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The Wood...

Wednesday, 03 April 2013 01:10

curt (Photo - Christine and Curt and some balloons.)

As self-appointed historians of the Minnesota multisport scene, the MTN Guys spend a lot of time thinking about and talking about the past. By doing so we find ourselves missing some of the great athletes, who are also great people, that have set bygone standards. We wish that they were still racing.

Those who have entered our state's multisport scene in the last five years may never have heard of Julie Olson, a former Hawaiian Ironman podiumer who won more races in the 80s than any other Minnesota woman, or Kris Miller, a two-time US Duathlete of the Year, or 8:45 Ironman, Matt Haugen.

Sure, many know Matt as a coach, but only those who have been around for a while are aware of what an awesome athlete he was....

A few of the old-timers are still hanging in there, guys and gals like Tony Schiller and Ben Ewers and Jan Guenther and Heidi Keller Miler. But the list of those who aren't still hanging in there is a much longer one.

From time to time over the next few months, MTN will post mini-bios of those who, unbeknownst to the majority of those who race today, rocked the Minnesota tri and du worlds in the past. Today we tap out some stuff about Curt Wood, who at eight-feet, five inches tall (actually 6'6"ish), may have been our state's tallest elite triathlete ever. kids

In addition to being very vertical, Curt is also a handsome and witty guy. He has a charming, talented and pretty Asian wife and three or more above-average-in-every-way children (photo R). One of them is named Sebastian, which is a beyond cool name. Though the kid has never been to New Zealand or Chile, his nickname is "Sea Bass."

Curt and his above average family live in Chaska, which means that they have probably eaten at the Qdoba Mexican Grill, though none of them can correctly pronounce "Qdoba." Only Mexicans can do that.

Curt was a collegiate swimmer because he was totally fast enough to make the team. As a triathlete he set the regional amateur swim standards and could be counted on to come out of the water in first place. He was also a monster cyclist, what with his excessively long legs and all. He relied on his banshee-esque swim/bike skills to win or podium at races, which happened a lot.

His running was, compared to his aquatic and in-the-saddle prowesses, somewhat medium dazzle. It is a universal truth that white men can't jump, as proven in the movie of the same name, and tall guys can't run real fast. The movie about that hasn't been made yet.

Though Curt popped into a couple of races in 2010, his serious racing career was put on hold a year before that so that he and Christine, his pretty, talented Asian wife, can collaborate on the production of above average children.

Curt is a super guy and we miss him. We hope he resumes his tri career sometime so that more folks can see how tall he is and find out that he is very, very cool.

CURT'S TRIATHLON HIGHLIGHTS: