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Sub-2s....

Sunday, 26 February 2017 23:10

Minnesota's elite amateur men didn't rock in Olympic distance races in 2016 like they had in the previous half dozen years. Let's take a look at that.

As a rule of thumb, sub two hour times define elite amateur performances at this distance, which breaks down as follows: 1500m swim, 37-42K bike, 10K run.

How wide was the disparity in recent years? In 2015, Minnesota male amateurs receorded 21 sub-2-hour performances, with Bennett Isabella (photo L) leading the way with four. In 2016, only nine such efforts were turned in, with Sean Cooley (photo below R) posting one-third of those.

What explains the disparity? Two explanations come to mind. First, several of our state's fastest guys--sub-2 guys--were injured or, for other reasons, did not race in 2016. At the top of this list was Isabella, followed by Devon Palmer, Brian Sames, Nick Nygaard and Larry Hosch.

Second, Nationals was contested in Omaha. Its courses were more challenging than those of the previous five years (Milwaukee and Burlington), and its weather was...

brutal. Very hot and very humid. Only five men cracked 2-hours in Omaha, the fastest of whom--Michigan's Todd Buckingham--posted a 1:58:12, a time that would placed him 27th in '15.