhlmeier, who owns Chisago's 50-54W CR (4:52:47).....
Make History!
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Tuesday, 19 July 2011 03:30
Race Preview - The inaugural Life Time Leadman Triathlon in Nevada was a "Wait-and-See" race. Lots of athletes were interested in the event, but it was soooooo unique and challenging that they chose to wait-and-see how it went. Maybe they'll sign up for next year's event if all goes well this time around.
Well, only 49 intrepid souls chose to do that event, and less than half of them finished. Still, what the waiters-and-seers learned via post-race word-of-mouth is that they missed a helluva race, one that's destined for greatness and humongous participant numbers.
Leadman was a FANTASTIC event!
The inaugural TwinCities Triathlon is also a wait-and-see race. About 300 have accepted the challenge so far, while thousands of others are waiting to see how an urban tri with a Mississippi River swim turns out....
Racing Stuff...
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Tuesday, 19 July 2011 03:10
* RACINE STUFF - Elite St. Paulian Sam Janicki (photo) made his half IM debut at Racine 70.3 on Sunday. After satisfying swim (28:33) and bike splits (2:18:46), Sam admitted that his run time (1:39) "needs a lot of work." Still, his 4:29:38 was a very encouraging rookie effort. He placed 27th overall / 12th amateur and 4th in his 25-29 AG. Don't be surprised if The Sam-inator anchors his next half with a 1:20-25 run.
FYI, he's scheduled to race at Chisago next weekend.
MTN congratulates all the Minnesotans who accepted the Racine 70.3 challenge. And please stay tuned for Jennifer Martone's race report, which will post later this week...
Mid-Season Report Card...
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Tuesday, 19 July 2011 03:00
(Photos L - R - Junior stars Brandon Onopa, Caleb Vukovich, Greta Danielson and Hannah Strom.)
We thought it would be cool to do some "Mid-Season Report Card" posts, even though the season is actually two-thirds over, which makes us sad.
As for the Report Card stuff, what we plan to do is acquaint you with the athletes that, at this point in time, appear destined to receive MMA nominations next autumn. But anything can happen tomorrow. New names on the scenes. Sub-par efforts. Injuries. Stuff like that....
Wet Work...
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Monday, 18 July 2011 03:00
HOLT XXVI Coverage - Twas not a day for records, unless heat index and dew points are the records you're looking for. But that's not what we're talking 'bout here. Purely and simply, it was a tough-ass day, for everyone but that lovable mutant Jan Guenther, who actually enjoys these kinds of extreme conditions, and performances suffered.
It became clear, though "clear" is an odd word to use here, when folks were driving to Annandale on race morning that expectations had to be altered. What appeared to be a ubiquitous ground fog was just saturated air. Viscous, the dankness felt like 10W-30 on the skin.
At 6 AM it was already 80 degrees, but felt like 90. And the dew points were in the mid-70s. And conditions would worsen by the hour....
