Race Coverage
Agreeing With Spencer...
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Saturday, 10 May 2025 00:10
By Mitchell Clayton
Tinman Intermediate Race Report - Last week, Spencer Syvertson wrote a post for MN Tri News about how he loves small Minnesota triathlons, and how the U of M Morris’ Tinman triathlon is a great rust-buster event to kickstart your racing season. I couldn’t agree more. The Tinman tri has sprint (450 yds – 12 mile – 5 k) and olympic (1100 yds – 19 mile – 10 k) distance events that both feature a pool swim followed by an outdoor bike and run. It’s a well-run, small town event. I’ve done the sprint two times in the past, and this year I wanted to see how I could do at the longer distance.
The swim was pretty straightforward. I glanced at the race clock right before flipping for the first 50 and saw :28… whoops. After taking it out way too fast, I settled in and went through the motions. Hit the wall in 13:47, jumped out of the pool, and made my way to T1 just outside the pool doors.
Minnesota's 2025 Tri Season is Underway!
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Sunday, 04 May 2025 00:10
39th Tinman Triathlon - 2016 MInnesota Junior of the Year MITCHELL CLAYTON won the Buzz Ryan Sprint in 2017, his 6th career tri victory. His next W was seven years later (2024) at Tri Clear Lake, where he set an amateur course record. There's many good reasons for his dry spell. College, work, grad school and marriage. But he bounced back strong last year and it appears that 2025 will be an even more successful year for him, one that may even land him a spot on Team MInnesota. Why? He crushed the competition at the Morris Tinman Intermediate distance triathlon yesterday. His 1:43:03 not only gave him a 17-minute margin of victory, it was the event's fastest time in more than a decade. A pair of Team MN athletes won th last two editions of this race in times that were and 1:43 and 2:08 slower than Mitchell's. Granted, good weather undoubtedly played a role, as conditions at Tinman are typically cold, windy and often wet. Still, in the amended words of poet/philosopher Neil Young, Mitch "rocked like a hurricane." ...
CR for Sean. PR for Kadie...
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Monday, 28 April 2025 00:10
Photo - Men's Top 3 - Soren Schwendeman (4:30:02), Sean Cooley (4:10:53) and Brandon Lee (4:18:13)
SQUARE LAKE 70.3 - In 2019, JOSH MORK won the Square Lake Half in course record time: 4:11:39. That performance earned him a Performance of the Year nomination. SEAN COOLEY kicked of his tri season, which he balances with his running and cycling seasons, with a 4:07 5th place finish at Ironman. 70.3 Des Moines. He followed that up with a 4:14 2nd place effort under brutal conditions (heat and wind) at Chisago. Earlier this week he decided to take on the Square Lake Half, our state's most challenging long course event, a race he won in 2023 in 4:23. His result placed him in the Performance and Triathlete of the Year conversations. Leading from the get-go he time-trialed his way to a new course record 4:10:53.
Wait a minute! Didn't Wisconsin's PATRICK ALLAIRE's 4:10:59 in 2020 steal the CR from Mork? Nope. The swim was shortened to a half-mile that year.
And while Sean's performance can be called a runaway, let's not discount BRANDON LEE's 2nd-placing 4:18:13, a Masters Record, and whch lowered his 70.3 personal best by more than five minutes. Lee appears to be a shoo-in for a Master of the Year nomination....
Sean & Vanessa....
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Friday, 25 April 2025 00:10
SQUARE LAKE SPRINT COVERAGE - On Saturday, SEAN COOLEY and KADIE HOKANSON were runaway winners at the Square Lake 70.3. Sunday's Sprint race was just the opposite. Only 13-seconds separated the top two men, and the positions would likely have been reversed if the run course were a half-mile longer.
Thirty ticks was all that came between the top two women on this scenic and challenging .5 -18.5 - 5K course.
Last year's runner-up and this year's pre-race favorite, SEAN PICKLE, 19, enjoyed a two-minute lead out of the water and after the bike, but four-time Square Lake Sprint podium finisher STEVE STENZEL picked up some seconds coming out of T2 and proceeded to take 30-seconds-per mile bites out of Pickle's lead, but he needed a little more real estate to overtake the two-time Junior of the Year nominee.
The W was Pickle's fourth of the 2024 season.
Novelty, Personalization & Fun...
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Tuesday, 22 April 2025 00:10
"We're going to (mini) Worlds!"
(Words by Doobie Kurus, photos courtesy of Jay Dellis)
10 years ago (11 actually if you include the 1+ year of planning the first tri), I wanted to create an event implementing the things I liked about some triathlons that I had participated in myself. Things like doable distances for newcomers, fun prizes, novelty post race food (for all), personalized race bibs, t-shirts people want to wear, good comunication to participants, reasonable entry fees, etc. Flash forward to this year, and after checking off all those things, at first I'd say, "mission accomplished!" But, if you know me, you realize I won't stop there. I already have fun plans for next year's event in the works. ...
Runners Rock at Lakes Country XXIV...
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Saturday, 19 April 2025 00:10
LAKES COUNTRY TRIATHLON - SPENCER SYVERTSON had a 44-second lead on defending champion JOSH BLANKENHEIM when he entered T2. Over the final 3.2 pedestrian miles, Spencer could only give up 13-seconds per mile is he was to going to keep Blank from winning again. And after Syvertson's stunning victory over Josh at Brewhouse, an effort that is worthy of a Performance of the Year nomination, it looked like Blank would have to settle for 2nd this time around.
Spencer looked strong when he embarked on the run, but would his 5:50 miles be enough? Then Blank, who started in the wave after Spence dismounted. He was fresh and ready to run fast, which he did. Low 5:30s. With each mile, he erased another 19 seconds. The final result was a 16-second win for Blankenheim. Josh has three Ws in four starts this season. Spencer's 2024 scorecard also boasts three wins, to go with two 2nds.
Also enjoying a successful season is JASON CRISP, who matched his 3rd place 2023 finish, albeit in a superior effort. Unsurprisingly, two-time Junior of the Year nominee SEAN PICKLE placed 4th, also in a performance that exceeded his 2023 effort, which was an AG record. (NOTE: This year's course was shortened due to road construction. When we say that peformances are superior, we are evaluation pace.)
