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Todd's & Ben's Words...
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Friday, 01 July 2011 03:00
(Photo - The Greater Mankaro Multisport Club members who raced at the 14th North Mankat Tri last Sunday. Todd is the guy behind some girls and beside "Mohawk" guy.)
By Todd Landgraff
Race Coverage - It's always nice to pull off a win on the home course and the weather was perfect for racing this year, overcast, no wind, and temps in the 60s. I arrived about 6:30 to claim my spot in transition and pick up my race packet.
The swag was excellent as usual for this race, a long sleeve tech shirt, a pair of running socks, and to my surprise, a fancy Nathan race number belt. Not bad for a race that cost $35 to enter....
Nuthin' Mini 'Bout the Minne...
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Thursday, 30 June 2011 03:00
(Cool YndeCam photo.)
Minneman Preview - Three "Race of the Year" awards in its first six seasons. Whoa!
To say that Minneman isn't one of the premier racing experiences in our region is like saying that Kym Kardashian doesn't have a prominent keister.
It's a smallish event from the standpoints of size (450 participants) and distances (.3 - 13 - 3), but everything else about this race is Big Time. Staging and execution are first-class. Volunteers are numerous, skilled and enthusiastic. Post race and goodie bag amenities are abundant and totally cool.
Simply put, Minneman is a high quality event. And the good news is that there are still spots available. How many? We're not sure, so
Metalhead Testudine Boy Rocks...
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Wednesday, 29 June 2011 03:00
(ED. - Matt Payne is not only a great athlete / musician / human being, he's also a very interesting writer. This race report is too good and too cool not to rip off and post here. Check out Matt's righteous blog for more words, insight and off-center perspectival stuff. LINK)
By Matthew Payne
Waconia Race Report - So there I am cruising down Highway 5 on the way to the race, music cranking, enjoying my traditional in-car pre-race breakfast of champions (a banana and a can of Ensure chased with a 20oz of Coke), when I see what looked like a little painted turtle on the opposite shoulder. Sadly, roadkill turtles are a somewhat familiar sight in Minnesota this time of year, but this one didn't look like it had been hit. So I slammed on the brakes and pulled a really sketchy, most likely illegal U-turn and circled back to check on the little guy (more likely girl actually, as most of the turtles killed crossing roads are females traveling to/from nesting sites) with the intention of helping it cross the road safely.
Many of you who stumble upon this blog may not know of the depths of my turtle and tortoise nerdery. Well... turtles and tortoises are my favorite animals ever. I have a pet tortoise, I've planned vacations around ...
Lots & Lots of Great Stuff....
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Tuesday, 28 June 2011 03:40
(Cool Nick Morales Photo - Waconia's podium guys, Dan Hedgecock, Patrick Parish and Matt Payne, all of whom have tentatively accepted their BOUS slots.)
NEWSY NOTSEY STUFF...
* Minnesota will send a super-amazing-awesome-expialidocious Team to the 2011 Best of the US National Championship in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on September 10. (Trudy almost peed her pants when she got the news!) Yes, we see podium finishes for several of these athletes, who also appear to be slam-dunks for Team awards. Minnesota's qualifier, as always, was the Lake Waconia Triathlon, and the following folks received BOUS invitations:...
Leaving It All On The Course...
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Tuesday, 28 June 2011 03:20
ED. Heidi Keller-Miler is racing like a banshee this year. Two big wins, a 2nd and a 3rd so far. She is also an "Old Schooler," who loves slobbery aggressive racing and doesn't mind losing when it is clear that she and her adversaries have, as they say, left it all on the course. She loves to push the red line and all the grunting and gasping and distended veins that goes with it. It was this aggressive style of racing that defined what unfolded at the front of the women's pack on Sunday at Lake Waconia XXII. The photos of Becky Youngberg and Michelle Andres were generously provided by Nick of TriJuice.com.
A Race to Remember...
By Heidi Keller-Miler
Unfortunately there normally aren't a whole lot of women racing in the elite wave so it was really a blast to be part of the best & biggest field of the year thus far in 2011. There were 19 women in the elite division at LWT. That is one more than the men had toeing the line, that has to be a first! So it was quite a raucous start with all 37 of us heading out in the same wave. The swim start...
