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The "Josh Riff" Award...

Tuesday, 25 October 2011 03:20

(Photo - Josh Riff. Had the Long Distance Athlete of the Year award been instituted in 2010, the Riffster would have won it, hands down.)

Minnesota Multisport Awards - Our final 2011 MMA nominees are in the new Long Distance Athlete of the Year category, and are contending for what could be called "The Josh Riff Award."

In 2010, Riff won THREE half IM races but went home empty-handed after the Tri Night festivities. It was clear that the MMAs needed to honor those who excel in long distance races. If Josh didn't deserve an award last year, nobody did.

Because the new award category was not announced until mid-season, the MMA Selectors chose to make the rules and criteria as simple as possible. To be eligible for consideration, an athlete must....

have turned in TWO amateur elite-level long distance--e.g. half IM, 111 or longer--performances during the past season. Only one's best efforts would count; sub-elite efforts would not diminish an athlete's resume as long as they have two or more AEL performances.

Next year the rules and criteria will change. All long distance efforts will count. A resume featuring two worthy performances along with one or two non-elite efforts will demonstrate inconsistency (or bad luck) and will probably not result in a LDAOY nomination.

Here are the nominees for the 2011 Long Distance Athlete of the Year award:

* DAN ARLANDSON, 34, Burnsville

- Dan's victories at Full Vineman (9:04:07) and Great Floridian (9:21:07), plus his win at Liberty Half in 4:13, which is the 2nd fastest time in the history of that race, made him a shoo-in for a LDAOY nomination.

* RUTH BRENNAN MORREY, 35, Rochester (photo L)

- Ruth's amazing rookie scorecard featured 3rd place finishes at Chisago (1st Minnesotan - 4:43:20) and Pigman (4:37:34). Brennan Morrey could enhance her resume with a great effort on November 5 at the ITU Long Distance World Championships in Henderson, Nevada.

* JAN GUENTHER, 52, Mound

- Jan's 2011 resume featured three long distance efforts: a 2nd at Liberty Half, a 5th at Chisago (4:44:38) and a 3rd at Ironman Wisconsin (10:42:07). Age-Grading was not employed in this category. If it were, Guenther's chances of winning this award would increase significantly.

* KORTNEY HAAG, 32, Maple Grove

- Kort supplemented her POY-nominated 2nd at Pigman Half (4:36:57) with a runner-up effort (6th woman overall) at Austin 70.3 (4:40:00).

MATTHEW PAYNE, 34, Columbia Heights (photo R)

- Matt's LD resume was bolstered substantially by last weekend's 2nd amateur / 4th overall finish at the Soma Half IM in toasty Tempe, Arizona. His scorecard also features his amateur win / 5th overall at TriStar 111-Minnesota and his 5th (amateur) at New Orleans 69.1 (canceled swim).

Jenny Wilcox (1st at TriStar 111, 4th at Chisago) also received serious consideration in this category.