Race Coverage
Sean & Vanessa....
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Tuesday, 10 September 2024 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.
CR for Sean. PR for Kadie...
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Sunday, 08 September 2024 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....
Novelty, Personalization & Fun...
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Monday, 02 September 2024 00:10
"We're going to (mini) Worlds!"
(Words ny 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. ...
Preston & Caryn Prevail at MGT!
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Wednesday, 28 August 2024 00:10
15th Maple Grove Triathlon Coverage – It took a Performance of the Year-type effort for PRESTON YOUNGDAHL to maintain his winning streak, which now stands at thirteen. His effort last Saturday at Maple Grove Olympic produced an amateur course record, one that was 1:07 faster than the ACR he set the previous year. During this epic run, his smallest margin of victory was 1:04, until last weekend, that is....
Runners Rock at Lakes Country XXIV...
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Monday, 26 August 2024 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.)
Glassy Water & Chocolate Milk...
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Saturday, 24 August 2024 00:10
GREEN LAKE RACE REPORT - Green lake tri got a beautiful day for triathlon, nice cool temps and a slight breeze. It was finally time for me to get back to what is kinda Olympic distance as I have never really done them, preferring sprints and the longer 70.3 and iron distances.
The water was very glassy race morning and walking in and around the docks at Zoroaster to make room for all the guys in wave one. Swim took off and could see the fast swimmers starting to pull away by the first buoy. Thankfully for me the swim was pretty short, 850 yards according to my Garmin, race site said 3/4 mile swim but it is all good in my book.
Bike went well, the roads coming out and around the lake are smooth and with just some gentle rollers made for a nice start of the ride. It did take a minute for me to come into pushing power but by mile 5 I could tell it was...
