Race Coverage

Pepperoni Girl, Zebra Socks & Broken Records...

Tuesday, 15 May 2012 03:00

(Photo - Lydia Novotny, a girl, a dog and the shadow of the guy who's taking the picture.)

Oakdale Du Coverage - Susan Ward is married to triathlete Emmerson Ward, who happens to be one of the 3-4 most handsome guys in the upper Midwest. When asked how she felt about this, she responded with a question of her own: "Well, how do you think HE feels about being married to one of the 3-4 most beautiful women in the upper Midwest?"

Great answer, huh!

Susan is very pretty. And she really liked "Bridesmaids," believing fervently that Kristin Wiig is a comic genius (She sooooo is!), and pizza with "mushrooms, black olives and a couple of pepperonis." Ah come on, Sue! Stop feeling guilty about LOVING pepperoni. Admit it. When...

Emmerson is out doing stuff with the kids (they have 5-6 offspring), you have Pizza Hut deliver an extra large Pepperoni Lovers and you tell the delivery guy that it is for your husband. He doesn't believe you. He's seen this kind of thing before. spine

Susan's Coolness Level went up several notches last Saturday when, after years of babysitting while her handsome hubby raced, she lost her multisport virginity. That's right, she raced at the Oakdale Duathlon while Emmerson watched the kids and looked really good, and she totally rocked. Everything about her effort was solid, i.e sub-8 minute run pace and 19 mph on the bike.

Way to go, Susan!

When asked after the race if she had become hooked on the multisport lifestyle, she replied with Wiig-like attitude, "Oh, Yeah!"

Susan Ward was not the only athlete who raced successfully at Lake Elmo Park Reserve last weekend. No indeed. Scott Penticoff had a pretty good day, too. And so did Suzie Fox. They were the overall champions. And Tina Hjeltlman (40-44W), Andy Clark (45-49M), Sheila Engert (45-49W), Diane Stoller (50-54W), Julie Peterson (55-59W) and Hank Larsen (70+M) all set AG records, thanks in part to the accommodating weather conditions (clear, 60-65 degrees, light breezes). Unsurprisingly, Hjeltman, a two-time Minnesota Duathlete of the Year nominee, landed on the women's podium, placing 3rd overall behind Fox and a tired but feisty Cathy Yndestad, who had raced at the relentlessly challenging Wildflower Half in Californication the week before.

Though Fox, who has really nice vertebrae (photo R), won the DOY award in 2011, her Oakdale performance had to be her best performance ever. Leading from the get-go, she strung together brilliant splits en route to a 1:10:51, which lowered Hilary Patzer's CR, which was set in cool, windy and rainy conditions, by 5:48! Five other girls also bettered Patzer's mark, including the terminally cute Lydia Novotny, who finished 4th. We mention Lydia because she has Heather Gollnick-legs, which is a good thing, and she brought her lovable boxer, Oscar, to the race. Also, she was wearing the coolest compression socks that we had ever seen. They were kinda Zebra-y and she definitely deserved style points for her sartorial resplendence.

A Minnesota Master of the Year nominee in 2010, Penticoff left the multi scene last year to concentrate on ultra-running. The fact that he not only raced up to his former standards, but exceeded them on his first race back was beyond amazing. Consummately fit, Scotty lit up the course, taking over the lead midway through the opening run and never looking back. Had he done so, he wouldn't have been able to recognize his pursuers. They were that far back. When he blasted across the finish line the display read 1:03:35, which was eight seconds faster than 2011 USAT Duathlete of the Year Honorable Mention Matt Payne covered this 3-mile-13-mile-2.8-mile race course last year. Penticoff, who also won this race in 2005, now owns Oakdale's overall and masters records. How cool is that!

Rounding out the men's podium was Kyle Serreyn (1:04:44), whose racing appears to have gone to the next level, and last week's Cinco Du Mayo champ, Dan Arlandson. RESULTS

patti 11th annual Oakdale Duathlon