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Thursday, 21 April 2011 03:00

This is the third and final installment in MTN's "Mighty Sophs" series. Today we chat with Claire Bootsma, aka "Boots" or "Bootsie," who is very, very cool. She's also very tall and pretty and funny, a super cook, and has a huge smile and awesome red hair.

And she appears destined to become one of the premier triathletes in our region.

MTN - Tell us about your off season. Are you optimistic about your sophomore year in the sport?

Boots - The 2010 season was so exciting for me! All the people I met at races were very cool and so gosh darn friendly. The success I had was unexpected and so now that I've gotten my feet wet I'm looking forward to a full season which I've had time to plan and prepare for. I cannot wait to meet more of the Midwest's multisport community and to actually get racing again (the FUN part after a winter of training). My off season training pretty much rotates with the seasons: whatever I can do...

outside at that time of year. This winter was mostly running and skiing, with a couple indoor track races thrown in for a good time. Now that it's warming up I am becoming more diligent about the bike now that it has become an outdoor sport in Minnesota again. I have a bigger training base going into this summer than I did in 2010 and a better idea of what level I'm able to competing at, so yes I am optimistic about this season; and very excited!

MTN - After your stellar rookie season, many of your peers expect big things from you in 2011. MTN certainly does. What do you expect from yourself this season?

Boots - In the 2010 season I didn't compete against a lot of Minnesota's female tri rock stars. I've chosen a race schedule that I hope will put me in quite a few competitive races. I'd like to see what I can do in bigger races like LifeTime, and hopefully I can contribute to the level of competition in Minnesota and help drive the racing scene. Currently I haven't strayed much beyond the sprint distance, but I'll be moving up to do quite a few Olympic distance races to seek out those more competitive racing fields. Two of my time goals are to run sub 19 minutes in the 5K of a sprint tri and to go under 1:10 in a sprint. Other than that my goals for the summer are that I will have fun and learn more each race. I feel that I'm still pretty much a newbie and I've got lots to explore in the sport. Once I have more races under my belt I will be able to develop more concrete goals.

MTN - Any new sponsors?

Boots - I will be racing in the TriFitness uniform this season and through their generosity will be riding a bike from the Blue Triad line. It is so much fun to have Sam as a teammate, and Judi and Vicki (TriFitness owners) have such a contagious love of the sport of triathlon.

MTN - What races will you be doing this year?

Boots - Here is my race schedule (subject to change)...hope to see some of you there!

05-07-11 Cinco du Mayo Duathlon

05-12-11 Medtronic TC 1 Mile

05-22-11 Gear West Duathlon

06-05-11 Buffalo Olympic

06-19-11 Rochester Fest Olympic Tri

07-09-11 LifeTime Olympic Tri

07-17-11 Heart of the Lakes Olympic Tri

08-13-11 Turtleman Duathlon

08-27-11 Maple Grove Sprint Tri (This race has a special place in my heart. The Maple Grove Sprint was my first Tri win ever, and it was the first year of the race...I hope to defend my title as the inaugural sprint champ this year and for many years to come)

09-10-11 Square Lake Short -or- 09-11-11 City of Lakes 25K